M1 Rocket Launcher "Bazooka"

"Bazooka" is a term commonly applied to a series of recoilless launchers used by the US military during WW2 and the Korean War. It was a slang term adopted by the GIs based on the device's resemblance to a comedy 'instrument' popularized by Radio Comedian Bob Burns in the 1930s & 1940s.
Today the term is often used by the general public as a generic term for any tube-like rocket launcher; this cannot exactly be called incorrect, since "Bazooka" was only ever a nickname for the original weapon, but on this site it should only be used to refer to this particular series of launchers.
Bazooka rockets are often depicted with burning engines and smoke trails in fiction, which is incorrect: the rocket motor burns out while the projectile is still inside the launch tube, except for early-production rockets at extremely cold temperatures where it may still be burning for a short time on exit. Later rockets used a new propellant, Blastless Bazooka Propellant (BBP) that eliminated temperature-related burn time issues.
The following weapons are in the M1 Series of Rocket Launchers:
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==M1 "Bazooka" (2.36" Rocket)==
* First model adopted from Captain Edward Uhl's prototype anti tank grenade and Colonel Leslie Skinner's rocket design. First used in combat in 1942, on the Russian Front via lend-lease and by American forces during Operation Torch in November 1942.
* Had two pistol grips (one with trigger) and a shoulder step which contained the battery.
* Contact box located on top of the tube just back from the shoulder rest is only present on this variant.
* 18 lbs unloaded weight, 54in tube.
* Introduced in June 1942, used until August 1943 when replaced by the M1A1 variant. 
* Used M6 HEAT round: no other Bazooka can fire this original rocket design due to one of its contacts being on the nose, and the M1 could not fire any later rocket without modification.
* Not particularly popular due to the unreliable M6 rocket, use of substandard steel for production expediency rendering tubes prone to rupturing on hot days when the rocket propellant would burn extremely quickly, and lack of a bore gauge for launch tube production, resulting in tubes with very poor dimensional tolerances: frequent accidents involving rockets getting stuck in the tube and exploding: these issues were compounded by US troops in Operation Torch having received little or no instruction in the use of the weapon. Issuing of the M1 was suspended in May 1943.
* THe warhead consisted of a eight ounce charge of Pentolite high explosive with a mild steel cone liner, penetrating roughly 3in (76mm) RHA.
===Television===
Title 	Actor	Character	Note 	Air Date
Mail Call	 	 	Season 1	2002-2009
=== Video Games ===
Title 	Appears as 	Mods	Notation 	Date
Time Crisis 	 	 	Unusable, incorrectly shown as fired continuously	1995
Medal of Honor 	 	 	Only seen in Beta versions 	1999
Hidden & Dangerous 	 	 	 	1999
Deadly Dozen 	 	 	 	2001
Deadly Dozen Pacific Theater 	 	 	 	2002
Battlefield: 1942 	 	 	 	2002
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault 	 	 	 	2002
Medal of Honor: European Assault	"M1 Bazooka"	 	 	2005
Company of Heroes 	"Bazooka" 	 	 	2006
Forgotten Hope 2 	 	 	 	2007
Project Reality: Normandy 	"Bazooka" 	 	 	2013
Far East War 	"Bazooka" 	 	 	2013
Enlisted 	 	 	M1 "Bazooka" 	2021
==M1A1 "Bazooka" (2.36" Rocket)==
* Fully introduced in August 1943, with small numbers issued in July. First used during the invasion of Sicily in July-August 1943
* Replaced "On/Off" switch with the 'ready' light
* Removed second pistol grip
* Rear section of the launch tube wrapped with 0.5 in steel wire to prevent ruptures on hot days.
* Wire wrapping required reworked electrical system and redesigned rocket: instead of the top-mounted contact box that created a connection to a brass ring on the rocket's nose, a wire was stowed in the tailfin of the rocket and connected to a contact clip at the rear of the launcher by the loader prior to firing. This means the wire on this launcher goes from the shoulder rest to the back of the tube, rather than up to the contact box as on the M1.
