2.36-inch M6A1 and M6A3 Bazooka Rockets: Data Sheet
The 2.36-inch antitank rocket was the round fired from the US Army's shoulder-launched rocket launcher of World War II, the open tube soldiers nicknamed the "bazooka." It gave a single infantryman a way to stop a tank: a small shaped-charge warhead, a short rocket motor, and a tail that kept it pointed straight. The launcher fired it electrically, and because the rocket propelled itself, there was no recoil.
The first service round was the M6. Wartime improvements produced the M6A1, then the M6A3 with a rounded nose and a new tail, and later the M6A4 and M6A5. The matching practice rounds were the M7 series.
Cutaway of the 2.36-inch A/T rocket from OP 1664, Figure 115, p. 151. The manual captions it the M6A1, though the rounded nose matches the hemispherical ogive the text gives the M6A3. (Click to enlarge.) Ours, in plastic: the M7A1 practice-rocket replica →.
At a glance
| Designation | Rocket, A/T, 2.36-inch: M6A1, M6A3 (also M6A4, M6A5) |
|---|---|
| Practice rounds | M7A1, M7A3, M7A4, M7A6 |
| Overall length | 21.6 in. |
| Total weight (M6A1) | 3.4 lb |
| Head length | 8.6 in. |
| Body diameter | 2.23 in. |
| Ogive | M6A1 cone-shaped, 4.5 in. long; M6A3 hemispherical, 4.56 in. long |
| Motor tube | 6.32 in. long, 1.06 in. inside diameter |
| Propellant | Five sticks of ballistite |
| Explosive | Pentolite, shaped charge |
| Muzzle velocity | 265 ft/sec |
| Effective range | 300 yards |
| Maximum range | 700 yards |
| Penetration | 3 in. of homogeneous steel armor plate |
| Color | Olive drab |
| Launchers | Rocket Launcher M1A1 (13.26 lb); M9A1, which breaks into two 31-inch sections |
Figures from OP 1664, U.S. Explosive Ordnance, Vol. 1 (1947), pp. 150 to 151.
M6A1 vs. M6A3
The two rockets share the same body, motor and fuze. They differ at both ends:
- Nose: the M6A1 has a cone-shaped ogive. The M6A3 has a hemispherical one, which the manual says gives better penetration by making a stronger stand-off piece for the shaped charge.
- Tail: the M6A1 has six straight fins spot-welded to the nozzle. The M6A3 has four sheet-steel fins, each curved over its outer edge and welded to the next to form a round drum, which adds fin area to balance the blunter nose.
By 1947 the M6A1 and its M7A1 practice twin were listed as obsolete. The M6A4 was a lighter M6A3 made of high-strength alloys with the bore-safe M400 fuze, and the M6A5 used the M401 fuze and a larger propellant grain.
Reading the markings
The 1944 Ammunition Inspection Guide, TM 9-1904, gives the paint scheme for the original M6 and M7: the high-explosive rocket painted lusterless olive drab and stenciled in yellow, the practice rocket painted black and stenciled in white. In each case the stencil gives the type, model and lot number. That guide puts the muzzle velocity at about 300 feet per second; the later Navy pamphlet gives 265.
The practice rounds were the same shape, size and weight as the service rockets, with an inert head and no working fuze, so a crew could train with the same handling and flight. Our life-size M7A1 practice-rocket replicas → follow that same shape and size.
The successor: the 3.5-inch Super Bazooka
After the war the Army moved to a larger 3.5-inch launcher, the M20 "Super Bazooka," and its M28-series rockets, which saw heavy use in Korea. We make those too: the M28A2 HEAT rocket →, the M29A2 practice rocket →, an unpainted M28/M29 → to finish yourself, and a complete M28A2 with a wooden stand →.
The replica
Our 2.36-inch rockets are life size, 3D printed and 100% plastic, with parts designed to interchange with an inert original: the M7A1 three-pack → and the single M7A1 →, finished or unfinished. Rockets only; we don't sell launchers. See the whole bazooka line.
Sources
- OP 1664, U.S. Explosive Ordnance, Vol. 1, Bureau of Ordnance, Navy Department, 28 May 1947, pp. 150 to 151. Declassified U.S. Government work in the public domain. Find it in our Ordnance Reference Library.
- TM 9-1904, Ammunition Inspection Guide, War Department, 2 March 1944, pp. 258 to 262. Public-domain U.S. Government work, also in our Ordnance Reference Library.
Redleg3D makes 100% plastic, inert display replicas. This page is for history, collecting and identification only. If you ever find real ordnance, don't touch it: leave the area and call 911.