What weapon class is it?

[avidan]

Hi

Does anybody know what is a "Salvengeschütz"??

I can guess its rocket projector or such.

Thanks!

[David Lehmann]

Hello,

I think it's a german word used for multiple rocket launch systems like the russian "Katjuscha".

[Zygmunt]

What was the name of the recoilless cannons used to shoot vertically upwards from jet fighters? I seem to recall them being used to shoot salvoes when a photoelectric cell was triggered by the shadow of the bomber being overhead. I'm not saying that this is what the term means, but just that it's one to consider, if only to eliminate it from the list. Anyone know the name of the aerial cannon?

[avidan]

Thanks,

I think Panzermeyer is correct.

I dont know the name of the weapon system.

[e.kerckhoff]

What you're thinking of is "Schrage Musik", or "Slanted Music" (German slang for the jazz tunes of the time). This cannon was mounted in the rear cockpit of several types of night fighters like the Ju-88 and Do-217 and would be fired upward into the belly of a bomber directly overhead. I haven't got stats available on how many planes were kitted out this way or the resulting kills, but perhaps someone else does?

Also, I have never heard of it being activated by a photovoltaic cell, but given that it was typically used at night, this might be impossible or simply another version of the same weapon.

Enno

[ChrisMAg2]

@Zygmunt,
which one do you mean? SG 116 is one, another is Förstersonde. They were aircraft mounted, but not on jets. The salvo rockets for jets was R4M "Orkan" and were fired horizontaly.

@e.kerckhoff,
Schräge Musik is not a recoilless gun system, instead a set of MG FF, MG 151/20 or MK 108. These systems were aimed/guided with an optical gunsight, sometimes radar-controlled. Only those systems I mentioned to Zygmunt were coupled to a photovoltaic cell.

@avidan,
"Salvengeschütz" is basically a battery of (gun-)barrels allowing a fast and massiv attack with rather small ammunition. The propulsion could be of a gun, a recoilless gun, a mortar or a rocket. All were used.

Regards

[avidan]

about Salvengeschütz:

It keeps on showing up on daily reports on units I am researching. What weapon was it?

Other than Nebelwerfer I cant think of any oter weapon that was in use that would fit this description.

Avi

[varjag]

about Salvengeschütz:

It keeps on showing up on daily reports on units I am researching. What weapon was it?

Other than Nebelwerfer I cant think of any other weapon that was in use that would fit this description.

Avi

As 'Salvengeschütz' plainly means 'Salvo Gun' - I agree with you that I can think of no other German weapon but the Nebelwerfer, that comes close to that definition. The Nebelwerfer barrels were occasionally used under the wings of fighter-planes (ONE under each wing) but 2 rockets hardly constitutes a salvo. As for the Schräge Musik weapons in night-fighters, as pointed out above - they were normal automatics aimed manually and aimed some 35-40 degrees forward of the vertical to hit the soft underbelly of the Lancasters/Halifaxes in their blind spot.

[ChrisMAg2]

Others that fit the category "Salven-geschütz":
8 cm Vielfachwerfer (rocket)
Reihenwerfer-Schießgerät RG 16 (8,1 cm mortar)
7.3 cm Raketen-Abwehr-Werfer "Föhn" (rocket)
Regards

[avidan]

danke,
Avi