Wurfrahmen 40 - German heavy self - propelled multiple launch rocket system during the Second World War [1] .
| Wurfrahmen 40 | |
|---|---|
 Wurfrahmen 40 based on Sd Kfz 251 | |
| Wurfrahmen 40 | |
| Classification | Multiple launch rocket system |
| Story | |
| The number of issued, pcs. | 14,283 with other 280-320 mm launchers [1] |
| Key Operators |  |
| Dimensions | |
| Body length mm | 5980 |
| Width mm | 2100 |
| Height mm | 1750 |
| Clearance mm | 320 |
| Reservation | |
| Forehead of the body (top), mm / city. | 10-15 mm |
| Board of the case (top), mm / city. | 8-14.5 mm |
| Board of the case (bottom), mm / city. | 8-14.5 mm |
| Feed housing, mm / city. | 6 mm |
| Bottom mm | 6 |
| Housing roof, mm | 6 |
| Armament | |
| Machine guns | 2 × 7.92 mm MG-34 or MG-42 |
| Machine gun ammunition | 2010 |
| Other weapons | 6 × 280 mm or 300 mm high-explosive fragmentation rockets or 6 × 320 mm incendiary rockets |
| Mobility | |
| Engine type | Maybach HL 42 TUKRM in-line 6- cylinder liquid-cooled carburetor |
| Engine power, l with. | 100 |
| Speed on the highway, km / h | 53 |
| Cruising on the highway , km | 300 |
| Wheel formula | half tracked |
| The overcome ditch, m | 2 |
| Fording , m | 0.5 |
Content
Device
Guides of high-power rockets of caliber 280 ( high-explosive fragmentation with a combat charge of about 50 kg), 300 (high-explosive fragmentation with a combat charge of 45 kg) and 320 mm ( incendiary tank with a petrol combustible mixture with a capacity of 50 l) were mounted on the chassis of the Sd Kfz armored personnel carrier 251 three on each side [1] . Guidance in the vertical plane was carried out by changing the angle of the guides, in the horizontal - by turning the entire installation. The shells were launched using an electric remote fuse from the installation cabin. As a rule, fire was fired in volleys with alternating high-explosive shells and incendiary shells in each. In the jargon of German soldiers, this installation was named Stuka zu Fuß (that is, “walking Ju 87 ”) and Heulende Kuh (“The mooing cow”) [2] .
Launchers were produced together with 13,555 four-shot stationary frame launchers SWs 40 and 41 for 280 and 320 mm rockets, 380 30 cm Raketenwerfer 56 and 348 28/32 cm Nebelwerfer 41 in 1941-1943, so far the number of their separate sources not found. It is also known that in the years 1940-1945 459 850 280 mm, 199 300 300 mm and 399 920 320 320 mm rockets were fired [1] .
Also in small quantities for the production of such self-propelled rocket mortars French captured Renault UE tankettes were used (armed with four missiles, while the guides were located on the sides in pairs or all aft) and Hotchkiss H35 tanks (armed with four missiles each with two missiles each). Similarly, the Germans equipped a number of captured American M3 armored personnel carriers [3] .
In popular culture
Bench Modeling
Wurfrahmen 40 is limitedly represented in bench modeling. Prefabricated plastic models of the Wurfrahmen 40 at a scale of 1:35 are produced by Tamiya ( Japan ) and Dragon ( China ). The prefabricated plastic model Wurfrahmen 40 based on Sd Kfz 251 (Sd Kfz 251 Ausf.D mit Wurfrahmen 40 "Stuka zu Fuß") at a scale of 1:35 and 1: 100 is produced by the Russian company Zvezda.
Computer Games
The Wurfrahmen 40, based on the Sd Kfz 251 semi-tracked transporter, is featured in RUSE's Real-Time Tactical Strategies Behind Enemy Lines: Assault 2, Blitzkrieg and Company of Heroes anthologies. In both games, the installation is presented as an extremely powerful MLRS, effective against manpower and fortifications. It should be noted that the representation of this installation in games does not correspond to its real effectiveness and characteristics.
Such an installation is found in the game Call of Duty 2 - so, in the first mission for the Red Army and in the American mission to capture Bergstein, they need to be destroyed by laying explosives on the body. Firing the installation in the game is not shown.
See also
- 15cm Panzerwerfer 42 Auf.Sf
- Mortar "Nebelwerfer"
- Mortar "Katyusha"
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 “Luke” and “Katyusha” versus “Vanyusha”. Technics and weapons №1 1995
- ↑ SdKfz251 on the WWII Vehicles website (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment August 4, 2011. Archived on October 19, 2015.
- ↑ M2 / M3 Wurframen
Sources
- This article is based on a translation of English and German Wikipedia articles.
- Website dedicated to the history of the Wehrmacht