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T34 Calliope
The Rocket Launcher T34 (Calliope) was a tank-mounted multiple rocket launcher used by the United States Army during World War II. The launcher was placed atop the M4 Sherman, with its prominent vertical side frames anchored to the turret's sides, and fired a barrage of 4.5 in (114 mm) M8 rockets from 60 launch tubes. It was developed in 1943; small numbers were produced and were used by various US armor units in 1944–45. Its name comes from the calliope, a musical instrument also known as a steam organ, which has similar parallel or clustered pipes. Variants * Rocket Launcher T34 (Calliope) – Version carrying 60 4.5 in (114 mm) rockets in arrangement of a group of 36 tubes on the top, and a pair jettisonable groups of 12 tubes (24 tubes of jettisonable groups) on the bottom. A large support beam bolted to the left and right turret cheeks supported the weapon placed one meter above the turret. The rack was physically connected to the barrel of the M4's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in population apart from Bremen. Saarbrücken is the state capital and largest city; other cities include Neunkirchen and Saarlouis. Saarland is mainly surrounded by the department of Moselle ( Grand Est) in France to the west and south and the neighboring state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany to the north and east; it also shares a small border about long with the canton of Remich in Luxembourg to the northwest. Saarland was established in 1920 after World War I as the Territory of the Saar Basin, occupied and governed by France under a League of Nations mandate. The heavily industrialized region was economically valuable, due to the wealth of its coal deposits and location on the border between France and German ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
T40 Whizbang
The 7.2-inch Multiple Rocket Launcher T40/M17 ''Whizbang'' (sometimes spelled ''Whiz-Bang'' or ''Whiz Bang'') was a tank-mounted multiple rocket launcher used by the United States Army during World War II. The launcher was mounted atop 75mm variants of the M4 Sherman, and fired a barrage of rockets from 20 launch tubes. It was developed and used in the late stages of the war, and saw limited combat in 1944–45. Design The T40/M17 Whizbang could hold twenty 7.2-inch rockets in two racks of ten rockets each, housed in a box-like frame protected by hydraulically operated doors. These doors protected the rockets from enemy fire, reflecting that it was designed to be used at a close range. The launcher could be aimed by elevating the tank's main gun, and had two firing modes, enabling the operator to fire a single rocket, or a salvo of rockets at a selected rate of fire. After expending all the rockets, the operator could easily jettison the empty launcher by turning the turret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper
The ''Schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper'' (sWS; "Heavy Military Tractor") was a German World War II half-track vehicle used in various roles between 1943 and 1945. The unarmored models were used as supply vehicles and as tractors to haul artillery. Armored versions mounted anti-aircraft guns or a 10 barrel rocket launcher (''Nebelwerfer''). Fewer than a thousand were built before the end of the war, but production continued after the war of an improved model in the Tatra plant in Czechoslovakia. History On 7 May 1942 Hitler ordered development of a simple, low-speed, half-track, load-carrying vehicle for use on the Eastern Front. Büssing-NAG was selected to develop a new tractor (''Zgkw. 5t neuer Art'') to replace the earlier 5 tonne Sd.Kfz. 6 and Sd.Kfz. 11 half-tracks, as well as the various lesser-known vehicles of the same class. Production started in December 1943 at Büssing-NAG. Early examples used a truck-like, unarmored cabin similar to the earlier half-tracks it replaced, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nebelwerfer
The Nebelwerfer (smoke mortar) was a World War II Nazi Germany, German series of weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the German Army (Wehrmacht), Wehrmacht's "smoke troops" (''Nebeltruppen''). Initially, two different mortars were fielded before they were replaced by a variety of rocket launchers ranging in size from . The thin walls of the rockets had the great advantage of allowing much larger quantities of gases, fluids or high explosives to be delivered than artillery or even mortar shells of the same weight. With the exception of the Balkans Campaign (World War II), Balkans Campaign, ''Nebelwerfer'' were used in every campaign of the German Army during World War II. A version of the 21 cm calibre system was adapted Werfer-Granate 21, for air-to-air use against Allied bombers. Weapons 10 cm Nebelwerfer 35 The lower muzzle velocity of a mortar meant that its shell walls could be thinner than those of artillery shells, and it could carry a larger pay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzerwerfer
