Rocket Launcher

Lore & Background

Early examples appeared in imperial China as arrow-mounted rocket motors and organized multi-tube launchers. The technology later spread worldwide, producing forms such as the Congreve rockets used in the early 19th century and experimental systems used in the American Civil War. In the 20th century, rocket launchers became a major class of military weapons. During and after World War II, vehicle-mounted multiple rocket launchers were developed, along with a variety of shipborne, ground and air launch systems, while the postwar era saw the introduction of widely used shoulder-fired anti-tank systems and aircraft rocket pods for close air support.

In Their Own Story

Shortly after the first prototype launcher and rockets had been tested by firing into the Potomac River, U.S. Army colonel Leslie Skinner, and Lieutenant Colonel Edward Uhl took the new system to a competitive trial of various types of spigot mortar, at that time seen as the most promising way to deliver a shaped charge, which was held at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in May 1942. The new rocket launcher scored several hits on a moving tank while the five different mortars achieved none; this was a considerable achievement since the launcher's sights had been fabricated that morning from a wire clothes hanger bent with a broken nail. The trial was watched by various senior officers, among them the chief of research and engineering in the Ordnance Department, Major General Gladeon M. Barnes. Barnes was delighted by the performance of the system and fired it as well, but commented, "It sure looks like Bob Burns' bazooka."

Reader's Guide

Rocket launchers include shoulder-fired weapons such as the Bazooka (American, 1942–1957) and the RPG-7 (Soviet anti-tank weapon). Rocket pods are launchers containing several unguided rockets in individual tubes, used by attack aircraft or helicopters. Larger-scale devices include multiple rocket launchers for unguided rocket artillery. Recoilless rifles are sometimes confused with rocket launchers but launch their projectile using an explosive powder charge, not a rocket engine.

Did You Know?

• The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by attaching a rocket motor to the shaft a few inches behind the arrowhead.
• The 1510 edition of the Wujing Zongyao describes the 'long serpent' rocket launcher carried with a wheelbarrow and the 'hundred tiger' rocket launcher capable of firing 320 rocket arrows.
• Rocket launchers known as 'wasp nest' launchers were used by the Ming dynasty in 1380 and in 1400 by Li Jinglong against Zhu Di.
• The Congreve rocket was a British weapon devised by Sir William Congreve in 1804 after experiencing Indian rockets at the Siege of Seringapatam (1799).

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