This article was first published on the WeChat public account "Tank Zero Distance", and the article is reprinted with permission "Tank Space Station"
UP is a personal columnist and an unofficial who updates articles in Toutiao
World of Tanks: Type 42 rocket launcher
Hello fellow commanders, I'm Anabel and Cardo. This issue is the third installment of the "World of Tanks Scrap Project", and it is interesting that WOT actually made a lot of scrap tanks in the early days, which are basically historical real cars or designs, but they were not added to WOT for various reasons. In today's issue, I will take a look at Germany's "big killer" Type 42 rocket launcher, which has 10 tubes of 150 mm caliber heavy rockets, which have caused heavy casualties to the Allies.
The official rendering of the Type 42 rocket launcher
The Type 42 rocket launcher in World of Tanks was first revealed in 2014, and the artists at the WG tank crew created art for it. However, the car's secrecy level is high, and no screenshots and test images of the actual car have been leaked. The reason why this car never made it into the game is simple: at the time, the WG tank crew didn't think about how to balance this MLRS, and it wasn't until last year's Extreme Fire mode that a test gun was made that players could accept. The birth of the Type 42 rocket artillery is inseparable from the German army's understanding of rocket artillery, the German army values the range, single shot power and long-range accuracy of rockets, and hopes to hit the enemy at a long distance like a barreled artillery, so it mainly develops heavy rockets.
The 150mm rocket being launched is extremely powerful
The diameter of the rockets fired by the Type 42 rocket launcher is actually 158 mm, and the Germans call it 150 mm caliber for convenience. The rockets were ordinary grenades and smoke grenades, the grenade weighed 31.2 kg and had a charge of 2.5 kg of TNT. 35.9 kg smoke grenade with 3.9 kg smoke agent inside. The rocket propulsion engine is in the middle of the missile body, and the warhead is at the end of the missile body, which is to make the warhead explode in the air and kill the target lying on the ground more effectively.
The gas ejected by the rocket engine is ejected from 26 nozzles that open diagonally in the middle of the projectile, causing the projectile to rotate and fly out of the launch tube, which helps to improve stability, and the initial velocity of the rocket is 342 m/s. The 10 canisters are divided into two rows and can fire all 10 rockets in 5 seconds.
The Type 42 rocket launcher was used as a half-track transporter of the Sd.kfz.3 type, which had a lot of basic chassis, such as the Opel Lightning truck. After converting its rear wheels to a tracked version, the Sd.kfz.3 received the nickname "Mule". Welding armor plates to the hull of the "mule" and carrying rocket launchers on the back became Sd.kfz.4/1.
This guy can also reach a maximum speed of 40 km/h, there are 3 or 4 crew members in the car, the commander and driver are in the cab, and 1-2 rocket artillery operators sit in the cabin, directly under the rocket launcher. A total of 300 Type 42 rocket launchers were produced, and German field observers reported that the rocket launchers performed better than ordinary body-barreled guns when suppressing large areas, and could cover a larger area.
It's a shame I didn't join WOT
There are really a lot of "scrapped" tanks in WOT, which is completely enough for everyone to see. Now it seems that the biggest problem with these "scrapped bills" is that they were raised too early, and factors such as "balance" or "office politics" must also have an impact, which is really a pity. I'm Anabel and Cardo, always looking out for the vital interests of our players. If you like my car reviews, please also share the publicity so that more commanders can go home.
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