The German ''Panzerwerfer'' refers to either of two different types of half-tracked multiple rocket launchers employed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. The two self-propelled artillery vehicles are the ''15 cm Panzerwerfer 42 auf Selbstfahrlafette Sd.Kfz.4/1'' (based on the Opel ''Maultier'', or "mule", half-track) and ''15 cm Panzerwerfer 42 auf Schwerer Wehrmachtsschlepper'' (or ''Panzerwerfer auf SWS''). Development The Panzerwerfer 42 auf Maultier, Sd.Kfz. 4/1, first went into production in April 1943, and was produced until March 1945. Hitler called for production of the vehicle in January 1942, and the vehicle saw its first tests on the Eastern Front in fall of 1943. Opel was the main manufacturer, producing most of the components, including the 3.6 liter, 6 cylinder Adam Opel engine, which had 68 horsepower and an 80-liter fuel capacity. Throughout the three years it was produced, 300 Panzerwerfer and 289 of its variant, the ''Munitionskraftwag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RP-3
The RP-3 (from Rocket Projectile 3 inch) was a British air to ground rocket projectile introduced during the Second World War. The "3 inch" designation referred to the nominal diameter of the rocket motor tube. The use of a warhead gave rise to the alternative name of the "60-pound rocket". Though primarily an air-to-ground weapon, it saw limited use in other roles. They were generally used by British fighter-bomber aircraft against targets such as tanks, trains, motor transport and buildings, as well as by Coastal Command and Royal Navy aircraft against U-boats and ships. Use continued post-war, with the last known major operational use being during the Aden Emergency in 1964, where Hawker Hunters flew 642 sorties and fired 2,508 RP-3s in support of Radforce. Use continued until the withdrawal from Aden in November 1967, at which point the RP-3 was withdrawn from service in favour of the newer SNEB. Concerned about the possibility of shipboard radar setting off the SNEB's elect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lend-Lease Sherman Tanks
The United States provided tens of thousands of its Medium Tank M4, also named the Sherman, to many of its Allies during the Second World War, under the terms of Lend-Lease. International distribution This chart shows Lend-Lease shipments to major recipients through 1 September 1945; subsequent transfers between countries within theaters of operations (i.e., from the United Kingdom to Poland or Canada, or the United States to Free France or China) after initial shipment are not included. British nomenclature The British received far more M4 medium tanks, 17,181 (roughly 34% of all M4s produced), than any other Allied nation. The British practice of naming American tanks after American Civil War generals was continued, giving it the name General Sherman after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, usually shortened to Sherman. The US later adopted the name and the practice of naming tanks after generals. In the British naming system, the major variants were identified by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mattress (rocket)
Mattress was the term applied to ground-based British-devised multiple rocket launchers during World War II. Compared with the German and Soviet counterparts (the ''Nebelwerfer'' and '' Katyusha'' launchers respectively), the western Allies deployed these weapons late in the war. Nevertheless, they did see useful service as artillery support during the crossings of the Rhine and the Scheldt rivers. Sea Mattress The first multiple rocket launch system developed by the British was designed to be deployed on warships and landing craft and fired in support of troops in a landing action. The rockets were 5-inch cordite sticks and the launching system, known as a "mattress projector", was capable of projecting a salvo of 16 to 30 rockets in around 45 seconds. The weapon was also known as the "Stickleback". For naval assault on beaches, the specially-outfitted Landing Craft Tank (Rocket) - LCT(R) was devised, each of which carried over a thousand rockets intended to be fired en masse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spigot Mortar
A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. They launch explosive shells (technically called bombs) in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition. History Mortars have been used for hundreds of years. The earliest mortars were used in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the ''wan'gu'' (gourd-shaped mortar) (완구, 碗口). The earliest version of the ''wan'gu'' dates back to 1407. Choi Hae-san (최해산, 崔海山) (1380–1443), the son of Choe Mu-seon (최무선, 崔茂宣) (1325–1395), is generally credited with inventing the ''wan'gu''. In the Ming dynasty, general Qi Jiguang recorded the use of a mini cannon called the Hu dun pao that was simi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matilda II
The Infantry Tank Mark II, best known as the Matilda, was a British infantry tank of the Second World War.Jentz, p. 11. The design began as the A12 specification in 1936, as a gun-armed counterpart to the first British infantry tank, the machine gun armed, two-man A11 Infantry Tank Mark I. The Mark I was also known as Matilda, and the larger A12 was initially known as the Matilda II or Matilda senior. The Mark I was abandoned in 1940, and from then on the A12 was almost always known simply as "the Matilda". With its heavy armour, the Matilda II was an excellent infantry support tank but with somewhat limited speed and armament. It was the only British tank to serve from the start of the war to its end, although it is particularly associated with the North Africa Campaign. Only two were available for service by the outbreak of the World War II in 1939. It was replaced in front-line service by the lighter and less costly Infantry Tank Mk III Valentine beginning in late 1941. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
