German Nebelwerfer Rocket Mortar

The Nebelwerfer (“Smoke Mortar“[1] literally “Fog thrower“) was a World War II German series of weapons originally designed to deliver chemical weapons.[citation needed] They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht’s so-called Chemical Troops (Nebeltruppen). This weapon was given its name as a disinformation strategy designed to lead spies into thinking that it was merely a device for creating a smoke screen.[citation needed] They were primarily intended to deliver poison gas and smoke shells,[citation needed] although a high-explosive shell was developed for their Nebelwerfers from the beginning. Initially two different mortars were fielded before they were replaced by a variety of rocket launchers ranging in size from 15 to 32 centimetres (5.9 to 13 in). The thin walls of the rockets had the great advantage of allowing much larger quantities of gases, fluids or high-explosive to be delivered than artillery or even mortar shells of the same weight. Nebelwerfers were