* Unloaded weight 13.26 lbs
* Added optional wire blast shield in front for cold weather use. Not particularly effective and largely ignored by troops: later a more effective solid cone was developed.
* Optional solid blast cone in back to replace wired cone.
* Improved M6A1 rocket with shortened propellant sticks to reduce overpressure, original M6 rockets modified to A1 standard were known as "M6A2" rocket.
* Many original production M1s were upgraded to the A1 standard
* Later issued with a larger battery, and after complaints of it getting stuck inside the shoulder rest, were re-reamed to better accommodate it
The M1 series of Rocket Launcher can be seen in the following films, TV series, anime, and video games used by the following actors:
=== Film ===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note 	Date
The Story of G.I. Joe 	 	U.S. Army soldier 	 	1945
A Walk In The Sun 	 	U.S. Army soldiers 	 	1945
Saving Private Ryan 	Matt Damon 	Pvt. James F. Ryan 	 	1998
Saving Private Ryan 	Tom Sizemore 	Sgt. Mike Horvath 	 	1998
Saving Private Ryan 	 	U.S. Army soldiers 	 	1998
We Were Soldiers 	 	A Viet Minh soldier 	With modified rear sight	2002
Windtalkers 	Christian Slater	Sgt. Pete "Ox" Anderson	 	2002
Windtalkers 	 	U.S. Marines 	 	2002
The Great Raid 	Clayne Crawford 	PFC Aldridge 	 	2005
The Great Raid 	Sam Worthington 	PFC Luca 	 	2005
Red and White (Merah Putih)	 	Dutch soldier 	 	2009
Hacksaw Ridge 	Vince Vaughn 	Sergeant Howell 	 	2016
Hacksaw Ridge 	 	US Army soldiers 	 	2016
=== Television ===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note 	Air Date
Band of Brothers	Nolan Hemmings 	Sgt. Charles E. "Chuck" Grant	Ep. "Replacements"	2001
Band of Brothers	Stephen Martin Walters	John McGrath 	Ep. "Carentan" 	2001
Band of Brothers	Rick Warden 	Lt. Harry Welsh 	Ep. "Carentan" 	2001
Band of Brothers	Bart Ruspoli 	Pvt. Ed Tipper 	Ep. "Carentan" 	2001
Mail Call 	 	Season 1 	 	2002-2009
The Pacific 	Dylan Young 	PFC Jay De L'Eau 	 	2010
The Pacific 	Karl Cottee 	Cpl. Pegg 	 	2010
Parer's War 	 	US Marines 	 	2014
=== Video Games ===
Title 	Appears as 	Mods	Notation 	Date
Day of Defeat: Source 	 	 	 	2005
Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 	 	 	Can be reloaded by teammate 	2006
Forgotten Hope 2 	 	 	 	2007
7554 	"Bazooka" 	 	 	2011
7554 	"Vietnamese Bazooka"	 	 	2011
Enemy Front 	"BAZOOKA" 	 	 	2014
Heroes & Generals 	"Bazooka M1A1" 	 	 	2016
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades	 	 	 	2016
Day of Infamy 	"Bazooka" 	 	Can use White Phosphorous rockets 	2017
Squad 44: Letters From The Front 	 	 	Introduced with Day of Days update	2018
Enlisted 	 	 	 	2021
=== Anime ===
Title 	Characters 	Notation 	Date
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure	Rudol von Stroheim	S1E26, "The Ascendant One"	2012
Lycoris Recoil 	N/A 	Appears on a movie poster.	2022
==M9 "Bazooka" (2.36" Rocket)==
* Introduced in October 1943 and replaced the M1A1 in production, operating alongside it in the field
* Battery ignition (which had proved unreliable in wet weather and caused many complaints about life and availability of batteries in the field) replaced by Magnavox T6 trigger magneto
* Wooden furnishings replaced with metal and plastic
* 64in tube length meant rockets would completely expend their fuel inside the launcher regardless of weather
* Used improved M6A3 HEAT rocket and M10 Bursting Smoke (WP) rocket. M6A3 had a blunt, rounded nose rather than the pointed nose of earlier rockets, which had been found to deflect off sloped tank armor, and also had a short cylindrical fixed tailfin which was less prone to bending during transport or rough handling. Both rounds could be fired from the earlier M1A1 model as well.
