page_title: 21 cm Nebelwerfer 42
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: 21 cm Nebelwerfer 42 / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: 21 cm Wurfgranate 42
context_page_description: The 21 cm Nebelwerfer 42 was a German multiple rocket launcher used in the Second World War. It served with units of the Nebeltruppen, the German equivalent of the American Chemical Corps. Just as the Chemical Corps had responsibility for poison gas and smoke weapons that were used instead to deliver high-explosives during the war so did the Nebeltruppen. The name "Nebelwerfer" is best translated as "smoke-thrower". It saw service from 1942–45 in all theaters except Norway. It was adapted for aerial combat by the Luftwaffe in 1943.
context_section_description: The 21 cm NbW 42 was a five-barreled multiple rocket launcher mounted on the towed carriage derived from that of the 3.7 cm PaK 36 anti-tank gun. A pivoting stabilising jack was added to the front of the carriage to steady the launcher when firing.
  The 21 cm Wurfgranate (thrower-shell) 42 rockets were spin-stabilized, electrically-fired and had only high-explosive warheads. The rocket nozzle assembly contained 22 orifices evenly spaced around the rim of the nozzle with the orifices set an angle of 16° from the axis of the rocket to give the rocket clockwise rotation.  The rockets had a prominent exhaust trail that kicked up a substantial amount of dust and debris, so the crew had to seek shelter before firing. This meant that they were easily located and had to relocate quickly to avoid counter-battery fire. The rockets were fired one at a time, in a timed ripple, but the launcher had no capability to fire single rockets. The rockets could be fitted with either impact or delay fuses as necessary. Liner rails could be fitted to allow the launcher to use 15 cm Wurfgranate 41 rockets with their HE, smoke and poison gas warheads.
  The individual rockets were 1.26 metres (4 ft 2 in) long and weighed 109.55 kilograms (241.5 lb). Their high-explosive warhead weighed 10.17 kilograms (22.4 lb). They had a muzzle velocity of 320 m/s (1,000 ft/s) which gave them a range of 7,850 metres (8,580 yd). Despite the improved aerodynamics of the Wgr. 42 rocket over the 15 cm Wgr. 41 it proved to have similar dispersion problems; notably an area 500 metres (550 yd) long and 130 metres (140 yd) wide because of uneven burning of its propellant.
caption: 21 cm Wurfgranate 42
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