8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43

8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43
The 8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43 and its ammunition being inspected by Allied troops.
Type	Anti-tank rocket launcher
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1943–45
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
No. built	3000
Specifications
Mass	315 lbs
Length	2.972 m
Width	1.016 m
Height	0.899 m
Crew	2
Caliber	88 mm
Muzzle velocity	140 m/s
Effective firing range	350 m
Maximum firing range	750 m

The 8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43 (German: "Püppchen" = "dolly") was an 88 mm calibre reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by Nazi Germany during World War II.

It was given to infantry to bolster their anti-tank capability. The weapon was fired from a small two-wheeled gun carriage which fired a rocket-propelled, fin-stabilized grenade with a shaped charge warhead, similar to the grenade of the Panzerschreck but not the same. Approximately 3,000 units were completed from 1943 to 1945. It was made in much smaller numbers than either the Panzerschreck, which was based on the American Bazooka, or the Panzerfaust, which was a disposable recoilless rifle firing an anti-tank grenade. This is partly because it was realized that a simple hollow tube with an ignition device was all that was needed to launch the 88 mm rocket, rather than an elaborate miniature artillery piece with carriage and breech. Due to the carriage and better sights, the accuracy was better, and the range more than double that of the Panzerschreck.

See also

• Shoulder-launched missile weapon
• List of common World War II infantry weapons

External links

• http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/rocket/index.html
• http://vincesgallery.smugmug.com/gallery/1331090#62773580