* M6A3 reshaped the ogive, shortening the fuze function time and thus improving penetration to around 4 inches (100mm) of RHA.
* Early production used General Electric T43 folding bar sight, later replaced by Polaroid T90 optical reflex sight
* Could be disassembled into two halves for easier carrying.
* Unloaded weight 15.14 lbs
* Forward blast cone added.
=== Film ===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note 	Date
The Battle of the Rails (La bataille du rail)	 	French Resistance fighters	 	1946
Halls of Montezuma 	 	US Marines 	 	1951
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms 	 	US National Guards 	Jeep mounted 	1953
Fire and Ice (Le combat dans l'île) 	Jean-Louis Trintignant	Clément Lesser 	 	1962
Fire and Ice (Le combat dans l'île) 	Pierre Asso 	Serge 	 	1962
Fire and Ice (Le combat dans l'île) 	Romy Schneider 	Anne 	 	1962
20 Million Miles to Earth 	William Hopper 	Colonel William Calder 	 	1957
20 Million Miles to Earth 	 	Italian soldiers 	 	1957
Is Paris Burning? 	Anthony Perkins 	Sgt. Warren 	 	1996
Is Paris Burning? 	Skip Ward 	Pvt. Charlie 	 	1996
Shock Troops (Un homme de trop) 	Claude Brasseur 	Groubec 	 	1967
Pasha (Le Pacha) 	Dominique Zardi 	Horst Weiss 	 	1968
Mr. Freedom 	 	Freedom agent 	 	1969
The Brain 	 	 	Seen in Frankie's weapon case	1969
She No Longer Talks She Shoots 	 	The policeman 	 	1972
Judge Fayard Called the Sheriff 	Marcel Bozzuffi 	Joanno aka "Captain" 	 	1977
Wheels of Fire 	 	Scourge's Men 	 	1985
Man on Fire 	 	 	Seen in Sandri's hideout 	1987
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor 	 	Chinese soldiers 	 	2008
===Television===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note 	Air Date
Rat Patrol 	Justin Tarr 	Pvt. Tully Pettigrew 	Ep. "The Kill at Koorlea Raid" 	1966-1968
The A-Team 	Dwight Schultz	H. M. Murdock 	Ep. "Where's The Monster When You Need Him?"	1983 - 1987
The A-Team 	 	The henchmen 	Ep. "The Island" 	1983 - 1987
The A-Team 	 	U.S. Army soldiers 	Ep. "The Sound of Thunder" 	1983 - 1987
The A-Team 	 	Revolutionaries 	Ep. "The Theory Of Revolution" 	1983 - 1987
Band of Brothers	Nolan Hemmings	Sgt. Charles E. "Chuck" Grant	Ep. "Points" 	2001
===Animation===
Title 	Character 	Notation	Date
The Adventures of Tintin	Captain Haddock	 	2011
=== Video Games ===
Title 	Appears as 	Mods 	Notation 	Date
Medal of Honor 	 	 	 	1999
World War II Online: Battleground Europe	 	 	 	2001-2012
Hidden & Dangerous 2 	"M1 Bazooka"	 	 	2003
Medal of Honor: European Assault 	"M9 Bazooka"	 	 	2005
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One 	"Bazooka" 	 	 	2005
Medal of Honor: Vanguard 	"M9 Bazooka"	 	 	2007
Company of Heroes 2 	 	With a mounted foregrip	Added with The Western Front Front Armies (2014)	2013
==M9A1 "Bazooka" (2.36" Rocket)==
* Introduced in September 1944 replacing the M9
* Improved coupling mechanism for the two-part launch tube
* T90 optical reflex sight
* Unloaded weight 15.87 lbs
* Short-lived M18 variant had an aluminium alloy barrel reducing weight to 10.6 lbs. Introduced in April 1945 but production ended at the end of the war with only 500 units produced: 350 saw combat use in the Philippines and on Okinawa. Some sources conflate or confuse this variant with the M18 Recoilless Rifle, which entered service the same year and was referred to as a Bazooka by soldiers due to its vaguely similar shape.
