Mastering the Bazooka Rocket Launcher - 1943
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- Опубліковано 27 чер 2013
- The bazooka is the great grand daddy of all modern man portable anti-armor rocket launchers. Zeno, Zeno's Warbird Videos zenoswarbirdvideos.com (Get this restored video and more on our "The Bulge: The Battle at St Vith" DVD. bit.ly/14yoNiR ) It was a revolutionary weapon that combined a "stove pipe" rocket launcher, pioneered by Dr. Robert Godard, with a shaped charge warhead, originally developed by Swiss immigrant Henry Mohaupt for the US War Department in the 1930s. As you'll see, shaped charges focused a superheated penetrating jet of gas whose effect on armored targets was far out of proportion to it's relatively small size. The Bazooka put this awesome destructive power in the hands of a single soldier with a range of hundreds of yards.
When fired from the battery powered M1 launcher, the original M6 Rocket, introduced in 1940, could penetrate 4'' of steel armor, making it useful not only against tanks and armored vehicles, but also against pill boxes, walls, bunkers etc. with a range that far exceeded the capability of contemporary weapons like grenade launchers. The range of targets of an individual soldier was expanded geometrically with the introduction of the Bazooka. You'll learn how to calculate range, fire from different positions, arm the rocket and ready the launcher for firing, set up remotely detonated launches using buried tubes, skip firing, leading the target, and more. As you'll also see in this detailed training film, throughout the War the Bazooka went through a running series of combat inspired changes that improved reliability, accuracy, handiness, and hitting power. As the War progressed, increases in armor thickness on German tanks rendered frontal assault by even the improved M9 launcher with M6A3 rocket often ineffective, promoting a change in tactics, targeting tank tracks and the less well protected top, sides, and rear of enemy vehicles.
Get this restored video and more on our "The Bulge: The Battle at St Vith" DVD. Includes a Bazooka Tech Manual! bit.ly/14yoNiR )
when he's in the kneeling position he looks exactly like the plastic green army men we all knew and loved
Yes
Ali Arshad1 do I need to remind you no one fucking ask your opinion?
Were you the guy who out flanked my troops and took theam as POWs?
Yup, "bazooka man".
Looks like those plastic green army men are more realistic than we thought
I'm glad the narrator said that the bazooka can be carried loaded. I can't tell you how many times, while out in public, people freak out because I'm walking around with a loaded bazooka.
i have this problem every single day 😒
I think it's because you guys have a German Panzerschreck instead of an American M1 Bazooka. You know how American people are, they go crazy over Nazi weapons.
These WWII training videos are so cool and interesting to me
My great grandfather was a bazooka shooter in WWII. He told me he was never trained to shoot the weapon..and have never shot it until the moment it was desperately needed. The Americans were coming up over a mountain. At the bottom was a cabin filled with Germans. A battle began..but many Americans were losing their lives. They called my grandfather and his loader. They blew up the cabin with their only shot! Loved this video! He recently passed...this video was exactly what he described. (Minus training) Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
What campaign was your great grandfather in? If it was North Africa, the lack of training might be explainable.
It sounds like you could train in five minutes.
@@strider7557 American troops were treated relatively expendable. Many units had over 100 percent wound rates, along with the policy of injecting replacements it kinda sucked to be a US GI. Soviets obviously had it worse but they would send units back to reform instead of keeping them on line and addin replacements.
Army: THIS IS RESTRICTED
UA-cam: not anymore
It stopped being restrictive when the 3.5in Bazooka was issued.
@@kevinsullivan3448 you mean the M-20A1B1 super bazooka?
After you destroy the tank, give your buddy a hearty hand shake
OR you hide and hope like hell that the 40 infantry who were behind the tank don't come charging and shooting because you just ruined their protection.
US Army needs to redo all training videos like this. But modern day. Entertaining, Informative, simple and slightly humorous.
now this is just a must!!!
"THIS FILM IS RESTRICTED"
352,619 People: Interesting
This video is not secured against time-traveling Nazis.
