"Rheinbote" rocket w/ Launcher

Many remarkable weapons were developed in Germany during World War II.
One of these was a four-stage tactical surface-to-surface rocket with solid-fuel engines, called the Rheinbote.
It was developed at Rheinmetall-Borsig by a team led by Technical Director Klein and Dr. Vüllers.
Development lasted from 1941 to 1944. Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Tröller coordinated the work for the Wehrmacht.
The rocket was made of sheet steel, with the diameter of each stage decreasing from the first to the fourth.
It carried a 40 kg warhead.
The explosive itself, however, contained only 20 kg.
The rocket was originally intended to be fired from a modified 8.8 cm anti-aircraft gun mount, but a modified Meilerwagen (fire engine) was eventually used.
The rocket's range was up to 200 km.
Serial production began in the fall of 1944 after General Kammler granted approval.
300 units were ordered.
Only about 220 were produced by the end of the war.
The rockets were tested by the Tröller Test Command.
This was transformed into a single combat unit, Artillery Battalion 709.
It continued to be led by Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Tröller. The battalion consisted of a staff, a supply platoon, a measuring and computing platoon, and two rocket batteries.
Each battery consisted of four Meilerwagen launchers and Sd.Kfz. 8 tractors.
It entered combat on December 24, 1944, near Nuspeet in the Netherlands, when it fired 24 rockets at Antwerp.
It continued to fight, firing over 200 rockets by the end of the war.
Because Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Tröller and his men did not know the exact impact locations, most of the rockets missed their targets.
General Kammler halted development of the Rheinbote in February 1944, as it was clear that it would no longer be useful after the end of the war.
Some historians state that the Rheinbote, along with the V-1 onboard rocket, the V-2 rocket, and the V-3 long-range cannon with reactive grenades, was considered a retaliation weapon and was designated the V-4.

Plastic model kit

• First injection-molded kit of this subject in this scale

Scale 1:72

unbuilt / unpainted

Paint and glue not included