Wurfrahmen 40
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The Wurfrahmen 40 (literally "launch frame 40") was a German World War II multiple rocket launcher. It combined a vehicle such as the SdKfz 251 halftrack or captured ex-French Renault UE Chenillette with rocket artillery to form a more mobile and slightly more protected artillery piece than the towed Nebelwerfer. It was nicknamed Stuka zu Fuss ("Stuka on Foot" or "Walking Stuka") and Heulende Kuh ("Bellowing Cow").[1]
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Wurfrahmen mounted on Sdkfz 251
Introduced in late 1940, the weapon system consisted of a framework with adjustable base plates fitted over and alongside a vehicle which could hold 300 mm high explosive (HE) rockets; 280 mm HE and 320 mm incendiary rockets were also used, the rockets themselves being fired while still in their loading crates. Although spin stabilized, the rockets were not as accurate as conventional artillery and reloading took a fair amount of time due to the heavy weight of the rockets themselves. As such, the rockets were ripple-fired in large numbers where feasible to quickly saturate a given target area. The Wurfrahmen 40 proved to be successful in service as a support weapon for the highly mobile Panzer formations, particularly in urban areas.
When used on the most common mounting, the Sd.Kfz. 251 halftrack, a frame with six base plates were used, with three on each side. The Chenillette UE employed either two per side or four frames on the rear. The Hotchkiss H35 mounting used two per side also. Some captured American M3 halftracks also mounted Wurfrahmen, with four frames at two per side.[2]
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