The Wurfrahmen 40 ("launch frame 40") was a German World War II multiple rocket launcher. It combined a vehicle such as the Sd.Kfz. 251 halftrack or captured French Renault UE Chenillette with rocket artillery to form a more mobile and protected artillery piece than the towed Nebelwerfer. It was nicknamed Stuka zu Fuss ("Stuka on Foot" or "Walking Stuka") and Heulende Kuh ("Bellowing Cow").

Introduced in late 1940, the weapon system was a framework with adjustable base plates fitted over and alongside a vehicle which could hold 300 mm high explosive (HE) rockets; 280 mm HE and 320 mm incendiary rockets were also used, the rockets being fired while in their loading crates. Although spin stabilized, the rockets were not as accurate as conventional artillery, and reloading was time-consuming due to their weight. Where feasible, rockets were ripple-fired in large numbers to quickly saturate a target. The system was successful as a support weapon for mobile Panzer formations, particularly in urban areas.

When used on the common mounting, the Sd.Kfz. 251 halftrack, a frame with six base plates were used, with three on each side. The Chenillette UE employed either two per side or four frames on the rear. The Hotchkiss H35 mounting used two per side also. Some captured American M3 halftracks also mounted Wurfrahmen, with four frames at two per side

Shown here is a 1:72 scale replica of a German Sd.Kfz. 251/2 Ausf.D Half Track with Wurfrahmen 40 Rocket Launchers painted in field grey. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 3-inches
Width: 1-inch

Release Date: April 2023

Historical Account: "Rockets Red Glare" - The Wurfrahmen 40 mounted six 280mm (11 inch) Wurf-Korper 42 Sprenger, or 300mm (11.8 inch) 280mm Wurf-Korper-Sprenger high explosive rockets or 320mm (12.5 inch) Wurf-Korper Flamm incendiary rockets. While the Hanomag SdKfz 251/1 was the most common vehicle, these rockets were also mounted on captured French Renault UE Chenillette (two or four rockets) and Char leger modele 1935 H (Hotchkiss H35) light tank (two rockets). The rockets came mounted in shipping crates; you can see the empty mounting bracket in this view. The rockets were simply bolted onto the half track sides and fired. Later versions came in a steel frame.

While not as accurate as tubed artillery, massed concentrations of Wurfrahmen rocket launchers simultaneously releasing high explosive had a demoralizing and devastating effect on Allied forces. The long column of smoke that pointed back to the launcher meant that the vehicle had to evacuate soon after firing to avoid counter-battery fire. The Wurfrahmen and the later Nebelwerfer towed rocket artillery were overly mechanically complicated compared to the Soviets' simple "Stalin Organs" as the Germans called them. The longer time to build and operate these rockets precluded their deployment as a war-winning weapon, but they were encountered in almost every theatre. Soviet trucks with 132mm (5.2 inch) Katyausha rockets were built in numbers far surpassing the German equivalents.