The ''Nebelwurfgerät'' was a

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

mounted launcher used to disperse the ''Schnellnebelkerze'' 39

smoke grenade Smoke grenades used at demonstrations in Paris, 2008 upBritish L83A1 Smoke Grenade manufactured in May 2008. This grenade has already been used. A smoke grenade is a canister-type grenade used as a signaling device, target or landing zone mark ...

. It was typically found on

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine ...

from 1942 through 1943.

Operation

The ''Nebelwurfgerät'' was mounted in two sets of three, one on each forward side wall of the turret with each launcher being in

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...

by in

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...

. The uppermost launcher tubes were oriented forward and angled slightly outwards while the middle and lower tubes were set on a progressively lower elevation but increasing angle. Six smoke grenades were carried, one in each launcher tube. They were ejected out of each tube by Zündschraube C 23

primer Primer may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth * ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour Literature * Primer (textbook), a t ...

which was

electrically Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

fired from six

push-button A push-button (also spelled pushbutton) or simply button is a simple switch mechanism to control some aspect of a machine or a process. Buttons are typically made out of hard material, usually plastic or metal. The surface is usually flat or sh ...

s labeled ''Nebelkerzen'', these buttons being grouped in two sets of three, located in the turret to the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

and

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

of the commander's position and forward of his

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

. No

spare Spare or Spares may refer to: Common meanings * Spare (bowling), a term for knocking down all the pins using two bowling balls * short for spare part ** Spare tire People * Austin Osman Spare (1886–1956), English artist and occultist * Richard ...

smoke grenades, primers or launcher tubes were carried. Starting in August 1942, Wegmann prepared turrets for installation by

welding Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Welding is distinct from lower ...

mounting brackets to the turret sides and

drilling Drilling is a cutting process where a drill bit is spun to cut a hole of circular cross-section in solid materials. The drill bit is usually a rotary cutting tool, often multi-point. The bit is pressed against the work-piece and rotated at ra ...

holes for the wiring so that the troops could mount the device by themselves. Complete ''Nebelwurfgerät'' were mounted by the assembly plants starting in October 1942. During a reported action in February 1943, enemy

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

fire had inadvertently set off the smoke grenades inside their launcher tubes resulting in the temporary blinding and incapacitation of the tank crew. Because of this

hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability * mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg giv ...

, the ''Nebelwurfgerät'' was no longer mounted after June 1943 and this device was eventually supplanted by the ''

Nahverteidigungswaffe The ''Nahverteidigungswaffe'' was a roof mounted, breech-loaded, single shot, multi-purpose, 360 ° rotating grenade launcher that could fire a variety of ammunition. It was typically found on German tanks such as the Panzer IV, Panther I, Ti ...

''.

Gallery

Image:Sd.Kfz 234-2 side view.jpg,

Sd.Kfz. 234 The Sd.Kfz. 234 (''List of Sd.Kfz. designations, Sonderkraftfahrzeug 234'', Special Purpose Vehicle 234), was a family of Armored car (military), armoured cars designed and built in Nazi Germany, Germany during World War II. The vehicles were li ...

equipped with the ''Nebelwurfgerät'' Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-090-3915-18A, Russland, Soldat im Panzerturm.jpg, Panzer II "Luchs" tank equipped with the ''Nebelwurfgerät'' Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-219-0595-20, Russland-Mitte-Süd, Panzer III in Fahrt.jpg,

Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight oth ...

tank equipped with the ''Nebelwurfgerät'' behind the ''Schürzen'' Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-308-0799Q-11A, Italien, Panzer III, Tarnung.jpg, Panzer III tank equipped with the Nebelwurfgerät. Image:Sd.Kfz 142-1.jpg, StuG III assault gun equipped with the ''Nebelwurfgerät'' Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1969-105-05, Krieg im Osten, Nachschub.jpg, StuG III assault gun equipped with the ''Nebelwurfgerät'' Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-175-1264-06, Griechenland, Transport von Panzer IV mit Eisenbahn.jpg,

Panzer IV The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panze ...

tank equipped with the ''Nebelwurfgerät'' Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-175-1266-05A, Griechenland, Panzer IV.jpg, Panzer IV tank equipped with the ''Nebelwurfgerät'' Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-175-1268-06A, Griechenland, Panzer IV.jpg, Panzer IV tank equipped with the ''Nebelwurfgerät'' Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-087-3675A-18A, Russland, Panzer IV.jpg, Panzer IV tank equipped with the Nebelwurfgerät behind the ''Schürzen''. Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-618-3945-20A.jpg,

Panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

Tiger I The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...

tanks equipped with the Nebelwurfgerät. Image:Sd.Kfz 181.jpg, Tiger I tank equipped with the Nebelwurfgerät.

Notes

References

* * * * * *

External links

*http://tiger1.info/EN/Smoke-grenades.html *http://www.tigertank181.com/53_Gun_and_ammunition.htm *http://panther1944.de/index.php/en/sdkfz-171-pzkpfwg-panther/technik/nebelkerzen-wurfgeraet {{mil-vehicle-stub World War II weapons of Germany Armoured fighting vehicle equipment Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942

Operation

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

External links