WW2 armored grenade dischargers

[Kriegerfaust007-live]

The British 4-inch smoke discharger (officially the Discharger, Smoke Generator, 4-in., No. 2) is a historical World War II-era smoke grenade launcher system fitted to British and Commonwealth armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) and tanks. [1, 2, 3]

Key Specifications & Design

• Bore and Length: Features a 4-inch bore and a 10-inch barrel/tube length. [1, 2]
• Firing Mechanism: Utilized a modified Lee-Enfield No. 1 or Ross Mk III rifle action (often a short or condemned rifle action like a .303 Enfield) to fire a blank cartride that launched a 4-inch smoke generator or grenade. [1, 2, 3]
  
  
  

2-inch smoke discharger (often designated as a 2-inch bomb thrower or Mk III variant) is a small mortar-style or breach-loaded launcher fitted to World War II and post-war British and Commonwealth armored vehicles (such as the Crusader, Cromwell, and Churchill tanks) to deploy screening smoke.

The Hydran smoke discharger was a prototype multi-barreled smoke grenade launcher system supplied by Hydran Products Ltd. during World War II. [1]

Key Details

• Trial Vehicles: Originally tested and trialled on a Cromwell tank (Cromwell T212724), and referenced in technical documentation for British armor such as the A34 Comet

• Add 6 cell hydran
• no

This discharger was not adopted for British service, as it had eight barrels, while the Hydran Products discharger that was adopted circa Jan 1946 had six barrels. The first FVPE trial on the six barreled discharger was on a Cromwell and Daimler Armored Car in August 1945. However, both dischargers used the No.80 grenade.

Prototype multi-barrelled smoke dischargers, supplied by Hydran Products Ltd., had originally been trialled on Cromwell T212724. The electrically fuzed grenades were fired by means of four push button switches in the turret, two for each discharger, with each switch firing one vertical bank of three barrels. During two firing tests, the range of the projector units varied from 29 to 70 yards, with the majority falling within 42 to 55 yards.

Yes - this was put into Service around Feb 1945 by the Canadian army and used on Sherman Tanks and Carriers. Look carefully at ww2 images of the time and you will see quite a lot of them. A single example exists in a museum in the Netherlands on a Carrier (edit - which I intend to get reproduced).

Photo I believe is 21st Canadian Armoured, Germany, 11th April 1945.

https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/multi-barreled-smoke-discharger.95450/
The smoke discharger on the image from Packhow75 is a different type to the British design - which consisted of two separate dischargers on either side of the turret, each one having six barrels that fanned outwards in rows of two.

That image is the first one I have seen of the Canadian design, which was improvised in the field I think by the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade Workshops. I had assumed that this was an experimental device that was only used to give demonstrations, but obviously it was also fitted in the field. Both the Canadian and British designs used the existing No.80 smoke grenade, although the British design did not become available until after the war. You can see it on the picture of the Irish Comet below:

it looks like only the British 4-inch smoke discharger (officially the Discharger, Smoke Generator, 4-in., No. 2 ) made from uk rifles was able to shoot lethal grenades.

[Kriegerfaust007-live]

The multi‑barrel smoke discharger seen on some Canadian Shermans — especially the 1C Hybrid of the 21st Canadian Armoured Regiment — was a distinctive 8‑tube smoke grenade projector mounted above the mantlet, a feature unique to Canadian tanks in WWII

Origin and Development

The device was developed by the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) in 1944–45 It was inspired by earlier British trials of multi‑barrelled smoke projectors, such as the Hydran Products six‑barrel unit tested on Cromwell tanks [The Canadian version used eight vertical barrels arranged in two banks of four, each bank fired by a separate control in the turret

[Kriegerfaust007-live]

Japan

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/smoke-generator-on-japanese-tanks-ww2.35747/
ussr
The USSR used both handheld smoke grenades and tank-mounted smoke dischargers in WWII, with the RDG‑2 as the main infantry smoke device and rear‑mounted SDs on many T‑34/85s from 1944 onward

Smoke Canisters (BD-type): Many Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns carried manual smoke pots or canisters (such as the BD-series) mounted on the rear hull or fenders. Crew members typically had to dismount or use a mechanical release to drop and ignite them on the ground. [1, 2]

We have Germany, japan, uk, Canada with weapons that could in theory be used to launch lethal grenades. Confusion, he, shrapnel the works depending how liberal the snail is it could work. Maybe the allies get launchers on the front and back of the turret, Germany turret and hull and wild card Japan, ussr is out of luck unless u can find a nation in it influence or it gets lend lease smoke launchers or captured german.

[Kriegerfaust007-live]

Hungarian World War II armor, including the 40M/41M Turán and the 38M/42M Toldi series, utilized standard internal or external smoke countermeasures to conceal their movements on the battlefield. Depending on the vehicle and specific era of production, these took the form of turret-mounted dischargers or rear hull-deployed smoke grenades. [1, 2, 3]

1. 40M / 41M Turán Smoke Systems

The Turán medium tank series had two separate provisions for deployment of smoke screens:

• Turret-Mounted Dischargers: The basic configuration featured two smoke dischargers mounted at the rear of the turret. These allowed the crew to trigger smoke concealment directly from the fighting compartment while operating the vehicle under fire. [1]
• Rear Hull Grenades: In addition to the turret dischargers, the Turán housed 5 smoke grenades stored at the rear of the hull (near the engine compartment). When fully deployed, these specific canisters were capable of laying down a dense smokescreen measuring roughly 20 meters long, 40 meters wide, and 80 meters tall. [1]

2. 38M / 42M Toldi Smoke Systems

The Toldi light tank series (developed originally from the Swedish Landsverk L-60 chassis) mostly relied on internal and manual deployment of smoke assets or rear stowage racks rather than standard fixed multi-tube external launcher pods. [1, 2]

• The 44M “Mace Launcher” Field Conversion Exception: It is common for model builders and military historians searching for “Toldi launchers” to encounter a unique late-war field variant. In 1944, at least one Toldi II was experimentally converted by having its engine hood locked in an open, flat position to serve as a mobile platform for a 44M Buzogányvető (Mace Launcher). This was not a smoke countermeasure, but a heavy, twin-tubed unguided anti-tank rocket launcher system capable of firing 100 mm high-explosive anti-tank rockets. [1, 2]
  

[Красный_смех]

I’ll add on Soviet technology
Yes, there were no smoke grenade launchers, but smoke bombs were being tested.
there were also developments of smoke generators, which were experimentally installed on the bt-7 and regularly (there is even one on the t-28) They used T-28 and T-35 tanks.

also for ht-26-130-133 a special smoke mixture was developed, that is, flame-throwing tanks could also provide smoke cover
but honestly, I would not be unambiguous about this information.

Один залп дымовых приборов Д-100, установленных на ХТ-130, создавал завесу шириной до 100 метров на 3–5 минут.

This is from open sources

ТИЗ АМ-600, переоборудованный для установки дымовой шашки МДШ, 1 июля 1941 года.

ТДП-3 On different tanks

a little МДШ on a different technique

All this was developed in 41, but the war prevented full integration into the army, they didn’t think about it then, but when they thought about it, they already found themselves in Berlin.
There is a technique in War thunder, namely the is-2 which has the ability to mount such checkers, in our game the IS-2 44 also has this feature, but it is not implemented in the Game, which personally saddens me, because the reverse gear is literally a chip of the tank, which can solve in the moment.

so I would like it to be reflected in the game, tactically it is useful.
especially for my beloved ХT-130