Welcome to the WWII Forums! Log in or Sign up to interact with the community.

Rocket Artillery & the Sherman T-34 "Callipe"

Discussion in 'Weapons & Technology in WWII' started by Wolfy, Dec 31, 2008.

  1. Up From Marseille

    Up From Marseille Member

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2010
    Messages:
    167
    Likes Received:
    61
    Location:
    New Hampshire
    The Calliope was initially assigned in the 781st Tank Battalion to three of the HQ Company Shermans. The tanks equipped were not considered to be lucky by any stretch. The first Calliopes were trained by rotating the turret and the elevation was set by a strut that ran to the gun barrel. Simple and effective, but once the launcher was empty, the tank was useless. The gun couldn't recoil with the launcher in place! Many launchers were used and then discarded. Later models corrected this flaw.

    The US troops viewed the Calliope as just payback for the Minnies, and reports from POWs told that German troops were more afraid of a Calliope strike than an Artillery strike.
    Given that each rocket packed the same punch as a 105mm shell, and the single tank had the same power as sixty 105s, that is pretty awesome. Reloads rode in the Deuce and a Halfs with the rest of the supplies. Spam and rockets rode in the same truck.
     

Share This Page