The German Panzerwerfer is one of two different types of half-track

Half-track

A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering, and caterpillar tracks on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cross-country capabilities of a tank and the handling...

ed multiple rocket launcher

Multiple rocket launcher

A multiple rocket launcher is a type of unguided rocket artillery system. Like other rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers are less accurate and have a much lower rate of fire than batteries of traditional artillery guns...

s employed by Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 during the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The two self-propelled artillery vehicles are the 15 cm Panzerwerfer 42 auf Selbstfahrlafette Sd.Kfz.4/1

SdKfz 4

The SdKfz 4 Gleisketten-Lastkraftwagen , nicknamed Maultier was a family of half-tracks developed during World War II by Germany.-Development:...

(based on the Opel Maultier, or "mule", half-track) and 15 cm Panzerwerfer 42 auf Schwerer Wehrmachtsschlepper

Schwere Wehrmachtschlepper

The Schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper , or sWS for short, was a German World War II half-track flat-bed cargo vehicle used in various roles between 1943 and 1945. The unarmored models were used as supply vehicles and as tractors to haul things...

(or Panzerwerfer auf SWS).

Specifics

The Panzerwerfer 42 auf Maultier weighed 7.1 tonnes, was six meters long, two meters wide, and nearly three meters high. It was capable of reaching speeds of up to 40 km/h. One of these half tracked vehicles generally carried a Nebelwerfer 42 launching system, which was specially designed to be mounted on the Opel-engine powered Panzerwerfer. The German engineers designed this system because of the conspicuous trails of smoke left behind by the Nebelwerfer batteries, which necessitated a self-propelled artillery piece. The system contained 10 missile tubes, and generally carried 20 projectiles, enough for the vehicle to fire two full salvos.

Reputation

It was considered less accurate than a dedicated artillery piece, but its ability to saturate an area with fire and strike terror into enemy infantry helped it reach widespread use during the war. Some Panzerwerfers had a machine gun mounted above the cab. It was known as the "Moaning Minnie" by Allied soldiers for the distinctive noise the rockets made when fired, similar to the Nebelwerfer

Nebelwerfer

The Nebelwerfer was a World War II German series of weapons originally designed to deliver chemical weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht's so-called Chemical Troops ...

stationary artillery.