I personally find the improvised AT mines are really facinating
During the war my Mom worked at the Budd Company in Chester PA making bazooka rockets. She even worked her way up to being a shift supervisor of one of the assembly lines which was probably a pretty impressive accomplishment even during the days of "Rosie the Riveter".
I wish modern training videos were like this. Simple, to the point, but still with a little humour to it.
Mm i love these types of military videos. It's like watching a classic american movie.
nriab23 You nailed it.
Alexander of Blake , couldn't agree with you more.
Man, someone needs to do that. Totally 1940's style in black and white with 1940's acting but with how to use a Javelin Anti Tank Missile.
That enemy tank crew will be singing "Show Me the Way to Go Home"
So here I am, about to take final exams and watching a 1943 video of how to use a Bazooka
Heinz
🤙
Altered reality
And here we are again
I hope your exam went well
So did you take out the tank on your exams?
I love how they make the whole training film, and then at the end it's like "j/k, yours won't look like this, just read the tag on it and figure it out. Go get 'em."
I would totally be that guy who shakes his teammate's hand after hitting the tank.
Actually is very British of them! XD
"-Bloody good one mate!
- All in a day's work!...Tea?"
Rule number 1....stay away from the rear of the launcher. Rule 1a....stay away from the front of the launcher.
My father marched thru Germany with the 99th. He was a bazooka gunner. Their were 6 men that walked with each tank. 3 gunners and 3 loaders, one for each gunner. Their rockets were in cases strapped on the tanks. The tanks drew the fire and the gunners could spread out and attack the enemy from different positions.
Everyone here is harping about how ineffective the Bazooka was. While it may not have been especially effective against the later generations of German tanks, it still fared decently against Panzers and the occasional Panther. It was also good against enemy machine gun nests and fortifications, so much so that Eisenhowers listed it as one of the four 'Tools of Victory' in WWII.
that isn't how it works in their video games so they're confused and vaguely insulted
Knowing where to strike the tank was the key.
Yep, the germans copied it before that they were gonna use an 88m rocket battery that operated like a howitzer during the Africa campaign they captured and copied the bazooka with a few improvements like not needing batteries and scaling it up to use modified 88mm rockets. We did the same after the war with the super bazooka which was 90mm and was effective against just about anything in its day
The M9 bazooka began production in 1943, a year before D-day and it could pen 102mm of armor. That's enough to take out the King Tiger from the side let alone any of the other German heavies. Who's saying the Bazooka was ineffective? Hell if the war lasted a little longer the M20 would of been around in time and that can pen 280mm.
It was effective, if you used it as designed and intended. Most soldiers didnt have the necessary guts to do that though. You had to be close, and willing to expose yourself for the necessary time to aim & fire with accuracy. That was a very hairy proposition, especially as proper use of armor always had infantry support whose job it was to prevent this very event! You notice that these guys were always standing, in the open, with none of their own fire support and without 50 other guys trying desperately to kill them. simple, right?
I remember downloading this in like 2003. Someone on a Call of Duty clan message board posted a link to ZenosWarBirds. I was 11 years old learning how to start a P-51 and shoot a bazooka.
The copyright on the zenos vid is 2013
My father was 42nd Rainbow Division, 222nd infantry Company A and trained as a rifleman. But when got over to europe he was assigned as the bazooka guy because the previous guy was a casualty. Nobody wanted to be the target holding the bazooka. He said he fired it at a lot more front doors trying to get people to come out than at tank treads.
LOL, my Dad was in the Tank Destroyers, and he said they never fired their bazooka except one time in the sand dunes of England. Nobody felt like watching the projectile bounce off a German Tank.
@@kvogel9245 A tank destroyer crewman carried a bazooka??? That doesn't make sense, they have a Tank Destroyer, why use a bazooka?
@@rameynoodles152 its hand carried. i bet its hard to re position and deploy an anti tank
yes the British army equivalent was pretty much a Victoria Cross weapon, but it was useful for firing into occupied buildings as a kind of light artillery.
It's impressive how simple these were, and how effective. The long (and still) service of the RPG7 (a comparable weapon) is evidence that such simplicity never gets outdated.
