Puppchen grenade launcher
“Puppchen”
on wheels
In 1944, the 88 mm Puppchen mounted grenade launcher was adopted by the German infantry.
The mounted grenade launcher of the 1943 model resembled a toy artillery gun in its appearance, for which it was called “Puphen” (doll).
The operation of the grenade launcher was based on the active-reactive principle.
The Puphen was fired with 88 mm Pz. Gr. 4312 shaped charge rocket-propelled grenades weighing 2.65 kg. The flight speed was 200 m/s. At a distance of 180-200 m, it penetrated a steel plate 150-180 mm thick. igniting the primer of the propellant charge.
“Puppchen”
main parts and mechanisms: 1 – barrel; 2 – bolt; 3 – bolt handle; 4 – descent;
5 – muzzle bell; 6 – upper loom; 7 – shield; 8 – bed with lower loom;
9 – coulter; 10 – rule; 11 – rocket-propelled grenade.
“Puppchen”
when loading
The design of the Puppchen grenade launcher consisted of 6 main parts: a barrel with a breech, a counterweight, an upper mount and wheels.
The barrel was a pipe 1600 mm long with an internal diameter of 88 mm, enclosed in a casing with a muzzle bell, which served to disperse gases and reduce the heat load on the barrel. The barrel was laid on trunnions in the upper mount of the carriage.
The barrel bore was locked by a bolt, in which the safety, percussion and locking mechanisms were assembled.
There was also a shield cover made of armored steel 3 mm thick with inward-curved edges and a window for aiming.
The carriage of the grenade launcher consisted of an upper mount, on which the barrel was mounted and a shield cover was fixed, and a lower mount equipped with a single-beam bed and a wheeled chassis with two stamped wheels with rubber tires. For greater camouflage of the weapon on the ground, it was possible to change its height by removing the wheel. In this case, the grenade launcher was lowered onto special support blocks mounted on a carriage, to which ski-type stops could be attached.
“Puppchen”
in the ski version
The carriage made it possible to aim the grenade launcher with a maximum angle of elevation of the barrel of +25º, the angle of depression was equal to -20º, horizontal firing was carried out in the range of 60º. When the grenade launcher was installed on the runners, circular firing was provided.
The Puppchen grenade launcher was aimed at the target manually, there were no turning and lifting mechanisms. A front sight and an open sight with a notch from 180 to 700 meters were used as sights.
Despite the external “doll” appearance, the grenade launcher was a simple and fairly effective anti-tank weapon. At a range of 150-200 m, the armor penetration was 200 mm.
“Puppchen”
when firing
| Caliber, mm | 88 |
|---|---|
| Length, mm | 1750 |
| Barrel length, mm | 1600 |
| Weight, kg | 149 |
| Grenade weight, kg | 2.65 |
| Grenade flight speed, m/s | 200 |
| Sighting range | |
| , m | 150-700 |
| Armor penetration, mm | 150-200 |
The 88-mm Pupchen mounted grenade launcher was a simple and quite effective anti-tank weapon used by the German infantry in the final stage of World War II.
As of March 1, 1945, the Wehrmacht and SS units had 1649 grenade launchers. In total, 3150 units were produced.