=== Film ===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note	Date
When Trumpets Fade	Frank Whaley	Chamberlain	 	1998
=== Video Games ===
Title 	Appears as 	Mods	Notation 	Date
Medal of Honor 	 	 	 	1999
Medal of Honor: Underground 	 	 	Multiplayer Only 	2000
Medal of Honor: Frontline 	 	 	 	2002
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun 	"M9A1 Bazooka"	 	 	2003
Call of Duty 	 	 	 	2003
Call of Duty 3 	 	 	 	2006
Forgotten Hope 2 	 	 	 	2007
Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 	"M9A1 Bazooka"	 	Added with the 2022 update v11.0.0	2008
Call of Duty: World at War 	 	 	 	2008
Call of Duty: World at War - Final Fronts	"Bazooka" 	 	 	2008
Squad 44: Letters From The Front 	 	 	 	2018
Heroes & Generals 	 	 	with folding bar sight 	2019
Enlisted 	 	 	 	2021
==M20 "Super Bazooka" (3.5" Rocket)==
* Development began in October 1944 as it was realized that further development of 2.36" rockets might not keep up with German armor advances, resulting in the development of the T74 launcher and T80 rocket in 3.5" caliber (89mm) 
* Standardized as the M20 Rocket launcher shorty after Victory Over Japan Day in September 1945 Designated as M20 in late 1944, with the T80E2 rocket being standardized as the M28. 
* Issue restarted when US forces in Korea encountered North Korean T-34/85 tanks their M9A1s, which were using ammunition that had degraded in storage, could not damage even with repeated shots at the engine compartments (particularly Task Force Smith during the Battle of Osan).
* Used new ammunition: M28 HEAT (about 10.5-11 inches [266-280mm] penetration depending on source), M30 WP smoke
* Usable range was extended by an additional 150 meters.
* Weight 14.3 pounds (6.5kg), 60in tube length.
=== Film ===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note 	Date
The Steel Helmet 	Richard Loo 	Sgt. “Buddha Head” Tanaka 	 	1951
War of the Worlds, The (1953) 	 	U.S.Army soldiers and Marines	 	1953
Them! 	 	U.S.Army soldiers 	 	1954
To Hell and Back 	 	U.S.Army soldier 	anachronistic	1955
Pork Chop Hill 	 	U.S. Army soldiers 	 	1959
Reptilicus 	Carl Ottosen	Gen. Mark Grayson 	 	1961
The Longest Day 	 	U.S.Army soldier 	 	1963
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? 	 	US Army soldiers 	anachronistic	1966
The Devil's Brigade 	 	US Army soldier 	anachronistic	1968
The Conspiracy (Le complot) 	Simón Andreu	Baudry 	 	1973
The Conspiracy (Le complot) 	 	OAS fighters 	 	1973
The Eagle Has Landed 	Jeff Conaway	Lt. Frazier 	anachronistic	1976
The Eagle Has Landed 	 	U.S. Army Rangers 	anachronistic	1976
Code Name: Wild Geese 	 	General Khan's soldiers 	 	1984
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah 	 	American troops 	Replica 	1991
Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth	 	JGSDF personnel 	 	1992
The General's Daughter 	 	 	 	1999
Tae Guk Gi 	 	South Korean soldiers 	 	2004
Sahara 	 	Tuareg tribesmen 	 	2005
=== Television ===
Title 	Actor	Character 	Note 	Air Date
Viper 	 	Vigilante gang leader	Ep. "Turf Wars"	1996-1999
Sanctuary	 	U.S. Airborne soldier	Ep. "Normandy" 	2011
=== Video Games ===
Title 	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Date
Project Reality: Falklands	 	 	 	2012
Project Reality: Vietnam 	 	 	 	2012
=== Anime ===
Title 	Characters 	Notation	Date
Hyper Police	Naoko Kondo	 	1997
=== Animation ===
Title 	Characters 	Notation	Date
The Iron Giant	U.S. Army soldiers	 	1999
==M20B1 "Super Bazooka" (3.5" Rocket)==
* Lighter weight version - made of cast aluminum.
