Image size: 1600 x 856 pixel. 456 KB
Date: Thursday, 18 June 1942
Place: Soviet Union
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Hahn from SS-PK (Propaganda-Kompanie)
The remains of Russian tanks collected by the Germans. The two tanks in the foreground have a curious construction on top, seemingly from a rocketlauncher or so. It is Soviet BM-8-24 self-propelled gun with Katyusha multiple rocket launchers. It's a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver a devastating amount of explosives to a target area more quickly than conventional artillery, but with lower accuracy and requiring a longer time to reload. They are fragile compared to artillery guns, but are inexpensive and easy to produce. Katyushas of World War II, the first self-propelled artillery mass-produced by the Soviet Union, were usually mounted on trucks. This mobility gave the Katyusha (and other self-propelled artillery) another advantage: being able to deliver a large blow all at once, and then move before being located and attacked with counter-battery fire.
Source:
http://incredibleimages4u.blogspot.com/2010/01/some-rare-images-of-german-army-on.html
