Werfer-Granate 21

Go Back to Air-to-Air Rocket

	Weapon: Werfer-Granate 21 Type: Air-to-Air Rocket Country of Origin: Germany Year Adopted: 1943 Overall Length (mm): 1260.0 Overall Length (in): 49.61 Weight (kg): 112.60 Weight (pounds): 248.24

The Werfer-Granate 21 (Wfr. Gr. 21), also known as the BR 21, was a German World War II air-to-air rocket designed to give Luftwaffe fighters a standoff weapon against tightly packed Allied bomber formations. Developed from the 21 cm Nebelwerfer ground rocket, it was adapted for airborne use with a simple tube launcher mounted beneath the wings of fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109, Focke-Wulf Fw 190, and Messerschmitt Me 410. The rocket carried a large 40.8 kg (90 lb) high-explosive warhead, intended to break up bomber formations with its blast rather than relying on direct hits.

Production of the Werfer-Granate 21 began in 1943, with several thousand rockets manufactured and deployed across Luftwaffe fighter units. While inexpensive and straightforward to produce, the system had significant drawbacks, including extreme drag from the launch tubes and the rocket's slow speed, which made it easy for bomber gunners to track. Pilots typically fired the rockets in salvos from outside defensive gun range, hoping to disrupt formations before closing in for attacks with cannons and machine guns.

In service, the Wfr. Gr. 21 gained notoriety as one of the Luftwaffe's more desperate attempts to counter the devastating effectiveness of Allied strategic bombing campaigns. Though capable of inflicting damage and occasionally downing bombers, its lack of accuracy and the performance penalty it imposed on fighters limited its effectiveness. Despite this, it represented one of the earliest uses of air-to-air rockets and demonstrated the shift toward heavier standoff weapons-a concept that would evolve into guided air-to-air missiles in the postwar era.