Military Vehicles

The Light Artillery Rocket System II (LARS II) was an upgrade to the 110mm (4.33in) LARS I which entered service with the West German Army in 1969.

Whereas the LARS I rocket launcher was mounted on a simple 4×4 truck, the upgrade in 1980 placed it on the back of a MAN 6×6 truck and gave it an updated fire-control system.(Military Vehicles)

The weapon itself consists of two banks of launcher tubes situated side by side, each bank having 18 tubes.

Munitions includes DM-711 mine dispensers, DM-21 HE-fragmentation and DM-701 anti-tank mine dispenser.

All 36 rockets can be fired in 17.5 seconds and have a maximum range of up to 14km (9miles).  A cab-mounted 7.62mm (0.3in) machine gun provides crew defence.

Country of Origin    :Germany
Crew                        :2
Weight                     :19,100kg (42,100lb)
Dimensions             :Length: 8.26m (27.09ft); width: 2.49m (8.17ft); height: 2.99m (9.8ft)
Range                      :450km (280miles)
Armour        :Not applicable
Armament                    :36 x 110mm (4.33in) rockets;1 x 7.62mm (0.3in) MG
Powerplant                           :1 x DEutz BF8L 413F V8 turbo diesel, developing 315hp (235kW)
Performance                    :Maximum road speed: 90km/h (56mph);

The Wurfkorper was one of the earliest German rocket systems, on military vehicles catogery entering services in 1940.

It offered two sizes of rocket, the Wurfkorper spreng with a 28cm (1in) high-explosives rocket and the Wurfkorper M F1 50, a 32cm (12.6in) rocket with liquid incendiary warhead.

Crude,  inaccurate, and underpowered – maximum range was around 2000m (6600ft)- the rockets nonetheless proved useful in action, particularly in urban combat.

Mobility for the Wurfkorper system was achieved by mounting the missiles in their packing crates on the side of a Sdkfz 251 half-track.

Aiming the rocket was a simple matter of aligning the vehicle with the target.  The mobile Wurfkorper tended to operate within Panzer units.

Country of Origin    :Germany
Crew                        :Up to 12
Weight                     :8000kg (17,600lb)
Dimensions             :Length: 5.8m (19ft); width: (without rocket) 2.1m (6.9ft); height: 1.75m (5.74ft)
Range                       :300km (190miles)
Armour                     :(Steel) 15mm (0.59in)
Armament                  :6 x 28cm (11in) or 32cm (12.6in) Wurfkorper rockets; 1 x MG
Powerplant                 :1 x Maybach HL 42 6-cylinder petrol, developing 101hp (75kW)
Performance                :Maximum road speed: 53km/h (33mph); fording: 0.6m (2ft) gradient: 24 percent