SdKfz 251 ord power

[Klam]

I was in EW yesterday messing with the SdKfz251.
We had captured the v base next to the enemy HQ on the Baltic map.

A freindly in a Panzer spawned with me to HQ.  He was on train kill detail to stop the re-supply of the HQ.
I ran sorties with 4 box supplies and 6 rockets.

After spending 2 or 3 rockets to find the range to HQ I dropped the 4 boxes, fired the remains of the loadout, re-supped myself ect...
The next sortie all rockets hit HQ...30 rockets.  I did this for another 3 sorties.   HQ goes BOOM!

I think I did 5 soties in total    6 rockets + 4 re-supps = 30 x 5 = 150 rockets  (less 2 or 3 to range)

I read that each rocket is = 280lbs of HE

                  280 x 6 = 1680lbs
+ 4 supps                   6720lbs
   
total ords p/sortie        8400lbs   

I had great fun in that little half track although I can't find information on it's historical cargo carrying capacity.
I found the vehicle weight of around 7.8 tonnes.  Add the AH load out and allow for the driver gunners etc..
brings a gross weight of around 11.8 tonnes

I will be using the 251 a lot more.  Ranging can be tricky but well worth the time.

[bangsbox]

I stopped using it after a I hit a panther with a rocket and it bounced off...then he shot me dead. I think a direct hit on any tank with these rockets should kill it. But I don't make the rules

[Klam]

They are HE rockets.    Not sure of what damage they would do to Panther armour.  Give the crew a headache for sure

[Eric19]

I've killed about 3 tanks with the rockets on that 251 I just wish I could do it more often lol

[SmokinLoon]

The 28cm rockets are devastating.  There are 3 problems or issues associated with using them however.  First, aiming them is a bit tricky.  Unless you have a direct line of sight to the impact point it is very difficult to adjust fire.  On that note, it is very difficult to aim them in the first place using either the 23° or 45° firing angle.  Second issue is the lack of protection the SdKfz 251 has, it simple can not take anything above .30 caliber MG fire and survive.  If the target town can be de-acked prior to its arrival and it can get in town then it will have a fun time in shelling the town.  Third, it has competition from the Sherman M4A3 75mm Calliope.  The M4 is far more able to deal with enemy fire than the SdKfz 251, it has 60 rockets that each have about half of the power of the 28cm rockets, and it also can bring 90 rounds of the second best HE round in the game along with it.  The only thing the SdKfz 251 offers over the M4 is about 6 mph in speed.  Also, although I'm not exactly sure how much there is an advantage in splash area for the 28cm rockets. 

Not worth the effort, really.

Now if the SdKfz 251 were able to mix up its cargo, meaning take 2 gv supps and 5 troops, AND the rockets.... stop and think of the possibilities.      

   

[Klam]

I was in EW.  No Sherman M4 available.

I guess you'd always be safer in an armoured tank than in an open top halftrack. 

I had fun because it was an unusual ride for me and I was surprised by the amount of destructive power delivered very quickly.

Town busting is never going to be easy in it because of the ack. 
The HQ on the other hand, only had 4 guns perched on top which died with the first rocket.
 

[bustr]

You guys know those red and white poles on the bumpers are for aiming the rockets? You can also use the new target command offline to explore the range related to the red\white poles.

.target range heading pitch

Each ring on the target is 10 feet wide. From that you can tell the range of a building based on first scaling with the target spawned on top of a building and the relationship to the red\white segments on the poles.

Or see if HTC might be kind enough to post a dimension list of the size of all of the buildings in the game. Then work out from that and the target how to tell distances with the poles. No different than determining range using the triangles in the panzer optics superimposed on a distant tank.

[SmokinLoon]

You guys know those red and white poles on the bumpers are for aiming the rockets? You can also use the new target command offline to explore the range related to the red\white poles.

.target range heading pitch

Each ring on the target is 10 feet wide. From that you can tell the range of a building based on first scaling with the target spawned on top of a building and the relationship to the red\white segments on the poles.

Or see if HTC might be kind enough to post a dimension list of the size of all of the buildings in the game. Then work out from that and the target how to tell distances with the poles. No different than determining range using the triangles in the panzer optics superimposed on a distant tank.

I've been in the training arena enough and measured out the ranges of both angles of launch.  Know what the actual ranges are?   

Very true.  Thing is though just as you pointed out there are multiple sizes of buildings in the town (thankfully).  I do believe the rockets were adjustable for distance based on the respected angle of their launch.  In AH, we have 2 options (23° and 45°).  If HTC wanted to elevate the SdKfz 251 to "a force to be reckoned with" status in the LW they would allow for aiming the rockets similar to the way in which we aim the 5in and 8in naval guns.  I doubt the Germans rolled to an exact position away from their intended target and set up launch position there.  Until I get my hands on an actual Wehrmacht "hot to" manual for the 28cm rockets fired from the SdKfz 251, I'd be willing to bet that the crates were adjustable for more than only 2 options.  There must be some way HTC can introduce a viable aiming method for the 28cm rockets.

[Butcher]

They are HE rockets.    Not sure of what damage they would do to Panther armour.  Give the crew a headache for sure

He has a point Klam, HE rounds arn't designed to kill tanks - but the BLAST themselves can do serious damage. I was reading a few accounts of IS-2 tanks that were trying to breach through a fortification of German 75mm Pak 40s and ran into Tiger's.
First shot hit the drivers view port and exploded - killed entire crew inside leaving the tank undamaged.....

Second account I've seen was a Panzer III that used up all its AP trying to knock out a KV-1 tank, with no success - finally the KV-1 got stuck in rubble from a building it knocked down - the Gunner fired a HE round through the barrel, then driver drove away in clear view of the KV-1 tank, when the KV-1 fired it blew up the barrel completely rendering it useless.

I've killed a few tanks in game with HE rounds, however you gotta be seriously close for it to happen (I don't recall the details, but I know it did happen a few times mainly when trying to assault town now I just take 1/3rd of my ammo as AP since HE is useless beyond 2-400 yards)

[SmokinLoon]

Just an FYI: the ranges of the 28cm rockets in AH are either 1000 yards with the 23° launch or 2200 yards with the 45° launch.  I'd like to believe HTC could come up with a "dial" of some sort so the range could be adjusted without moving the 251 forwards or backwards.