* Used as a supplement to the M20
=== Film ===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note	Date
Them! 	James Whitmore	Trooper Sgt. Ben Peterson	 	1954
71: Into the Fire	Seung-woo Kim 	Captain Kang Suk-Dae 	 	2010
=== Anime ===
Title 	Characters 	Notation	Date
Mad Bull 34	N.Y.P.D. S.W.A.T. officer	 	1990
===Television===
Title 	Actor	Character 	Note	Air Date
On Wings of Eagles	 	Revolutionary	 	1986
==M20A1/A1B1 "Super Bazooka" (3.5" Rocket)==
* Final US-produced Bazooka model.
* Entered production in 1952 - issued to troops after end of Korean War
* Improved connector latch assembly.
* New M28A2 rocket issued with improved contact ring that replaced the need to connect igniter wires.
* Standard AT weapon at the start of the Vietnam War, phased out in favor of first the M67 recoilless rifle and then the M72 LAW for AT use in the 1960s.
=== Film ===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note 	Date
A Hill in Korea 	Michael Medwin 	Pte. Docker 	 	1956
A Hill in Korea 	Victor Maddern 	Pte. Lindop 	 	1956
OSS 117: Mission for a Killer (Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117) 	 	Brazilian soldiers 	 	1965
Vigilante Force 	Kris Kristofferson	Aaron Arnold 	 	1976
Vigilante Force 	Shelly Novack 	D.O. Viner 	 	1976
Black List (Liste noire) 	 	Gang members 	 	1984
Born on the Fourth of July 	 	A US marine 	 	1989
Weather Is Good on Deribasovskaya, It Rains Again on Brighton Beach	Mikhail Kokshenov 	Kravchuk 	 	1992
Cyber Tracker 	 	A rebel 	Visually modified 	1994
Operation Chromite 	 	North Korean soldier and US Marines	anachronistic appearance	2016
=== Television ===
Title 	Actor	Character 	Note	Date
The Company	 	Cuban freedom fighters	 	2007
=== Anime ===
Title 	Characters	Notation	Date
Kochikame, The UFO Movie	 	 	
===Video Games===
Title 	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Date
Indiana Jones and The Infernal Machine	 	 	 	1999
Resident Evil Survivor 	 	 	 	2000
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==Instalaza M65 Rocket Launcher==
* Spanish Upgrade of the M20 Bazooka with new ignition system produced by Instalaza. Fired CHM65 HEAT, MB66 Dual-Purpose and FIM66 smoke rounds.
===Film===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note	Date
Battle of the Bulge 	Charles Bronson	Wolenski 	 	1965
Lost Command 	 	Algerians 	 	1966
From Hell to Victory	George Hamilton	Maurice Bernard 	 	1979
From Hell to Victory	 	US Army soldiers	 	1979
== See also ==
*Panzerschreck (The German copy of the M1 Bazooka)
*PIAT (British equivalent)
Category:Gun
Category:Missile Launcher