15cm Panzerwerfer 42 auf Maultier

Photo from Tech Intel

One of the most terrifying artillery weapons developed by the Germans during World War II was the Nebelwerfer. Each Nebelwerfer battery was comprised of several tubes (7 or 10 being the most common) which allowed the firing of an equal number of rocket-propelled projectiles. Individually, a Nebelwerfer was not as effective as a comparably-sized artillery piece because the projectiles were somewhat inaccurate. However, if used in quantity, saturation of an area was possible, and the piercing sound of the rocket motors was incredibly demoralizing to the enemy. The Soviets and Americans developed similar systems for their own use.

Like all towed artillery, the Germans ultimately opted to make as much of it self-propelled as possible. This was epescially imperative for Nebelwerfer batteries as the rocket-projectiles left extermely conspicuous smoke trails. The ten tubed Nebelwerfer 42 was developed specifically to create a self-propelled version of the weapon on the Opel Maultier halftrack. Each halftrack carried 20 of the projectiles (enough for two full firings).

Model by Thomas Hartwig

• Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War II
• Tech Intel Volume 1

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