The 30 cm Wurfkörper 42 Spreng was an unguided spin-stabilized

artillery rocket Rocket artillery is artillery that uses rocket (weapon), rockets as the projectile. The use of rocket artillery dates back to medieval China where devices such as fire arrows were used (albeit mostly as a Psychological warfare, psychological weapo ...

developed by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and used by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Design

The 30 cm Wurfkörper 42 Spreng was conceptually similar to earlier rockets such as the ''15 cm Wurfgranate 41'' ''Spreng'', ''21 cm Wurfgranate 42 Spreng'', ''28 cm Wurfkörper 42 Spreng'', and ''32 cm Wurfkörper M F1 50''. The rocket was fired electrically and the main difference was the 30 cm Wurfkörper had a higher payload to weight ratio, better aerodynamic efficiency, and its launch signature was smaller than earlier rockets. Since the new rocket produced less smoke and flame than earlier rockets it improved crew survivability by reducing their susceptibility to

counter-battery fire Counter-battery fire (sometimes called counter-fire) is a battlefield tactic employed to defeat the enemy's indirect fire elements ( multiple rocket launchers, artillery and mortars), including their target acquisition, as well as their command ...

. The warhead of the 30 cm Wurfkörper 42 Spreng was ovoid in shape and internally threaded for a nose fuze and filled with either

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

or incendiary mixture. The motor section consists of a threaded tubular section which screws into the warhead. The tail of the tube was threaded and a circular plate with eighteen venturis screwed into the tube. The venturis were drilled at a 12° 42' angle and the exhaust gasses spin stabilized the projectile. The motor was composed of seven sticks of solid-rocket fuel composed of nitrocellulose and diglycol dinitrate weighing which was suspended from an internal grid. The center stick contains a length of

quick match In pyrotechnics, black match is a type of crude fuse, constructed of cotton string fibers intimately coated with a dried black powder slurry. When black match is confined in a paper tube, called quick match or piped match, the flame front propag ...

in a celluloid tube and ignites the six outer propellant sticks. The motor is essentially a scaled up 15 cm Wurfgranate 41.

Deployment

There were a number of different launch platforms for the 30 cm Wurfkörper including: * Wurfrahmen 40 - The simplest launcher was the Wurframen which was a wooden packing crate with short legs at the front that allowed the frame to be elevated and fired. A number of frames could also be stacked on wood or metal scaffolds and fired in succession. These crates could also be attached to

half-tracks A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. A half-track combines the soft-ground traction of a tank with the handling ...

and

tanks A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; t ...

to be used as

self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

. Warships and even

submarines A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or info ...

were considered as launch vehicles. * 30 cm Nebelwerfer 42 - The Nebelwerfer 42 was a simple six-barrelled

multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple rocket launcher, launchers which are fixed to a single weapons platform, platform, and shoots its rocket (weapon ...

which consisted of a tubular steel frame mounted on a two-wheeled carriage. * 30 cm Raketenwerfer 56 - The Raketenwerfer 56 was a simple six-barrelled multiple-rocket launcher which consisted of a tubular steel frame mounted on a two-wheeled carriage which replaced the earlier Nebelwerfer 42.

Photo Gallery

File:30 cm Wurfkorper 42 Spreng1.jpg, A schematic motor components. File:Mémorial du Souvenir 17 - Schweres Wurfgerät 41.jpg, The 30 cm Wurfkörper used a similar crate as this 32 cm rocket. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-696-0426-10, Warschauer Aufstand, Raketenwerfer-Einsatz.jpg, Multiple frames could be fired from scaffolds like these. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-216-0417-09, Russland, schwerer Wurfrahmen an Schützenpanzer.jpg, Multiple frames could also be fitted to a variety of vehicles. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-278-0888-27, Russland, Raketenwerfer.jpg, A six-barrelled 30 cm Nebelwerfer 42 rocket launcher. File:30cmRaketenwerfer56.jpg, A six-barrelled 30 cm Raketenwerfer 56 rocket launcher.

References

{{Reflist World War II weapons of Germany Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1943