Optical sight, electronical, adjustable stock.... I can't wait till they start making these. So advanced!
I love that an official U.S. Army video actually used the word "gadget".
Next time I hear an oldtimer bitching about how much harder military service used to be, I’ll just show him these old training videos. Then make him sit through a modern PowerPoint module.
death by power point is real
Yeah creating a paper point without a single mislide ranging into the 300 slides range is harder to do than make this go band the battery they use looks like a 18650
Heh, the more garish ornaments the power point has, the better.
I never fired one . But I was instructed how to use one . The ones we had the sight was like a nine of clubs, which showed the lead needed . We were told never to fire with anything behind us such as a earth bank. If you did , you would get to the target before the rocket !
Wait, so soldiers actually didn't shoot rockets at their feet to quickly cross the battlefield?
xD I got it after reading it twice :P
No that was introduced with the RPG, common mistake, but the bazooka paved the way for it
This is simply an example. The further uses are not stated, rocket surfing was quite common during WWII invasions.
Well, you can... once....
Gotta love these old video clips! I swear the same narrator did all of them!! And the Joes in the field; their battle uniforms are cleaner and better pressed than Class A's/Service Dress!!!
Remember: If you drop the Rocket on its nose it might not explode, then again it might explode.
That's why you hide and hit the tank on the side. Unless you know it can penetrate specific areas
4:20 Look at his fingertip, a man with hands like that is definitely an armorer and knows how to take apart weapons, my mom was in the army - supply - and had her fingers like that when she was in the armory taking apart a 50. cal
A great piece of history and a snapshot of a terrible passage in the history of the world. Thanks for posting, Zeno!
A note about the effectiveness of the Bazooka against enemy armor:
Most enemy AFVs were light armor, like APCs, Light Tanks, and Armored Cars. All of these were fair game for a bazooka at any aspect of engagement. Remember, the bazooka was designed to be used against Axis AFVs in service at its time of introduction, mid 1943. At this time the main tanks in Axis service were German Panzer II (still used for armored recon), Panzer III E, J1, and J2, Panzer 38(t), Japanese Chi-Ha, and Italian M13/40-any of which could be defeated by a bazooka at design range. Although bazooka was not good against spaced armor, such as the mantlet of late model Pz 3, or the schurtzen of late model Pz3 and Pz 4, neither were its German counterparts, the PanzerShreck and PanzerFaust. Against ShutzenPanzerWagen (Armored Personnel Carriers) and PanzerSpahwagen (Armored Cars), especially, bazooka was king.
As for Tigrepanzer (the infamous "Tiger Tank"), PantherPanzer (the Panther Tank), late model Pz4, and StuG (SturmGeschutz), well, no US hand held, or tank mounted, weapons were very effective against these from the front until introduction of the 90mm M3 gun in the M36 Jackson. Even so, the Panther's sides (45mm) were quite vulnerable to the bazooka, as were the Pz4's and StuG's (30mm) sides. Further, US forces met no Panthers or Tigers until the middle of 1944, a full year after Bazooka's introduction.
And, if you are under the mistaken impression that bazooka was not an effective antiarmor weapon, then you have missed the reason why Germany came up with PanzerShreck and PanzerFaust, WHICH WERE DIRECT RESPONSES TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BAZOOKA in the African campaign.
Thanks for taking time to read this.
Why am i watching this? I don't even own a Bazooka
You could if the second amendment was understood and was first instead as originally intended. My uncle let me play with them.....piss on a deer rifle!
Not yet
@@kenrobba5831 i mean..you can own a functioning one, just need to go through the NFA since it is a destructive device. Definitely a pain in the ass tho
Years back, I built a shoulder-fired "potato launcher" that was almost as sophisticated. Mounted a 'Tasco' scope, I designated it "Launcher, Potato, 40mm, M43" (Idaho, the 43rd State is famous for potatoes).
A bazooka was used to quell a prison uprising at Deer Lodge state prison. The crater in the bricks of the guard tower are still there.
I never knew how the bazooka worked. It's so simple once you see it explained, good video.
Narrator: "How would to like to knock one of them out, soldier?"
GI: "Gee Willikers! Would I!"
Damn, my bazooka wont fire, guess I better clean it
Check the AA batteries 😉
@@ZenosWarbirds I checked there AA batteries and they said they fight planes and quote what do we have to do with tanks? I know what you mean, I'm just joking, AA batteries? Anti aircraft batteries? I'll see myself out.
Love the statement - "an electric gadget that fires the rocket" No sense tossing in fancy language to confuse the soldier.
the soldier is a high school drop-out sent to combat to be potentially blown up so indeed no need to speak technical. the soldier didn't design it, he only needs to know how to point and fire it.
@@UA-camSupportTeams not every young soldier on WW2 is school drop-out
I like how you’ve put the nomenclature on the video. It doesn’t take away from the original and is a nice touch.
The guys that make Hell Let Loose should make training videos like this.
Man I love that game so much my fav
Lol that’s why I am
Here lol
I'm watching these videos so I can be better at Hell Let Loose
Bazookas arrived just in time to be used when the Germans went on their Kasserine Pass offensive. It was a pretty new weapon so maybe a lot of those GIs hadn't seen one in their lives. They were fired at targets beyond that recommended 100 yards.
"and an electric gadget that fires the rocket". Love the technicalese here.
Everybody knows the proper nomenclature is 'gizmo'.
5:41 that is not what i expected.
@24:45: "The next step is to draw the contact wire through the spring contact with the left hand. Also make sure to stare uncomfortably at it afterwards."
"Complete the step, then wait patiently for the narrator to finish his lines."
@@stickman3214 Ha Ha.
Thanks for posting this. A month ago I bought one of these on eBay and was despairing of ever finding out how the thing worked!
tom kent damn I love America
Oh good, an idiot that doesn't know how to use it & owns one!
@@bradleytierno9129 Very good, only a fool, ingrate or an illegal wouldn't love America!
I was an ammo hump,gunner,and squad leader for this bad-ass weapon. U.S.M.C.
Gerald Cronen when did you serve?
@@evan5649 If you can believe Wikipedia, the M6 rocket was used exclusively (at least by the U.S.) in WWII.
commentatron2000 sorry, I just didn’t expect some one over the age of 80 to be active on UA-cam.
@@evan5649 Right? Even an 18 y/o in 1945 is around 93! Being active on YT is probably very common for the Greatest Gen. - active doesn't mean what it used to.
@@BruceK10032 'Active on YT' being an oxymoron. I generally assume younger generation's notion of 'active' is less so than when active meant doing something physical. Thanks for the clarification on the M6 in Korea - missed that. One of the things that struck me too was the premature detonation problem. That could definitely ruin your day.
Damn...spall doesn't play around. God bless the souls of the men who had a chestful of that stuff flying toward them after impact
At 5:43 damn!! 😂 don't stand behind...
3:38 might or might not 🤣🤣
*There are over 200 of them* No crap that target is shredded xD
Did you also know that there were small piece that came out of the round and would hit you in the face and I still have a piece stuck there today and it was May, 1964 when I went to a range to familiarize with the Bazooka, the .50 Caliber and the M1A1 Thompson (aka - Chicago Typewriter). Later on we swapped the Bazooka for the 90mm Recoilless Rifle.
Albert Shumate wrote: "Did you also know that there were small piece that came out of the round and would hit you in the face and I still have a piece stuck there today and it was May, 1964 when I went to a range to familiarize with the Bazooka ...." ...... Were they still using the bazooka in 1964? In 1964 with ITR at Camp Geiger, we were trained on the 3.5" rocket launcher. It LOOKED similar to a bazooka, but had a bigger rocket. The bazooka had a 2.36" rocket. When I was in G Co, 2/2 weapons platoon had the 3.5s. One day we fired up a truck-load of ammo on the rocket range. The targets were old M4 Shermans. We never had any pieces strike us, although we were told that that could happen in the cold weather. During WWII quite a number of German tanks were knocked out by bazooka teams. In Korea, they were worthless against the T34s. 3.5s were the answer to T34s. Initially the were called "super bazookas" but we never called them that. We called them "rocket launchers" or "3.5s."
@@wittwittwer1043 It was called 3.5 Inch Rocket Launcher but I got Bazooka from one of Team Leaders who had served in Korea during the Police Action.
I was in South Korea from May, 1964 to May of '65.
There was a Company size Camp North of Kaiser. You turned right instead of Left to get to our Camp. Thinking about it I don't think it even had a name. It was just were we were at.
@@albertshumate7688 I never had any trouble like that with the 3.5 rocket launcher, which was phased out in British reserve service about 1970. They were not fired often and it was the last time we had rockets for them so I only fired two rounds. The thing was nobody told me the rocket initially moved so slowly it unbalanced the tube and I hit the ground about 25 m in front. I was ready for it with my second shot and held it firmly. I still remember watching it fly down the range way over the target before making its final descent for a direct hit. The time it took in-flight I would have hated to have to fire it for real.
"An electric gadget" Technical terms.
Standing behind me after eating taco bell can produce similar effects 5:49
Funny toilet humour
We had a guy in our outfit that very seldom missed with the Bazooka.
So much that I didn't know about the Bazooka! Awesome video! Thanks for the upload!
This is exactly how a model rocket set works, complete with the little light bulb that lights up when you want to test the connection. As simple as it gets. LEGALIZE IT!
As far as I know (and pretty damned sure), there is nothing illegal about building one yourself. Hell you can even buy bazookas or other anti-armor tubes from surplus stores without a license or background check. The real deals are the rockets with warheads; good luck getting your hands on those.
+CPRailRTC The distinction is that you can make the rocket launcher, not the rocket, since the launcher without the rocket is a tube and some wires.
CPR, most people can, have you not noticed how most countries have things like fireworks displays? Fireworks a fundamentally the same as a bazooka but without the explosive warhead.
The new copper wire connector got a lot of GI's killed . in cold weather it would break off making the projectile useless
I remember they used these M1's in the Battle of the Bulge, they bounced off German Tanks at 100 meters... they REALLY needed improved models but better ammunition and new models were not to come... Late in World War II, the M6A4 and M6A5 rockets with improved fuses were
developed. These rockets arrived too late to see service during the war, but were used post-war.
Wtf that poor sheet. It was here, then it was not here.
Ah yes I definitely need to know how to use a bazooka
HE'S STANDING RIGHT BESIDE THAT THING WITHOUT EAR PROTECTION!!
He he. Well, the ear protection for the troops came up in another WE2 discussion.
ua-cam.com/video/hTrhcWIRe1o/v-deo.html
The Army did issue earplugs during WW2, primarily for Arty guys, that are still issued today with slight improvements . Dunno how widely used back then. But I doubt bazooka teams got them😏
WHAT?
Cool! I always wanted to know the real way to fire a bazooka. I couldn't get the proper method just watching old movies, mainly the sighting and connecting the rocket. Thanks for the up-load.
Are you telling me Periscope missed buying one of these?
Everybody should have one !
"Simpler and more effective" : you get that only during war time , the rest of the time it's more useless and complicated lol
I love the details
Accurate from 1-100 yards, always go for one yard range, no missing
For anyone who would like to attempt a rocket jump in real life.
Our mission is to preserve these historic films for future generations. Your DVD purchases at our store make this channel possible. www.zenosflightshop.com Get this restored video and more on our "The Bulge: The Battle at St Vith" DVD. bit.ly/14yoNiR We need your support! Zeno
who had know that rocket launchers from the time used batteries
Kunven It makes sense. They ignited the fuel through an electronic curcuit, so the power has to come from somewhere.
Check your trigger mechanism while the tank is bearing down on you.
Yeah, I really doubt the loader and gunner would ever be this slow and “formal” if they were actually in battle
Batteries not included...
The last shown version is the Grenade Launcher 3.5" and needs no batteries (it's piezo-electric.).
It also has a longer tube, which due to the relatively low launch speed can cause the tube to sag down as the grenade passes.
This model has remained in use in various countries well into the 1990s.
Corvus Rabiatus Thanks for sharing that information...
You beat me to it.
