Bazooka

For other meanings, see Bazooka (disambiguation)

The bazooka weapon was one of the initial anti-tank weapons based on the High Explosive Anti-tank (HEAT) shell to enter service, used by the United States Armed Forces in World War II and the Korean War. It was nicknamed "bazooka" from a vague resemblance to the musical instrument of the same name.

In addition to an actual bazooka, the word bazooka is often used to refer to all similar rocket weapons, such as Rocket propelled grenades (RPGs).

Development

The development of the Bazooka involved the development of two specific lines of technology: the rocket-powered (recoilless) weapon, and the shaped-charge warhead.

The development of the Rocket Powered Recoilless Weapon was the brainchild of Dr. Robert H. Goddard as a side project of his work on rocket propulsion. Goddard, during his tenure at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Clark University, and at Mount Wilson Observatory, devised a tube rocket for military use during World War I. He successfully demonstrated his tube-fired rocket to the US Army Signal Corps at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, on November 6, 1918, but the end of the war only five days later killed interest in the weapon. Goddard continued to be a part-time consultant to the US Government at Indian Head, Maryland, until 1923, but he then ceased all work on the project, and others picked up where he left off.

The explosive shaped charge dates back to the work of American physicist Charles Edward Munroe, who did the first practical work on the subject in 1880. This work was built on in the 1930s by Henry Mohaupt, a Swiss immigrant who worked on the idea for the War Department.

Mohaupt developed a shaped-charge hand grenade for anti-tank use that was effective at defeating up to 100 mm (4 in) of armor, by far the best such weapon in the world at the time. However, the M10 grenade weighed 3.5 lb (1.6 kg) and was difficult to throw and too heavy to function as a rifle grenade. The only practical way to use it was to place it directly on the tank. A smaller version of the M10, the M9, was developed which could be fired from a rifle. This resulted in the creation of the M1 (Springfield M-1903), M2 (Enfield M-1917) and the M7 and M8 for the M1 Rifle, and the M9A1 Grenade which was still Standard A.

Things changed when Army Colonel Leslie A. Skinner suggested placing the grenade on the front of the experimental rocket launcher he had developed with Navy Lieutenant Edward G. Uhl, a weapon looking for a role. Development took place in Corcoran Hall at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.. By late 1942, the Rocket Launcher, M1A1 was introduced. This consisted of a 54-inch-long (1.37 m) tube with a simple wooden stock and sights (replaced by metal in the production models), into which the 60.07 mm (designated 2.36-inch to avoid confusion with rounds for the 60 mm mortar) rocket grenades were inserted at the rear. A two-cell dry battery in the buttstock provided a charge to ignite the rocket when the trigger was pulled. The main drawback to the weapon was the large backblast and smoke trail which gave away the position of the shooter (compare to the British PIAT). The original models were not reinforced for bore-safety, and they added a ring basket at the breech and a deflector at the muzzle of developmental models to control the backblast.

The original model was equipped with a hinged rear sight and fixed front sights. These were followed by a peep rear sight and a front sight in the form of a rectangular frame at the muzzle of the launcher. The vertical sides of the frame carried graduations for ranges of 100, 200 and 300 yards. In the production models, these sights were replaced by an optical ring sight hinged to fold against the tube when not in use, and protected by a cover. It had an adjustable range scale that provided graduations from 50 to 700 yards (46 to 640 meters) in 50 yard increments. The final major changes were the division of the tube into two pieces with bayonet joints for airborne deployment. This changed the weapon specifications to a tube length of 55 inches (1.4 meter) and a weight of 14 lb (6.35 kg), the replacement of the battery with a magneto operated through the trigger, and a trigger safety that isolated the magneto to prevent the firing dud rounds when the trigger was released and the storage of a charge that would prematurely fire the next round.

The ammunition for the original M9 Launcher was the M6 Series, which finalized as the M6A3 that was 19.4 inches (49.28 cm) long, and weighed 3.38 lb (1.53 kg).

Secretly introduced in Operation Torch, it was highly effective, though inherently inaccurate at all but very close ranges. The Germans immediately copied it from captured weapons, to produce their own much larger version known as the Panzerschreck. It was the success of the Panzerschreck that caused the original bazooka to be reworked after the war to the larger 3.5-inch (88.9 mm) model that was identical in size and power to the German weapon.

Service

The original bazooka (2.36-inch) in its various models served in all theatres of the Second World War and later in the Korean War. After it proved inadequate against the Soviet T-34 tank (as poorly against German Tigers and Panthers), it was replaced with the M20 Super Bazooka (3.5-inch or 89 mm) model. The M20 was in turn supplanted by the LAW (Light anti-tank weapon) in the opening stages of the Vietnam War. Bazookas were replaced in some roles by 57 mm and 75 mm recoilless rifles in the last battles of WWII (1945).

Variants

Rocket Launcher, M1A1 "Bazooka"

*First issued July 1942.
*A1 addressed reliability issues with an improved electrical system.

Rocket Launcher, M9 "Bazooka"

*Improved model
*Supplanted M1A1 in 1943.

Rocket Launcher, M9A1 "Bazooka"

*Could be broken into two halves for easier carrying.
*Battery ignition replaced by trigger magneto.

Rocket Launcher, M20A1 "Super Bazooka"

*Larger 3.5 in (89 mm) diameter warhead.
*Could penetrate up to 200 mm of armor.
*Extended range of about 150 m.
*Entered service at start of Korean War

Rocket Launcher, M20A1B1 "Super Bazooka"

*Lightweight version with barrels made of cast aluminum, and other components simplified
*Used as a supplement to the M20A1

Specifications

M1A1

*Length: 50 in (137 cm)
*Caliber: 60 mm (2.36 in)
*Weight: 15 lb (6.8 kg)
*Warhead: M6A1 shaped charge (3.5 lb, 1.59 kg)
*Range
**Maximum: 400 yards
**Effective: 150 yards
*Crew: 2, operator and loader

M9A1

*Length: 61 in (1,550 mm)
*Caliber: 60 mm (2.36 in)
*Weight: 15.9 lb
*Warhead: M6A3/C shaped charge (3.5 lb)
*Range
**Maximum: 400–500 yards (350–450 m)
**Effective: 120 yards
*Crew: 2, operator and loader(M9) or 1, operator+loader(M9A1)

M20A1/A1B1

*Length (when assembled for firing): 60 in (1,524 mm)
*Caliber: 89 mm (3.5 in)
*Weight (Unloaded): M20A1: 14 lb (6.4 kg); M20A1B1: 13 lb (5.9 kg)
*Warhead: M28A2 HEAT (9 lb) or T127E3/M30 WP (8.96 lb)
*Range
**Maximum: 900 yd (823 m)
**Effective (Stationary Target/Moving Target): 300 yd (275 m)/200 yd (185 m)
*Crew: 2, operator and loader)

Bazooka: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents