21 cm Nebelwerfer 42

The jet mortar consisted of five barrels, which were transported on a gun carriage of the Pak 35/36 gun. Ahead was a manual stabilizer-blocker that worked during firing and did not allow the gun to fall. For firing, 21 cm Wurfgranate rockets were used, rotating in flight, launched from an electric discharge. The rocket nozzles, located at an angle to the axis of the body of the projectile, ensured the rotation of the rocket, stabilizing its flight ^[1] After the shot, the rockets fired a large amount of smoke and dust, which greatly unmasked the position of the mortar. Missiles were launched one at a small interval. ^[2] The launch time of all 5 shells was 8 seconds. The shells did not have any high aerodynamics, and the accuracy left much to be desired. On average, 50% of the shells hit the 500 rectangle by 130 meters. ^[3]

Wehrmacht

In 1942-1945, 1,487 launchers of 21 cm Nb.W.42 and 402,600 210-mm Wfr rockets were produced. Gr. 21 ( Wurframmen Granate 21 ) ^[4] .

In the Luftwaffe

In 1943, the rocket launcher was specially converted for use in the Luftwaffe . The shells used in the shooting were called Wfr. Gr. 21 or BR 21 ( Bordrakete 21 ) ^[5] .

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters, which were most often armed with such missile launchers, were designed to counter the Allied strategic bombing : direct striking at bombers or distracting them with missile salvos, thereby opening up the possibilities for attacks by other Luftwaffe fighters. Single installations were placed on Messerschmitt Bf.109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters, and double installations (one under each wing) on Messerschmitt Bf.110 . According to official documents, on July 29, 1943, fighters of the 1st and 11th fighter squadrons entered battle near Kiel and Warnemuende . According to military photographers, Hungarian pilots at the controls of the Messerschmitt Me.210 also participated in the battle, and under the wings of these heavy fighters there were not two, but three jet mortars ^{[6] [7]} . The US military called the 21-cm rockets "flaming baseballs" ( flaming baseballs ) - at night the rocket resembled a fireball.

It was expected that these missiles would become the main weapon in the fight against large formations of bombers, however, due to the low accuracy of fire , and hence the low accuracy of hits, Dodel missiles did not play any noticeable role in the fight against bombers.

Some heavy fighters like Messerschmitt Me.410 were also equipped with four Wfr rocket launchers. Gr. 21 modeled after Messerschmitt Bf. 110 , ^[8] . And one of them was equipped with six mortars, two of which were placed under the nose of the aircraft. The barrels, directed at an angle of 15 °, could rotate, and rockets were fired so as not to damage the propeller of the aircraft. ^[9] . The test flight took place on February 3, 1944, but the plane exploded in the air as a result of an attempt to fire ^[10] .
A similar attempt to install a jet mortar on the Heinkel He 177 bomber (it was planned to install 33 guides at a 60 ° angle) was also unsuccessful - only once, from a distance of two kilometers, he unsuccessfully attacked US bombers, and cover fighters completely shot him down.

• Englemann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliderung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz . Limburg / Lahn, Germany: CA Starke, 1974
• Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945 . New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
• Kameradschaft der ABC-Abwehr, Nebel- und Werfertruppen eV Die Nebel- und Werfertruppe (Regimentsbögen) . 2001

• Lexikon der Wehrmacht on Nebelwerfers (German)
• YouTube: archival footage of Nebelwerfer participating in battle
• U.S. Intelligence Report on German Rocketless Guns and Missile Launches (March 1945 )
• Luftwaffe manual for using the Werfer-Granate 21 model on the FW-190 fighter (German)