Only problem with the 1st rocket launcher was they forgot to mention the switch on top of the tube that
was a safety for the loader. You flipped it for safety while loading and then down for firing. Other than that
it was an excellent film I was lucky enough to know some WW II vets who handled these weapons while
overseas and heard their tales of using them in actual combat situations.
the sitting position seems best....you can even put a little foliage around you, just chill and wait so very still.
Ok now I know how to operate this badboy. Where can I get one ? Will Amazon deliver ? :P
I mean the mechanism is simple enough Fair certain you could build your own
If you thought ammo for your AR was expensive, just wait 'til you're in the market for a case of bazooka rounds!
The RPG2 is better, simpler.
This is hilariously good! A real original tutorial to how to shoot a bazooka!.... designed by the one and only Captain Bazooka 💙 ✏️✔️🇺🇸🎨🎬🎺👏
Is actually very interesting priceless document. The speech can be used as an analogy also... I'm from Argentina. War culture doesn't exist and have no history almost. I used to buy some used staff from American wars as coleccion parts. 🎨🎺
Kicking ass 1940s style!
Love these videos
This is a great video! 👏🏼😎
I never knew they used AA batteries
Standing bolt upright in an open field next to a tree line will make sure you will be a dead soldier.
- I have an MBA
- And I have an MBRL...
- ???
- Master of Bazooka Rocket Launcher...
Bazooka. For when you need to bring home a lot of deer hamburger for your neighborhood..
Great Video! Thank you!
I honestly did not know a bazooka was battery operated....seems kind of strange to be honest but there you go
But the one thing I can't shake is how much the narrator's voice makes me think of those old sport goofy cartoons...and that is just disturbing
My dad was an 0351 in Vietnam and carried a bazooka
Are you sure? We were using the M72 during Vietnam.
My homemade RPG-2 rocket launcher :) This vid helped!
RPG Bigger Booster Test
Me ha guastado este tipo de documentales
I am surprised that they never mentioned how the shaped warhead worked. I also wonder if that new rocket could be used as a mine like the older ones.
The shaped charge may have been mildly classified at the time, besides, why does the grunt need to know how it works?
angle that steel plate at 45 degrees and watch the difference.
Yup... but the Germans didn't really use much sloped armour, unlike the Russians
Delta4280 T34 springs to mind, incredible tank.
TheGodParticle well depends on the variation... the T-34-85 is a amazing tank... but the T-34 model 1940 is a okay tank
+Delta4280 Well, the Panther did have angeled armor. And the Bazooka would fail to penetrate the late Panzer 4 models' Schürzen.
Thanks for sharing this stuff l love it from the u.k regards old chap
If I had made the instructional video, I would have made the suggestion to take the rocket out after a misfire before replacing the battery or playing with the switch but that is just me....
How would you know the trigger works then? Dah, idiot.
According to General Patton, effective range was actually 30 yards. Anything more and the chance of a miss went up. So while you COULD hit a target at 100 to 200 yards, the odds weren't good. I've seen many first hand accounts saying this, but for some reason, many sites like to use the longer effective ranges. I can only assume that this paints an inflated estimation of the effectiveness of rocket-AT weapons in WWII.
True but they got better. 90 millimeter hand tube was good and then anti-tank stuff got much better. ‘Was’t interested in re- uping to play more.....
That demo @1:30 is fake. No rocket leaves the tube! Someone down range detonates the target.
13:29 I didn't know Kentucky's reputation was this old.
the new improved rocket seems a lot more complicated
The eletrical connection are more consistent. Less likely to not work
When they're demonstrating using the rocket as a mine
"Shit! Here comes Snafu steve in his stupid stewart, get ready, this'll show him for painting that German cross on the front thinking it would fool Jerry"
Now I want to master the bazooka rocket launcher!
Use
Manic Mailman
Ok
My grandfather favorite show
WQhy am i watching this??!! I already mastered the bazooka rocket launcher last year.
This is fuckin real Shaw Brothers
Nothing but skill back then
Skill and luck.
Kentucky windage? Siamese twins? It's like they were deliberately make it sound old timey