The Rocket Launcher T34 (Calliope) was a tank-mounted

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

used by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

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 ...

. The launcher was placed atop the

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...

, 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 In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muse ...

, 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 75 mm gun using an arm. This arm was connected to the rack via a pivoting joint and clamped to the gun with a split ring. This allowed the missile launcher to follow the same elevation and depression arc of +25 to -12 degrees. Each rocket was armed with a 4.5 inch (114 mm) fin-stabilized projectile armed with high-explosives that had the same explosive yield as a 105 mm howitzer, and had a maximum range of 4,100 yards (4 km). The range was increased to 5,250 yards (5 km)^{hen? How?/sup>. The rockets were fired electronically using cables that were inserted through the commander's hatch. The 75 mm main gun could not be fired once the rocket launcher had been attached. This caused the tank crews to modify the launcher's installation in the field, thereby allowing the main gun to fire, albeit at a reduced elevation for the launcher. Later models of the launcher also had flame deflectors to help prevent rocket exhaust from entering the engine compartment.
* Rocket Launcher T34E1 (Calliope) – Same as the ''T34'' but groups of 12 jettisonable tubes replaced by groups of 14 tubes.
* Rocket Launcher T34E2 (Calliope) – Caliber of rockets increased from 4.5 in (114 mm) to 7.2 in (183 mm), number of tubes remained at 60. Saw combat in 1944–1945.

Service history

Although Calliopes were originally manufactured before D-Day and were envisioned for bunker-busting duties on the beaches, the proposal was dropped due to the tank's high center of gravity which made its transportation unsteady. Thirty M4s of the 743rd Tank Battalion had the T34 launchers installed to assist a planned push by the 30th Infantry Division in December 1944. The German Ardennes offensive

The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
stopped this plan, and the launchers were subsequently removed and not reinstalled on tanks until February 1945 with General Patton's army. In March 1945, when Patton's army was pushing through the 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 ...
in western Germany, the launchers did manage to see some usage in armored divisions.

In 1945, it was used in various actions by the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 12th, and 14th armored divisions.The General Board, United States forces, European Theater. (1945) ''Armored Special Equipment,'' P. 41-42 https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/documents/carl/eto/eto-052.pdf Although seeing limited action, it was effective as a weapon for psychological warfare

Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and M ...
. The noise generated by launches was sometimes enough to scare enemy soldiers.

See also

* Katyusha – Soviet truck-mounted rocket launcher
* List of U.S. Army rocket launchers by model number
* MAR-240 – Israeli side-looking launcher for thirty-six 240 mm rockets in place of the turret
* Matilda "Hedgehog" – Australian armored fighting vehicle using 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 ...
s
* Mattress – British multiple 3-inch rocket launcher used by Canadian troops
* Sherman Tulip – British Sherman with two "60 lb" 3-inch rockets mounted on turret
*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 4 ...
– German 15 cm "Nebelwerfer

The Nebelwerfer (smoke mortar) was a World War II German series of weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht's "smoke troops" (''Nebeltruppen''). Initially, two different mortars were fielded before they were replace ...
" barrage rocket system, on an armored half-track or its likely replacement
*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 v ...
– a similar turret-mount MRL launcher for the Sherman, with larger calibre (183 mm) projectiles

References

Sources

* Hunting, David. ''The New Weapons of the World Encyclopedia''. New York City: Diagram Visual Information Ltd., 2007.
*Nash, Mark (January 27, 2018). "Rocket Launcher T34 'Calliope'". ''Online Tank Museum''.
* Green, Michael. ''American Tanks and AFVs of World War II''. Osprey Publishing, 2014,

External links

Military Factory articleTech Manual TM 9-394 4.5-inch Rocket Materiel for Ground Use

{{WWIIAmericanAFVs

Self-propelled artillery of the United States
World War II self-propelled artillery
Self-propelled rocket launchers
World War II artillery of the United States
Multiple rocket launchers of the United States
M4 Sherman tanks
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1944
Tracked self-propelled rocket launchers}