The following U.S. military report on WWII German rocket weapons was originally published in Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 18, Feb. 11, 1943. [DISCLAIMER: The following text is taken from the U.S. War Department publication Tactical and Technical Trends. As with all wartime intelligence information, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. No attempt has been made to update or correct the text. Any views or opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the website.]

GERMAN ROCKET WEAPONS There has been considerable speculation on German rocket weapons. While there is no doubt as to the existence of such weapons (it is thought that they have been used on the Russian Front), not a great deal is known as to how they are used or how effective they may be. The Germans have tried to surround this type of weapon with the maximum of secrecy and horror. However, according to the reported opinion of a senior Russian officer who had encountered them, the Russians apparently feel that they are not an effective weapon. German rocket weapons have already been discussed in Tactical and Technical Trends. For purposes of convenience, brief mention is made below of all German rocket weapons so far reported. There are two main types of rocket weapon, one of which is fired from a frame (see this publication No. 8, p. 28) and the other from a six-barrelled rocket projector (see this publication No. 10, p. 23 and No. 17, p. 38). The frame type reportedly exists in three models: a wooden frame, a steel frame, and a frame carried on the side of an armored personnel carrier. All are used to fire the same rocket projectile. There are also three models of the six-barrelled projector: 150-mm, 210-mm, and 280-mm. The 280-mm projector fires the same projectiles as those fired from the frames; it is reportedly six-barrelled, but this has not been confirmed. The German nomenclature of these weapons is as follows: Frame Type Schweres Wurfgerät 40 (wooden) Schweres Wurfgerät 41 (steel) Schwerer Wurfrahmen 40 (on armored personnel carrier) Projector Type 15-cm Nebelwerfer 41 (six barrels) 21-cm Nebelwerfer 42 (six barrels) 28/32-cm Nebelwerfer 41 (believed to be six barrels)

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