M1 Rocket Launcher "Bazooka"

Slide Bazooka Instrument

"Bazooka" is a term commonly applied to a series of recoilless launchers used by the US military during WW2 and the Korean War. It was a slang term adopted by the GIs based on the device's resemblance to a comedy 'instrument' popularized by Radio Comedian Bob Burns in the 1930s & 1940s.

Today the term is often used by the general public as a generic term for any tube-like rocket launcher; this cannot exactly be called incorrect, since "Bazooka" was only ever a nickname for the original weapon, but on this site it should only be used to refer to this particular series of launchers.

Bazooka rockets are often depicted with burning engines and smoke trails in fiction, which is incorrect: the rocket motor burns out while the projectile is still inside the launch tube, except for early-production rockets at extremely cold temperatures where it may still be burning for a short time on exit. Later rockets used a new propellant, Blastless Bazooka Propellant (BBP) that eliminated temperature-related burn time issues.

The following weapons are in the M1 Series of Rocket Launchers:

M1 "Bazooka" (2.36" Rocket)

M1 Bazooka - 2.36 inch

• First model adopted from Lieutenant Edward Uhl's prototype rocket launcher and Colonel Leslie Skinner's rocket design, based very loosely on a series of prototypes created by American rocketry pioneer Robert H. Goddard in 1918. First used in combat in 1942, on the Russian Front via lend-lease and by American forces during Operation Torch in November 1942.
• Had two pistol grips (one with trigger) and a shoulder step which contained the battery.
• Contact box located on top of the tube just back from the shoulder rest is only present on this variant.
• 18 lbs unloaded weight, 54in tube.
• Introduced in June 1942, used until August 1943 when replaced by the M1A1 variant.
• Used M6 HEAT round: no other Bazooka can fire this original rocket design due to one of its contacts being on the nose, and the M1 could not fire any later rocket without modification.
• Not particularly popular due to the unreliable M6 rocket, use of substandard steel for production expediency rendering tubes prone to rupturing on hot days when the rocket propellant would burn extremely quickly, and lack of a bore gauge for launch tube production, resulting in tubes with very poor dimensional tolerances: frequent accidents involving rockets getting stuck in the tube and exploding: these issues were compounded by US troops in Operation Torch having received little or no instruction in the use of the weapon. Issuing of the M1 was suspended in May 1943.
• Mild steel cone in hollow charge, penetration roughly 3in (76mm) RHA.

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Air Date
Mail Call			Season 1	2002-2009

Video Games

Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Date
Time Crisis			Unusable, incorrectly shown as fired continuously	1995
Medal of Honor (1999)			Only seen in Beta versions	1999
Battlefield: 1942				2002
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault				2002
Medal of Honor: Infiltrator				2003
7554	"Bazooka"; "Vietnamese Bazooka"			2011
Project Reality: Normandy	As the "Bazooka"			2013

M1A1 "Bazooka" (2.36" Rocket)

M1A1 Bazooka - 2.36 inch

• Fully introduced in August 1943, with small numbers issued in July. First used during the invasion of Sicily in July-August 1943
• Replaced "On/Off" switch with the 'ready' light
• Removed second pistol grip
• Rear section of the launch tube wrapped with 0.5 in steel wire to prevent ruptures on hot days.
• Wire wrapping required reworked electrical system and redesigned rocket: instead of the top-mounted contact box that created a connection to a brass ring on the rocket's nose, a wire was stowed in the tailfin of the rocket and connected to a contact clip at the rear of the launcher by the loader prior to firing. This means the wire on this launcher goes from the shoulder rest to the back of the tube, rather than up to the contact box as on the M1.
• Unloaded weight 13.26 lbs
• Added optional wire blast shield in front for cold weather use. Not particularly effective and largely ignored by troops: later a more effective solid cone was developed.
• Optional solid blast cone in back to replace wired cone.
• Improved M6A1 rocket with shortened propellant sticks to reduce overpressure. "M6A2" rocket appears to have been an informal designation for original production M6 rockets upgraded to A1 standard.
• Many original production M1s were upgraded to the A1 standard
• Later issued with a larger battery, and after complaints of it getting stuck inside the shoulder rest, were re-reamed to better accommodate it

The M1 series of Rocket Launcher can be seen in the following films, TV series, anime, and video games used by the following actors:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Story of G.I. Joe		U.S. Army soldier		1945
A Walk In The Sun		U.S. Army soldiers		1945
Saving Private Ryan	Matt Damon	Pvt. James F. Ryan		1998
Saving Private Ryan	Tom Sizemore	Sgt. Mike Horvath		1998
Saving Private Ryan		U.S. Army soldiers		1998
We Were Soldiers		Viet Minh soldier	With modified rear sight	2002
Windtalkers	Christian Slater	Sgt. Pete "Ox" Anderson		2002
Windtalkers		Marines		2002
The Great Raid	Clayne Crawford	PFC Aldridge		2005
The Great Raid	Sam Worthington	PFC Lucas		2005
Hacksaw Ridge		US Army soldiers		2016
Hacksaw Ridge	Vince Vaughn	Sergeant Howell		2016

