German WW2 15cm Nebelwerfer Relic Ballistic Nose Cap.

[Falschirmjager]

Found this real gem of a relic on eBay and bagged it for £10.65. Its a relic ballistic nose cap from an exploded 15cm (150-mm) German Nebelwerfer 41. It was found in an area which was once part of the Russian Front in WW2 an area which received bombardment from this very unpleasant weapon. These ballistic nose caps were manufatured from sheet steel pressed into shape and then threaded so as they could be screwed into place on the business end of the rocket projectile. Projectile types included smoke, high explosive and chemical. As most of us are probably aware this weapon was used in the saturation/area bombardment role by the Germans in WW2 and larger calibre versions followed the 15cm 41 model. Apart from the blast/fragmentation effects of this weapon many were killed by the concussive forces of the shockwaves the impacting rounds created. The firing noise of the weapon was also pretty eerie earning it the nickname "Moaning Minnie" (or mimmie). This example is seen in its uncleaned and treated condition as it was found by a Russian battlefield guide a few years ago. I am in the process of doing the cleaning work and its going to look great when completed. What surprised me was how hefty this lump of metal is and how something like this on its own could seriously spoil your day! Regards, Tim.

[LUCKYSTRIKE]

Wow thats a bargain price, well done good buy. I attach a link to a post I made showing the body of one of these that I found in the Ardennes last year. I was surprised how thick the metal is and its weight.
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/battl...lwerfer-20638/
All the best
LUCKYSTRIKE

[Falschirmjager]

Wow thats a bargain price, well done good buy. I attach a link to a post I made showing the body of one of these that I found in the Ardennes last year. I was surprised how thick the metal is and its weight.
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/battl...lwerfer-20638/
All the best
LUCKYSTRIKE

Hi there mate, And firstly must apologise for not posting up that piece in The Armourer on the Ardennes found Nebelwerfer 41 relic, will get a copy up on this thread over the weekend all being well. I have almost finnished cleaning and treating the ballistic cap i have. You dont see many Nebelwerfer parts up for sale even at the shows and a battlefield found relic is to me worth far more than one brand new and complete that was never used as they were there and real pieces of history. Did you bring that heavy lump you found home with you?? The ballistic cap i have was found in Russia last winter by a battlefield guide. Regards, Tim.

[LUCKYSTRIKE]

Hi Tim,
Yes I did bring it home, and there's a story to this, I actually found it about 10 years ago, I saw a little bit of the edge sticking out of the ground and had excavated it out. It was full of soil at that time making it even heavier and it was a long walk to the car, sadly my 1999 girlfriend didn't appreciate my relics so because I wasn't certain what it actually was I left it in a hedge. I then completely forgot about it. Now fast forward ten years to 2009 and I was visiting the Ardennes alone this time, I went for a walk to a wood where heavy fighting had taken place and as I walked through I kept thinking this looks very familiar when suddenly I came across the inert nebelwerfer body again, still lying in the hedge I'd left it in all that time before.
This time I wasn't leaving it behind, the ten years of rain and snow had washed all the mud off and even removed the mud filling its interior. So in the end a happy ending but I stress- never leave relics behind!
But its now niggling me because if I could totally forget about finding it before, then what other relic's have I found, left behind and now forgotten about! Argh...........
I have since cleaned all the external rust off and its come up nice. From memory it has studs on one side which I think engaged in the launch tube.
LUCKYSTRIKE

[Falschirmjager]

Hi Tim,
Yes I did bring it home, and there's a story to this, I actually found it about 10 years ago, I saw a little bit of the edge sticking out of the ground and had excavated it out. It was full of soil at that time making it even heavier and it was a long walk to the car, sadly my 1999 girlfriend didn't appreciate my relics so because I wasn't certain what it actually was I left it in a hedge. I then completely forgot about it. Now fast forward ten years to 2009 and I was visiting the Ardennes alone this time, I went for a walk to a wood where heavy fighting had taken place and as I walked through I kept thinking this looks very familiar when suddenly I came across the inert nebelwerfer body again, still lying in the hedge I'd left it in all that time before.
This time I wasn't leaving it behind, the ten years of rain and snow had washed all the mud off and even removed the mud filling its interior. So in the end a happy ending but I stress- never leave relics behind!
But its now niggling me because if I could totally forget about finding it before, then what other relic's have I found, left behind and now forgotten about! Argh...........
I have since cleaned all the external rust off and its come up nice. From memory it has studs on one side which I think engaged in the launch tube.
LUCKYSTRIKE

