The war against Germany and Italy: Mediterranean and adjacent areas — John Shaqi
The war against Germany and Italy: Mediterranean and adjacent areasHunter, Kenneth E.
History
The war against Germany and Italy: Mediterranean and adjacent areas
Hunter, Kenneth E.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Italy; World War, 1939-1945 -- Middle East; World War, 1939-1945 -- Pictorial works
GERMAN ANTITANK GUNS. These guns, effective against Allied
armor, fired armor-piercing shells loaded with high-explosive
fillers designed to burst inside the armor and to set the
tank on fire. Antitank gun (top) could penetrate the armor of
any Allied tank, front, side, or rear. Both U. S. and British
armor-piercing shells were solid and did not fire the tanks;
thus the Germans were able to salvage damaged armored equipment
to a greater extent than were the Allies. It was not until well
into the Italian campaign that armor-piercing shells equipped
with fuzes and high-explosive fillers became available to Allied
forces. (Top: German antitank gun, 7.5-cm. Pak. 40; bottom:
German antitank gun, 5-cm. Pak. 38.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
GERMAN SIX-BARRELED ROCKET LAUNCHER. This weapon fired
high-explosive, incendiary or smoke rockets and was light enough
to be moved with ease. The screaming sound of the rockets had
an adverse psychological effect on troops at the receiving end
and the rockets were nicknamed “screaming meemies.” Artillery
sound-ranging equipment could not locate the rocket launchers
because firing did not cause a report. The enemy used this type
of weapon until the end of the war. (15-cm. Nebelwerfer, 41.)]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
SHERMAN TANK WITH “SCORPION” ATTACHMENT, detonating mines during
a test. The Scorpion was a revolving drum with chains attached
(insert); when in motion it acted as a flail and could clear
a path through a mine field for infantry and other tanks to
follow. It was developed by the British and used extensively by
them in desert warfare.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
THE S-MINE. This German antipersonnel mine was used profusely
and very effectively in Tunisia. It was nicknamed the Bouncing
Betty because when stepped on it would bounce a few feet in the
air before a secondary fuze set off the main explosive charge
scattering some three hundred steel balls in all directions.
The suspected presence of these mines naturally retarded troop
movements during an advance. When retreating, the enemy would
frequently use this mine to booby-trap buildings, dugouts or
equipment left behind.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
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