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Air Date
Band of Brothers	Nolan Hemmings	Sgt. Charles E. "Chuck" Grant	Ep. "Replacements"	2001
Band of Brothers	Stephen Walters	John McGrath	Ep. "Carentan"	2001
Band of Brothers	Rick Warden	Lt. Harry Welsh	Ep. "Carentan"	2001
Band of Brothers	Bart Ruspoli	Pvt. Ed Tipper	Ep. "Carentan"	2001
Mail Call		Season 1		2002-2009
The Pacific	Dylan Young	PFC Jay De L'Eau		2010
The Pacific	Karl Cottee	Cpl. Pegg		2010
Parer's War		US Marines		2014

Video Games

Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Date
Day of Defeat: Source				2005
Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45			Can be reloaded by teammate	2006
Enemy Front	BAZOOKA			2014
Heroes & Generals	Bazooka M1A1			2016
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades				2016
Day of Infamy	"Bazooka"		Can use White Phosphorous rockets	2017

M9 "Bazooka" (2.36" Rocket)

M9 "Bazooka" - 2.36 inch

• Introduced in October 1943 and replaced the M1A1 in production, operating alongside it in the field
• Battery ignition (which had proved unreliable in wet weather and caused many complaints about life and availability of batteries in the field) replaced by Magnavox T6 trigger magneto
• Wooden furnishings replaced with metal and plastic
• 64in tube length meant rockets would completely expend their fuel inside the launcher regardless of weather
• Used improved M6A3 HEAT rocket and M10 Bursting Smoke (WP) rocket. M6A3 had a blunt, rounded nose rather than the pointed nose of earlier rockets, which had been found to deflect off sloped tank armor, and also had a short cylindrical fixed tailfin which was less prone to bending during transport or rough handling. Both rounds could be fired from the earlier M1A1 model as well.
• M6A3 reshaped the ogive and some sources say also replaced the mild steel hollow charge liner with copper, the former or both together improving penetration to around 4 inches (100mm) of RHA.
• Early production used General Electric T43 folding bar sight, later replaced by Polaroid T90 optical reflex sight
• Could be disassembled into two halves for easier carrying.
• Unloaded weight 15.14 lbs
• Forward blast cone added.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Battle of the Rails (La bataille du rail)		French Resistance fighters		1946
Halls of Montezuma		US Marines		1951
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms		US National Guards	Jeep mounted	1953
Fire and Ice (Le combat dans l'île)	Jean-Louis Trintignant	Clément Lesser		1962
	Pierre Asso	Serge
	Romy Schneider	Anne
20 Million Miles to Earth	William Hopper	Colonel William Calder		1957
20 Million Miles to Earth		Italian soldiers		1957
Is Paris Burning?	Anthony Perkins	Sgt. Warren		1966
Is Paris Burning?	Skip Ward	Pvt. Charlie		1966
Shock Troops (Un homme de trop)	Claude Brasseur	Groubec		1967
Pasha (Le Pacha)	Dominique Zardi	Horst Weiss		1968
Mr. Freedom		Freedom agent		1969
The Brain			Seen in Frankie's weapon case	1969
She No Longer Talks She Shoots		The policeman		1972
Judge Fayard Called the Sheriff	Marcel Bozzuffi	Joanno aka "Captain"		1977
Wheels of Fire		Scourge's Men		1985
Man on Fire			Seen in Sandri's hideout	1987
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor		Chinese soldiers		2008
The Adventures of Tintin	Andy Serkis	Captain Haddock		2011

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Air Date
Rat Patrol	Justin Tarr	Pvt. Tully Pettigrew	Ep. "The Kill at Koorlea Raid"	1966-1968
The A-Team	Dwight Schultz	H. M. Murdock	Ep. "Where's The Monster When You Need Him?"	1983 - 1987
The A-Team		The henchmen	Ep. "The Island"	1983 - 1987
The A-Team		U.S. Army soldiers	Ep. "The Sound of Thunder"	1983 - 1987
The A-Team		Revolutionaries	Ep. "The Theory Of Revolution"	1983 - 1987
Band of Brothers	Nolan Hemmings	Sgt. Charles E. "Chuck" Grant	Ep. "Points"	2001

Video Games

Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Date
Medal of Honor (1999)				1999
World War II Online: Battleground Europe				2001-2012
Hidden & Dangerous 2	"M1 Bazooka"			2003

M9A1 "Bazooka" (2.36" Rocket)

M9A1 "Bazooka" - 2.36 inch

• Introduced in September 1944 replacing the M9
• Improved coupling mechanism for the two-part launch tube
• T90 optical reflex sight
• Unloaded weight 15.87 lbs
• Short-lived M18 variant had an aluminium alloy barrel reducing weight to 10.6 lbs. Introduced in April 1945 but production ended at the end of the war with only 500 units produced: 350 saw combat use in the Philippines and on Okinawa. Some sources conflate or confuse this variant with the M18 Recoilless Rifle, which entered service the same year and was referred to as a Bazooka by soldiers due to its vaguely similar shape.

