Unrotated Projector
Unrotated Projector (German Glattrohr-Werfer ) or Unrotated Projectile (German. Glattrohr-Raketen ), UP for short , refers to an anti-aircraft missile weapon system that was used by the Royal Navy during the Second World War .
history
In the late 1930s, the British lacked a medium anti-aircraft weapon to support the 2-pound anti-aircraft gun . The UP Mark I was a small missile that was designed for this purpose and was used on many large ships of the Royal Navy during World War II.
technology
“Unrotated” meant the tube that, as a smooth tube, did not give the rocket any twist when it was launched . Each launcher consisted of 20 tubes, usually ten of which were fired at the same time. Cordite was used to ignite the 76.2 mm rocket motor , which fired a 178 mm wing-stabilized warhead about 330 m. The warhead contained the 238 g explosive charge, which slowly sank to the ground on 120 m long cables with three parachutes. The idea behind this was that an aircraft that touched the cable should throw the explosive device against its own fuselage. The rockets were stored in the launcher ready to fire. The sinking of the HMS Hood showed that these missiles were highly flammable.
Demarcation
Strictly speaking, the UP rocket launcher was not an anti-aircraft missile , as the rocket motor was only used to raise the warhead and parachute into the air. An anti-aircraft missile, on the other hand, controls the flying object directly in some way in order to fight it with a warhead.
commitment
As an anti-aircraft weapon system, the UP launchers proved to be ineffective because it took too long to focus on the target and the explosive devices could easily be flown around. Furthermore, reloading took a long time, and there was a risk that the explosive devices would drift towards your own ship in unfavorable wind conditions. For these reasons, the weapon system was replaced by anti-aircraft cannons on all remaining ships before the end of World War II .
Technical specifications
- Type: unguided anti-aircraft missile
- Warhead: Air mine on parachutes with 238 g of explosives
- Range (horizontal): 910 m
- Descent rate of the air mine: 5–7 m / s
- Length: 813 mm
- Drive diameter: 178 mm
- Warhead diameter: 762 mm
- Total weight: 4000 kg (20-shot launcher complete)
