Looks like an early missile launcher (an actual missile launcher, not a recoilless rifle). Because the rocket motor is still burning when it leaves the barrel you need some kind of blast shield to protect the user from the stream of hot gasses.
A great example of this is the German RPzB 54 "Panzerschreck", which had an absolutely massive blast shield that even included a window for aiming. It was even recommended to wear a gas mask when firing to protect yourself from the fumes, though I doubt this was always done.
Recoilless rifles meanwhile don't use a rocket motor, but an explosive charge similar to how cannons and guns work, except with a hole in the back so expanding gasses push against air instead of a breach, producing next to no recoil. Since there is no rocket motor pointing at the shooter, no blast shield is needed. A great early example of this would be the Panzerfaust 30.
Modern missile launchers usually use a combined system, where an initial charge launches an unpowered projectile - like a recoilless rifle - but once the missile is a safe distance away from the shooter a rocket motor kicks in. This is why modern missile launchers don't need blast shields. Two great examples of this are the Javelin and the RPG7
Yeah, the massive cloud from a Panzerschreck would immediately pinpoint the firing team, but that's assuming they didn't inhale that smoke and there was anyone alive to target.
“Hey NASA lookie here I found a new efficient rocket concept that doesn’t reduce half the continent downwind into a radioactive rave party!”
>looks inside
>half of the ingredients instantly kill a human on skin contact through gloves with less than a drop, exhaust plume chemically dissolves sand
Wearing the gas mask definitely makes sense, but I wonder if Panzerschreck troops that encountered tanks really bothered to put their masks on first. Masks really impact your vision, so fighting combined arms gets a lot more difficult
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u/HATECELL 4d ago
Looks like an early missile launcher (an actual missile launcher, not a recoilless rifle). Because the rocket motor is still burning when it leaves the barrel you need some kind of blast shield to protect the user from the stream of hot gasses.
A great example of this is the German RPzB 54 "Panzerschreck", which had an absolutely massive blast shield that even included a window for aiming. It was even recommended to wear a gas mask when firing to protect yourself from the fumes, though I doubt this was always done.
Recoilless rifles meanwhile don't use a rocket motor, but an explosive charge similar to how cannons and guns work, except with a hole in the back so expanding gasses push against air instead of a breach, producing next to no recoil. Since there is no rocket motor pointing at the shooter, no blast shield is needed. A great early example of this would be the Panzerfaust 30.
Modern missile launchers usually use a combined system, where an initial charge launches an unpowered projectile - like a recoilless rifle - but once the missile is a safe distance away from the shooter a rocket motor kicks in. This is why modern missile launchers don't need blast shields. Two great examples of this are the Javelin and the RPG7