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Weird looking bazooka rocket

T

tusig1156

Active Member
Any idea what this is? It looks like an 3.5 inch bazooka rocket but the warhead is a slightly different shape and the fins are not the same as a regular m28 or m29 3.5 inch bazooka rocket. The rocket in the picture I'm talking about is the one with 2 white stripes.
 

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It could be but I don't think so. Looks very close to 3.5 inch bazooka rocket. Main thing is throwing me off is the fins on the back. I've seen a couple rockets with that unusual fin.
 
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It's with some other German stuff, so. . .
Maybe we copied it and made some changes.
 
been google searching this and through an image i found on wikipedia where in the main wiki article its described as a loader training projectile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazooka
i opened the image shown in wikepedia and it mentioned the smithsonian air and space museum collection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bazooka_rocket.jpg
so then i did a google image search for "3.5in bazooka rocket the smithsonian" i came up with this page where more image links of it can be found
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=3...fe7Abg4oDADQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1366&bih=643

hope this helps
 
I just read thru the 3.5" section in my ca.1958 TM 9-1950 ROCKETS. There was no listing for a loader training round. Oddness may be due to missing/lack of contact rings around the fins. Maybe earlier or later TMs mention this version.



Just found TM 9-1340-222-20 ca. 1994. No reference.
And TM 43-0001-30. Nada.
 
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Thanks for the help. It looks very similar to a regular 3.5 round, just without the ring around the fins. Plus the front of the fins are slightly different than the regular 3.5 fins.
 
Here is why I asked. I got this bazooka round delivered today. As you can see, it has the fins like the one in the picture. Definitely the same diameter as a regular 3.5 Superbazooka round. The fuse is just a solid dummy but it is identical to the regular fuse in size and length. While the nose of the warhead is much longer/pointed , the middle and base of the warhead is identical to a normal warhead.

Any ideas? Best I can figure is an experimental or rare 3.5 bazooka round. It has no visable markings and the warhead is completely empty.
 

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I can't make out the electric contact rings here. It looks a bit odd without this. Is this maybe some sort of dummy?
 
Have you measured the diameter of the different parts of the fin section to see if it is complete? A smaller diameter than the warhead might suggest that contact rings etc were missing. I'll try and pull a 3.5 launcher pub later today and see if anything is mentioned regarding a training round.
 
I'll check it later today. It could be missing the contact ring but the weird thing is that the one displayed in the Smithsonian doesn't have a ring and I would think that an institution like that would have noticed a mistake like that over the years. The other interesting thing is the motor and the fins screw together like the previous generation(2.36 inch bazooka) while the normal 3.5 inch Bazooka rockets have the fins/motor as one piece. The previous generation(2.36 rocket) also lacked a contact ring. Almost seems like this rocket is from a period between the 2.36 inch technology/design and that of the finalized 3.5 inch rocket.
 
Your rocket is a T85 practice version of the T80 HEAT round. These were used in the T74 3.5" bazooka, the WWII developmental version of the M20 launcher. There is a good line drawing on page 157 of OP1664, United States Explosive Ordnance. I'm unable to scan today or I'd include the image. I'm sure someone can help with that.

A very scarce rocket...good find.

Rick
 
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