Bazooka
From Freepedia
- For other meanings, see Bazooka (disambiguation)
The bazooka weapon was one of the first anti-tank weapons based on the 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 (see: bazooka (instrument)).
In addition to an actual bazooka, the word bazooka is often used to refer to all shoulder mounted tube weapons such as RPGs.
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Development
The development of the Bazooka involved the development of two specific lines of technology: the rocket powered (recoiless) weapon, and the shaped charge weapon.
The development of the Rocket Powered Recoiless Weapon was the brainchild of Robert H. Goddard as a side development of his work on space flight. Dr. 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 the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland on November 10, 1918, but the abrupt end of the war the next day killed interest in the weapon. Dr. 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 shaped charge explosive dates back to the work of American physicist Charles E. Monroe, who did the first practical work on the subject in 1880. This work was built on in the 1930s by Henri 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. In any practical sense the only way to really 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.
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 4 ft (1.2 m) tube with a simple wooden stock and sights, into which the 60 mm (designated 2.36-inch to avoid confusion with rounds for the 60 mm mortar) rocket grenades were inserted at the rear. A flashlight-type 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.
Secretly introduced in the late 1942 invasion of Northwest Africa, 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 to the larger 3.5" 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, 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
M1A1 "Bazooka"
- First issued July 1942.
- A1 addressed reliability issues with an improved electrical system.
M9 "Bazooka"
- Improved model
- Supplanted M1A1 in 1943.
M9A1 "Bazooka"
- Could be broken into two halves for easier carrying.
- Battery ignition replaced by trigger magneto.
M20A1 "Super Bazooka"
- Larger 3.5 in (89 mm) diameter warhead.
- Could penetrate over 200 mm of armor.
- Extended range of about 150 m.
- Entered service at start of Korean War
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: 54 in
- Caliber: 60 mm (2.36 in)
- Weight: 15 lb (6.8 kg)
- Warhead: M6A1 shaped charge (3.5 lb)
- Range
- Maximum: ?
- Effective: ?
- Crew: 2, operator and loader
M9A1
- Length: 61 in (1,550 mm)
- Caliber: 60 mm (2.36 in)
- Weight: 15.8 lb
- Warhead: M6A3/C shaped charge (3.5 lb)
- Range
- Maximum: 400–500 yards (350–450 m)
- Effective: 120 yards (110 m)
- Crew: 2, operator and loader(M9) or 1, operator+loader(M9A1)
M20A1/A1B1
- Length (when assembled for firing): 60 in (1,524 mm)
- Caliber: 89mm (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)
See also
- Rocket propelled grenade
- PIAT - similar weapon of WW2
- Gary's U.S. Infantry Weapons Reference Guide: M20 3.5 Inch Rocket Launcher
| United States infantry weapons of World War II and Korea |
|---|
| Side-arms |
| Colt/Browning M1911 .45 |
| Rifles & carbines |
| M1903 Springfield | M1 Garand | M1 Carbine | M1941 Johnson | Browning Automatic Rifle |
| Submachine guns |
| Thompson SMG ("Tommy Gun") | M3 "Grease gun" | Reising SMG |
| Machine-guns & other larger weapons |
| Browning M1917 | Browning M1919 | Johnson LMG | M2 HMG | Bazooka | M2 flamethrower |