Thats a fantastic story and im glad you eventually brought the Nebelwerfer relic back home, if after a long wait! You dont see many Nebelwerfer relics around and i was very surprised to see that one being offered on ebay. I can imagine there would be many such relics buried in the ground in and around the Ardennes and you just have to be lucky enough to find one. The nosecone i have has stampings around its bottom edge but they are not legible enough to read unfortunately. I have finished cleaning it up and have treated it with a metal preservative and will get some photos on over weekend and i will try and find that copy of the Armourer with that piece on the Nebelwerfer part found also in Ardennes by a reader. I had some fantastic relics from the Ardennes inc a silver German ring and a Saint Christopher medallion-wish i had still got em but stupidly sold em few years ago. Would like to see your Neb part as it is now in cleaned up cond. Regards, Tim.

[LUCKYSTRIKE]

Hi Tim,

I'll get some pics taken of mine and post them on here perhaps you could show a few of your cleaned up cap.
All the best

LUCKYSTRIKE

[Falschirmjager]

Hi Tim,

I'll get some pics taken of mine and post them on here perhaps you could show a few of your cleaned up cap.
All the best

LUCKYSTRIKE

Here's the 15cm Nebelwerfer 41 ballistic cap relic now ive cleaned it up and treated it with a metal preservative and it looks much better now and is a good solid display piece. I was told that Nebelwerfer relics are quite scarce-unless you happen to live in Russia of course! Regards, Tim.

[Falschirmjager]

Here's the 15cm Nebelwerfer 41 ballistic cap relic now ive cleaned it up and treated it with a metal preservative and it looks much better now and is a good solid display piece. I was told that Nebelwerfer relics are quite scarce-unless you happen to live in Russia of course! Regards, Tim.

Now ive noticed that after trawling the net looking up anything Nebelwefer i havent managed to find anything really detailed specification wise. So after looking through a couple of my books found a couple of good specs to post up here.

[LUCKYSTRIKE]

Hi Tim,
You've done a good job on the nose cone, its come up a treat, from memory I think I may have seen the Armourer magazine showing the relic so no worries on that but thanks for looking.
Below are the pics of my now cleaned relic, the close ups are to show details. You'll notice the studs around the top lip, I think on relection they are actually there to hold the nose cone to place.
All the best.
LUCKYSTRIKE






Notice the studs.





I left the interior in as found condition.

[Falschirmjager]

Hi Tim,
You've done a good job on the nose cone, its come up a treat, from memory I think I may have seen the Armourer magazine showing the relic so no worries on that but thanks for looking.
Below are the pics of my now cleaned relic, the close ups are to show details. You'll notice the studs around the top lip, I think on relection they are actually there to hold the nose cone to place.
All the best.
LUCKYSTRIKE






Notice the studs.





I left the interior in as found condition.

Nice pix there mate! Your relic is very similar to that Ardennes found example only the one the guy in the Armourer found did not have the partial nose section with the studs, so youve got quite a substantial part of a Nebelwerfer rocket. Interesting point is they killed through concussion and not fragmentation. The continuity of the barrage and variation in air pressure created by the mass of exploding rounds often caused contusion of the lungs or blast lung as its now known. Basically your lungs burst like an over inflated balloon. This was one hell of a nasty weapon to be on the receiving end of and i suppose it must have been like the machinegun and among the first true weapons of mass destruction. The Russians hated these things more than air attack in WW2. This has turned into a really good indepth thread and should save anyone looking for data a lot of hard searching! Will see what else ive got in my library and cheers loads. Regards, Tim.