The 8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43 (Puppchen) was an efficient anti-tank weapon used by the German Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) and the Army's infantry during World War II. The German word 'Raketen' means rocket, and 'werfer' thrower. The rocket was fitted with a shaped-charge warhead to perforate an enemy tank steel plate. The 88-mm-caliber launcher tube was reusable and it looked like a small cannon as it was mounted on two wheels. According to the Bundeswehrarchiv, 3,250 anti-tank, wheeled rocket launchers had been produced by December 1944.
Description
The 8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43 was nicknamed the Puppchen (dolly) by the German troops. It was introduced into service with the Fallschirmjäger in July 1943 as it was easy to transport and to drop by parachute. The launcher tube was mounted on a cradle set up on a two-wheeled carriage. It had no recoil mechanism and it was fitted with a simple breech. It was even equipped with a shield. Once in position, the wheels could be removed to lower the silhouette. However, since it was rather complex to build and use, it would be replaced by a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon: the Panzerschreck, which was lighter to carry around and cheaper to produce.
Where the Puppchen differed from real artillery pieces was that it had no recoil mechanism and the round it fired was not a shell but a rocket with an armor-piercing warhead. The recoil forces produced by firing the rocket were absorbed by the weight of the carriage alone. The aimer could point the launcher tube by using a twin-handled grip and looking along the barrel. The weapon had a maximum effective range of 700 m (766 yards).
Specifications
Type: anti-tank rocket launcher
Caliber: 88-mm (3.46-inch)
Ammunition: rocket with shaped-charge warhead
Weight: 146-kg (322-lb)
Barrel Length: 1.60 m (5 feet, 3 inches)
Overall Length: 2.87 m (9 feet, 5 inches)
Elevation: -18 to +15 degrees
Traverse: 60 degrees
Max. Range: 700 m (766 yards)
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| Above, the 8.8-cm Raketenwerfer being examined by two American soldiers. |
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| A British officer inspects the Puppchen breech mechanism in Tunisia in late 1943. |