German Wurfrahmen 40 rocket launcher mounted on an Sd.Kfz 251/1 II armored personnel carrier chassis fires at Polish rebels in the Old Town during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.
Eastern Front of Germany during World War II in Europe.
The Wurfrahmen 40 is a German heavy self-propelled multiple rocket launcher system from World War II.
The guides of high-power rocket projectiles of calibers 280 (high-explosive fragmentation with a combat charge of about 50 kg), 300 (high-explosive fragmentation with a combat charge of 45 kg) and 320 mm (incendiary projectile with a gasoline combustible mixture with a capacity of 50 liters) were mounted on the chassis of the Sd Kfz 251 armored personnel carrier, three on each side. Guidance in the vertical plane was carried out by changing the angle of inclination of the guides, in the horizontal plane – by rotating the entire installation. The projectiles were launched using an electric remote fuse from the installation’s cabin. As a rule, the fire was carried out in volleys, alternating high-explosive fragmentation shells and incendiary shells in each. In the jargon of German soldiers, this installation was called Stuka zu Fuß (that is, “Walking Stuka”) and Heulende Kuh (“Bellowing Cow”).
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Time when the photo was taken: September 1944