Charge thrower
A charge launcher is a grenade weapon that fires grenades in a steep flight path.
In contrast to the mortar and its ammunition, the rear part of the fired grenades is hollow and they are fired not from a barrel but from a rod. The grenade is placed on this so-called "stick", the orientation of which determines the intended direction when fired. A wing control stabilized the flying grenade. Because the projectiles were not restricted by a fixed launch tube diameter, different calibers could be used as required.
These grenade weapons were developed in Germany in the late 1930s; From 1940 onwards, during World War II , they were used by the pioneer units of the German Wehrmacht to combat bunkers and minefields. There was a light 20 cm charge launcher and a heavy 38 cm charge launcher.
The British anti -submarine weapon Hedgehog and the anti-tank weapon PIAT use the same principle.
Wehrmacht cargo thrower
20 cm load launcher
- Bullet diameter: 200 mm
- Pole diameter: 90 mm
- Weight: 93 kg
- Muzzle velocity: 88 m / s
- Firing range: 710 m
38 cm load launcher
- Bullet diameter: 380 mm
- Pole diameter: 170 mm
- Weight: 1658 kg
- Muzzle velocity: 102 m / s
- Firing range: 1000 m
literature
- Fritz Hahn: Weapons and Secret Weapons of the German Army 1933-1945. Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 1992, ISBN 3-7637-5915-8 .