20-30mm automatic grenade launcher used in WW2

  • Thread starter Deleted member 1487
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Deleted member 1487

Soviet armies in the pockets were being annihilated about as quickly as it was possible for the Germans to employ the force needed, with hunderds of thousands Soviet soldiers captured. Another hundred, even thousand of Soviet soldiers incapacitated is a drop in the bucket.
In the same time, automatic grenade launcher adds to the German logistical burden.
If the AGL is able to be more effective in achieving the goal with less ammo expended per weight, it might well ease the burdens. And are you really sure that pockets were liquidated as quickly as possible?

Same reason as why there was no assault rifle already by 1939 in service, why there was no LR Spitfire and Tempest fighters until too late, why the Merlin Mustang was almost too late, why US manufacturers didn't jumped on the opportunity to produce Mosquito under license, why the 76 and 90 mm cannon was as good as too late for ww2 on US tanks, why 6 pdr ATG was a year too late, why KV-1 didn't got the 85 mm cannon in late 1942, lack of quantitty and quality in German artillery - people in charge didn't saw the need.
You're comparing some pretty wildly disparate things. The reason there was no assault rifle in 1939 due to the conceptual issues around it; technically it was possible and indeed already invented in some cases, but not adopted due to doctrine issues.
Tempests were not technologically possible in 1939, while LR Spits were but were not developed as they were supposed to be only short ranged interceptors. The Merlin Mustang was ready in a shockingly short period of time given that the original design was conceived only in 1940. I could go on with each of these, but ultimately there were just different reasons for nearly each.
 
Also its not as if the automatic grenade launcher/autocannon wasn't a well established concept with the 2 pounder 40mm pom-pom. But again, it wasn't considered suited to the role envisioned in this thread even in the defensive role against massed infantry as seen in wwii because it was expensive as hell to run.

This is also why the brits were initially forced to keep using the pom-pom in wwii even though it was inferior to existing systems in the AA role because they could not afford to make new ammo for it and had to use wwi ammo stock.
 

Deleted member 1487

Also its not as if the automatic grenade launcher/autocannon wasn't a well established concept with the 2 pounder 40mm pom-pom. But again, it wasn't considered suited to the role envisioned in this thread even in the defensive role against massed infantry as seen in wwii because it was expensive as hell to run.

This is also why the brits were initially forced to keep using the pom-pom in wwii even though it was inferior to existing systems in the AA role because they could not afford to make new ammo for it and had to use wwi ammo stock.
A 40mm AA gun isn't a grenade launcher, it is a heavy autocannon.
 
If the AGL is able to be more effective in achieving the goal with less ammo expended per weight, it might well ease the burdens. And are you really sure that pockets were liquidated as quickly as possible?

My guess - yes, creating and then swiftly destroying the pockets was part & parcel of the 'Keil & kessel' doctrine Germany succesfully applied in 5 months of 1941.

You're comparing some pretty wildly disparate things. The reason there was no assault rifle in 1939 due to the conceptual issues around it; technically it was possible and indeed already invented in some cases, but not adopted due to doctrine issues.
Tempests were not technologically possible in 1939, while LR Spits were but were not developed as they were supposed to be only short ranged interceptors. The Merlin Mustang was ready in a shockingly short period of time given that the original design was conceived only in 1940. I could go on with each of these, but ultimately there were just different reasons for nearly each.

All of the things I've mentioned share the same issue - it dawned too late on the people in charge. I did not suggested Tempest in 1939, just mentioning that it's LR version (with 190 imp gals of internal fuel) arrived too late, in Autumn of 1944; same for Spitfire with rear tanks (66-72 imp gals added there + 10 gals in front). Merlin Mustang was feasible in late 1941 - both V-1650-1 and airframe were in production by that time.
 
A 40mm AA gun isn't a grenade launcher, it is a heavy autocannon.

But it is by far the most apt comparison available to us with the exact same logistical problems. The brits had 7000 2 pounders in a maxim configuration in wwi yet relegated them pretty much exclusively to AA duty when they would fulfill pretty much the exact same role as you envision for this grenade launcher in emplaced defensive positions, yet by all accounts they weren't and a prime reason is the insane ammo price which is why stuff like the mk 19 still isn't widely used today compared to .50 MGs.

The germans tried using the 20mm autocannons in a similar role and again they ran out of ammo pretty much instantly.
 
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