Grenade launcher 42
| Grenade launcher 42 | |
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | Grenade launcher 42 |
| Manufacturer country: | German Empire |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | First machine factory in Brno |
| Production time: | 1942 to 1945 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Pipe length: | 1.86 m |
| Caliber : |
120 mm |
| Caliber length : | L / 15.5 |
| Cadence : | 8-10 rounds / min |
| Elevation range: | + 45 ° - +84 degrees |
| Side straightening area: | 8 ° -17 ° |
The Grenade Launcher 42 was a heavy grenade launcher used by the German Wehrmacht during World War II .
Development and production
The grenade launcher 42 was an almost detailed copy of the Soviet regimental mortar 120 mm Polkovoi Minomjot obr. 1938 (120 PM-38) . Since the Wehrmacht did not have a heavy grenade launcher at the beginning of the war against the Soviet Union , it was simply copied. The manufacturer was the First Brno Arms Factory in Brno . The production price was 1200 RM .
ammunition
The Grenade Launcher 42 could fire German and Soviet high explosive shells with a projectile weight of 15.6 kilograms.
commitment
Introduced into the army in 1942, the grenade launcher 42 partially replaced the 15 cm heavy infantry gun 33 , as the grenade launcher was cheaper and faster to manufacture and also required fewer soldiers to operate. The disadvantages compared to the 15 cm infantry gun 33, such as not being able to shoot flat fire, were accepted.
From 1943, there were also independent heavy grenade launcher battalions for the purpose of establishing a focus that were equipped with this weapon. These had twelve grenade launchers in their three companies (4 per grenade launcher platoon). In July 1943 there were heavy grenade launcher battalions 5, 9, 10, 18 and 19.
Captured Soviet grenade launchers were taken over into the army under the designation 12 cm grenade launcher 378 (r) (r for Russian).
References
literature
- Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Weapons 1939-1945 , Motorbuchverlag, ISBN 3-613-02481-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain, p. 298.
- ↑ a b Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain, p. 302.
- ↑ Leo Niehorster : GERMAN WORLD WAR II ORGANIZATIONAL SERIES, Volume 5 / II, HIGHER HEADQUARTERS AND MECHANIZED GHQ UNITS (July 4, 1943). P. 58 , accessed on December 29, 2019 (English).