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GERMAN EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE - BOMBS, BOMB FUZES, ROCKET, LAND MINES, GRENADES AND IGNITER |
Chapter 3 |
GERMAN ROCKETS |
7.3-cm PROPAGANDAGRANATE 41 |
DATA: |
Weight (without leaflets): 7 pounds 3 ounces. |
Length Over-all: 16.1 inches. |
Weight of the Propellant: 1 pound 1 ounces. |
Weight of Propellant Unit: 3 pounds. |
Maximum Diameter: 2.85 inches. |
DESCRIPTION. The projectile consists of two steel tubes, screwed into a central joint. The lower tube contains the rocket motor and the upper tube serves as a container for the leaflets. The projectile is spin stabilized and is fired from the Propagandawerfer, which is a single launching tube. (See fig. 204.) |
The rocket motor is formed by the lower tube and a screwed-on base plug. The base plug has 12 venturi set in 2 rings; those in the inner ring are straight and those in the outer ring are offset. A copper percussion cap is located centrally in the base of the plug. |
The propellant consists of a cylindrical stick with nine longitudinal drillings. One of these is central, and the other eight are in a ring around the central drilling. An ignition charge is located in a holder at the forward end of the propellant. This is fired by the flash the per-cussion cap passing up the central hole of the propellant. |
The upper tube is the leaflet container and it is closed by a bakelite cap. The leaflets are contained within a cylinder split longitudinally and are wrapped around a steel spring which is kept under compression. Below the leaflets, one bakelite washer and two card-board washers, is the bursting charge, in-corporating a delay train which is fired by the heat from the ignition charge for the propellant. |
OPERATION. The operation of this projectile is very simple. When the heat from the ig-nition charge ignites the bursting charge, the contents of the upper tube are ejected; as the split cylinder emerges, it falls apart and allows the compres-sed spring to scatter the leaflets packed around it. |
Figure 204 – 7.3-cm Propaganda Rocket |
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