Panzerwerfer 42

The Panzerwerfer 42 was a German Rocket Artillery vehicle used in WWII to terrifying effect. While it did not sway the tide of the conflict, the vehicle earned a hated reputation among allied soldiers for its ability to saturate an area with explosive doom. It was functionally a half track with a Nebelwerfer Rocket Artillery system strapped to it.

Mid War

Die Statisken

IRL

The concept of Rocket artillery was hardly new in the Second World War. Historically rockets had been used to screw with enemy morale, and as far back as Medieval China they were being used en masse. However, they somewhat fell out of vogue due to proper artillery being far more reliable, easy to train on, and accurate.

The real modern era of "dumb rockets" did not really start to take flight until the 30s and 40s, pioneered somewhat by the Germans. This is where the Nebelwerfer enters the stage. See, the Germans decided they wanted a lighter way to deliver poison gas if the previous war repeated itself, so entered the advantage of Rocket artillery! Far less heavy compared to traditional artillery, the weapon was designed to fire poison gas, smoke, and traditional HE rockets. The gas never ended up being used, but the system worked well enough and scared the crap out of the Allies.

Then someone got the bright idea of "Hey, lets make this even more mobile!" This is where the Panzerwerfer 42 enters the stage: older Opel Half Tracks, these things had some extra armor added, mounted the launcher, and moved up to the front in the name of racism. Some were lucky enough to mount Machine Guns, though others didn't have them due to the intended purpose being to be nowhere near enemy infantry.

Panzerwerfers were deployed primarily for their psychological effects against enemy infantry, though the rockets were nothing to snort at. after all, do you want to be at the receiving end of a 150mm dumb rocket that screams like a Howling Banshee?

The Panzerwerfer was yet another example of Germany paving the way forward, as armoured rocket launchers of the type pioneered by the Panzerwerfer would continue to see service and be further developed, including what could be considered the Panzerwerfer's grandson the M270 MLRS and the now infamous HIMARS.