Video Games

Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Date
Medal of Honor (1999)				1999
Medal of Honor: Underground			Multiplayer Only	2000
Medal of Honor: Frontline				2002
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun				2003
Call of Duty: United Offensive				2004
Call of Duty 3				2006
Medal of Honor: Vanguard				2007
Call of Duty: World at War				2008
Heroes & Generals			with folding bar sight	2019

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
When Trumpets Fade	Frank Whaley	Chamberlain		1998

M20 "Super Bazooka" (3.5" Rocket)

M20 "Super Bazooka" with rocket - 3.5"

• Further M18 development cancelled due to fears that the 2.36" rocket would be completely ineffective against the latest Soviet armor. Scaled-up M20 was developed instead, with a larger warhead for greater armor penetration
• Designated as M20 in late 1944, but not ready in time for the war's end and adoption postponed by Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson. Issue restarted when US forces in Korea encountered North Korean T-34/85 tanks their M9A1s, which were using ammunition that had degraded in storage, could not damage even with repeated shots at the engine compartments (particularly Task Force Smith during the Battle of Osan).
• Replaced the M9A1 in 1950.
• Used new ammunition: M28A2 HEAT (able to penetrate up to 11 inches (280mm) of RHA), M30 WP smoke
• Usable range was extended by an additional 150 meters.
• Weight 14.3 pounds (6.5kg), 60in tube length.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Steel Helmet	Richard Loo	Sgt. “Buddha Head” Tanaka		1951
War of the Worlds, The (1953)		U.S.Army soldiers and Marines		1953
Them!		U.S.Army soldiers		1954
To Hell and Back		U.S.Army soldier	anachronistic	1955
Pork Chop Hill		U.S. Army soldiers		1959
Reptilicus	Carl Ottosen	Gen. Mark Grayson		1961
The Longest Day		U.S.Army soldier		1963
The Devil's Brigade		U.S.Army soldier	anachronistic	1968
The Conspiracy (Le complot)	Simón Andreu	Baudry		1973
		OAS fighters
The Eagle Has Landed	Jeff Conaway	Lt. Frazier	anachronistic	1976
The Eagle Has Landed		U.S. Army Rangers	anachronistic	1976
Code Name: Wild Geese		General Khan's soldiers		1984
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah		American troops	Replica	1991
Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth		JGSDF personnel		1992
The General's Daughter				1999
Tae Guk Gi		South Korean soldiers		2004
Sahara (2005)		Tuareg tribesmen		2005

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Air Date
Viper		Vigilante gang leader	Ep. "Turf Wars"	1996-1999
Sanctuary		U.S. Airborne soldier	Ep. "Normandy"	2011

Video Games

Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Date
Project Reality: Falklands				2012
Project Reality: Vietnam				2012

Anime

Title	Characters	Notation	Date
Hyper Police	Naoko Kondo		1997

Animation

Title	Characters	Notation	Date
The Iron Giant	U.S. Army soldiers		1999

M20B1 "Super Bazooka" (3.5" Rocket)

M20B1 "Super Bazooka" - 3.5"

• Lighter weight version - made of cast aluminum.
• Used as a supplement to the M20

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Them!	James Whitmore	Trooper Sgt. Ben Peterson		1954
71: Into the Fire	Seung-woo Kim	Captain Kang Suk-Dae		2010

Anime

Title	Characters	Notation	Date
Mad Bull 34	N.Y.P.D. S.W.A.T. officer		1990

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Air Date
On Wings of Eagles		Revolutionary		1986

M20A1/A1B1 "Super Bazooka" (3.5" Rocket)

M20A1 "Super Bazooka" - 3.5" Rocket

M20A1B1 "Super Bazooka" - 3.5" Rocket

• Final US-produced Bazooka model.
• Entered production in 1952 - issued to troops after end of Korean War
• Improved connector latch assembly.
• Standard AT weapon at the start of the Vietnam War, phased out in favor of first the M67 recoilless rifle and then the M72 LAW for AT use in the 1960s.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
OSS 117: Mission for a Killer (Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117)		Brazilian soldiers		1965
Vigilante Force	Kris Kristofferson	Aaron Arnold		1976
Vigilante Force	Shelly Novack	D.O. Viner		1976
Black List (Liste noire)		Gang members		1984
Born on the Fourth of July		A US marine		1989
Cyber Tracker		A rebel	Visually modified	1994
Operation Chromite		North Korean soldier and US Marines	anachronistic appearance	2016

Anime

Title	Characters	Notation	Date
Kochikame, The UFO Movie

Video Games

Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Date
Indiana Jones and The Infernal Machine				1999
Resident Evil Survivor				2000

Instalaza M65 Rocket Launcher

Instalaza M65 Rocket Launcher - 88.9mm

• Spanish Upgrade of the M20 Bazooka with new ignition system produced by Instalaza. Fired CHM65 HEAT, MB66 Dual-Purpose and FIM66 smoke rounds.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Battle of the Bulge	Charles Bronson	Wolenski		1965
Lost Command		Algerians		1966
From Hell to Victory	George Hamilton	Maurice Bernard		1979
From Hell to Victory		US Army soldiers		1979

See also

• Panzerschreck (The German copy of the M1 Bazooka)
• PIAT (British equivalent)