M1 Rocket Launcher "Bazooka": Difference between revisions
M1 Rocket Launcher "Bazooka": Difference between revisions - Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
M1 Rocket Launcher "Bazooka": Difference between revisions
* Added optional wire blast shield in front for cold weather use. Not particularly effective and largely ignored by troops: later a more effective solid cone was developed.
* Added optional wire blast shield in front for cold weather use. Not particularly effective and largely ignored by troops: later a more effective solid cone was developed.
* Optional solid blast cone in back to replace wired cone.
* Optional solid blast cone in back to replace wired cone.
* Improved M6A1 rocket
* Improved M6A1 rocket. "M6A2" rocket appears to have been an informal designation for original production M6 rockets upgraded to A1 standard.
* Many original production M1s were upgraded to the A1 standard
* Many original production M1s were upgraded to the A1 standard
* Later issued with a larger battery, and after complaints of it getting stuck inside the shoulder rest, were re-reamed to better accommodate it
* Later issued with a larger battery, and after complaints of it getting stuck inside the shoulder rest, were re-reamed to better accommodate it
Revision as of 04:52, 24 August 2017
Slide Bazooka Instrument
"Bazooka" is a term commonly applied to a series of recoilless launchers used by the US military during WW2 and the Korean War. It was a slang term adopted by the GIs based on the device's resemblance to a comedy 'instrument' popularized by Radio Comedian Bob Burns in the 1930s & 1940s.
Today the term is often used by the general public as a generic term for any tube-like rocket launcher; this cannot exactly be called incorrect, since "Bazooka" was only ever a nickname for the original weapon, but on this site it should only be used to refer to this particular series of launchers.
Bazooka rockets are often depicted with burning engines and smoke trails in fiction, which is incorrect: the rocket motor burns out while the projectile is still inside the launch tube, except for early-production rockets at extremely cold temperatures where it may still be burning for a short time on exit. Later rockets used a new propellant, Blastless Bazooka Propellant (BBP) that eliminated temperature-related burn time issues.
The following weapons are in the M1 Series of Rocket Launchers:
1941 first model adopted from Capt. L.A. Skinner's prototype rocket launcher. First used in combat in 1942, on the Russian Front via lend-lease and by American forces during Operation Torch in November 1942.
Had two pistol grips (one with trigger) and a shoulder step which contained the battery.
Contact box located on top of the tube just back from the shoulder rest is only present on this variant.
18 lbs unloaded weight.
Introduced in June 1942, used until August 1943 when replaced by the M1A1 variant.
Not particularly popular due to the unreliable M6 rocket, use of substandard steel for production expediency rendering tubes prone to rupturing on hot days when the rocket propellant would burn extremely quickly, and lack of a bore gauge for launch tube production, resulting in tubes with very poor dimensional tolerances: frequent accidents involving rockets getting stuck in the tube and exploding: these issues were compounded by US troops in Operation Torch having received little or no instruction in the use of the weapon. Issuing of the M1 was suspended in May 1943.
Fully introduced in August 1943, with small numbers issued in July. First used during the invasion of Sicily in July-August 1943
Replaced "On/Off" switch with the 'ready' light
Removed second pistol grip
Rear section of the launch tube wrapped with 0.5 in steel wire to prevent ruptures on hot days.
Wire wrapping required reworked electrical system and redesigned rocket: instead of the top-mounted contact box that created a connection to a brass ring on the rocket's nose, a wire was stowed in the tailfin of the rocket and connected to a contact clip at the rear of the launcher. This means the wire on this launcher goes from the shoulder rest to the back of the tube, rather than up to the contact box as on the M1.
Unloaded weight 13.26 lbs
Added optional wire blast shield in front for cold weather use. Not particularly effective and largely ignored by troops: later a more effective solid cone was developed.
Optional solid blast cone in back to replace wired cone.
Improved M6A1 rocket. "M6A2" rocket appears to have been an informal designation for original production M6 rockets upgraded to A1 standard.
Many original production M1s were upgraded to the A1 standard
Later issued with a larger battery, and after complaints of it getting stuck inside the shoulder rest, were re-reamed to better accommodate it
The M1 series of Rocket Launcher can be seen in the following films, TV series, anime, and video games used by the following actors:
Introduced in October 1943 and replaced the M1A1 in production, operating alongside it in the field
Battery ignition (which had proved unreliable in wet weather and caused many complaints about life and availability of batteries in the field) replaced by Magnavox T6 trigger magneto
Wooden furnishings replaced with metal and plastic
Used improved M6A3 HEAT rocket and M10 Bursting Smoke (WP) rocket. M6A3 had a blunt, rounded nose rather than the pointed nose of earlier rockets, which had been found to deflect off sloped tank armor. Both rounds could be fired from the earlier M1A1 model as well.
Early production used T43 folding bar sight, later replaced by T90 optical reflex sight
Could be disassembled into two halves for easier carrying.
