| 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 15 cm NbW 41 Screaming Mimi Moaning Minnie Ишак (Ishak) Ванюша (Vanyusha) | |
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| General Historical Information | |
| Place of origin: | Germany |
| Category: | Rocket Launcher |
| Used by: |
Germany |
| Debut in FHSW: | Debut in FH mod |
| Passengers: | 1 |
| Calibre: | 15 cm |
| Ammunition: | 15cm Wurfgranate Spr. HE missiles |
| Elevation: | +13° 30' to +45° |
| Traverse: | 22° 30' |
| Rate of Fire: | 6 rpm |
| Mobile: | Panzerwerfer 42 auf SWS |
| Used by vehicles / ships: | Fa 223 "Drache" |
| Position 1: | Gunner |
| Historical Picture | |
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One of the frightening artillery the Allieds meet during the war are the rocket launchers. One of them was the 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 (abbreviated as 15 cm NbW 41) nicknamed "Screaming Mimi" and "Moaning Minnie". Rocket development had begun during the 1920s and reached fruition in the late Thirties. These offered the opportunity for the Nebeltruppen to deliver large quantities of poison gas or smoke simultaneously. The first weapon to be delivered to the troops was the 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 in 1940, after the Battle of France, a purpose-designed rocket with gas, smoke and high-explosive warheads. It, like virtually all German rocket designs, was spin-stabilized to increase accuracy. One very unusual feature was that the rocket motor was in the front, the exhaust venturi being about two-thirds down the body from the nose, with the intent to optimize the blast effect of the rocket as the warhead would still be above the ground when it detonated. This proved to greatly complicate manufacture for not much extra effect and it was not copied on later rocket designs. It was fired from a six-tube launcher mounted on a towed carriage adapted
Five active 15 cm NbW 41's from an distance. The enormous cloud of smoke developed during firing betray his position.
from that used by the 3.7 cm PaK 36. The 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 use the 15cm Wurfgranate Spr. High-Explosive missiles. Each missile weights 31.8 kg included 2.5 kg TNT and can reach a range off 6,900 metres with a rate of fire off 6 rpm. A disadvantage of the Nebelwerfer was the enormous cloud of smoke was developed during firing, what betray his possitie. Almost five and a half million 15 cm rockets and six thousand launchers were manufactured over the course of the war. It was used on vehicles such like the Panzerwerfer 42 auf Schwerer Wehrmachtsschlepper.
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