Purchase these Items

Products mentioned in this Article

--None--
 

 

M17 Whizz-Bang (US059)

M17 Whiz-Bang (US059)
includes one M4 Sherman, one M17 Whiz-Bang rocket launcher, one plastic Sherman components sprue & one Loader figure.

The 7.2-inch Multiple Rocket Launcher M17 was designed to be mounted on the M4 Sherman series of medium tanks. Intended for use against concrete bunkers and other fortifications, the payload of twenty rockets were fired electronically either as a salvo or individually.

This product is no longer currently available for sale...

Road To Rome
The Allied push up the boot of Italy had come to a dramatic halt outside the small Italian town of Cassino. Looming above the battlefield stood a large Benedictine monastery, which commanded the approach up the Liri Valley toward Rome. Over eight months the Allied and German armies attacked and counterattacked each other with heavy losses and little gains. Even with the landing at Anzio, where the Germans responded with a ferocious assault in a bloody but unsuccessful counterattack, little headway was made. The Allies amassed what reserves they could for a final attempt to break the deadlock at Cassino, connect with the bridgehead at Anzio, and claim the prize of Rome.

Learn more about Road To Rome here...
Road To Rome
M17 Whizz-Bang (US059) The box-like frame which housed the rockets was hydraulically elevated from the controls of the 75mm main gun and could even be jettisoned from the safety of inside the tank. However, the system was not without its drawbacks; for instance, the location of the launcher restricted access to the turret hatches.

Designed by Evan Allen
Painted by Mike Haught
The M17 Whiz-Bang in Flames Of War
      Armour
   
Name Mobility Front Side Top Equipment and Notes
Weapon Range
ROF
Anti-tank
Firepower
 
M17 Whiz-Bang Standard Tank 6 4 1 Co-ax MG, Hull MG.
M-17 Whiz-Bang rocket launcher
12"/30cm
-
3
3+
Rocket launcher, Saturation bombardment, Sixty rockets.
M17 Whizz-Bang (US059) M17 Whizz-Bang (US059)
Rocket Launchers
Rocket launchers were one of the secret weapons of the Red Army at the start of World War Two. By the end of the war every army had their own version of these lightweight weapons capable of delivering a stunning volume of fire and saturating the target area with explosives. Each army’s Arsenal describes their rocket launchers.
M17 Whizz-Bang (US059) M17 Whizz-Bang (US059)
Saturation Bombardment
The Calliope rocket launcher systems used in Italy were actually converted M-17 Whiz-Bang rocket launchers converted to take forty-eight 4.5” (114mm) rockets. Individually, these rockets may not cause much damage, but group 48 to 192 of them into a single salvo and the enemy will have nowhere to hide!


Calliope launcher kits were attached to tanks from an infantry division’s tank battalion. This meant that the Calliope crews were full-time tankers but only part-time artillerymen without much, if any, specialised training.

Each T34 Calliope counts as four weapons when firing an Artillery Bombardment.

Each M17 Whiz-Bang counts as two weapons when firing an Artillery Bombardment.

A Tank Rocket Launcher Platoon cannot use the Hit ‘Em With Everything You Got special rule.

M17 Whizz-Bang (US059) M17 Whizz-Bang (US059)
Sixty Rockets
Normally Calliope’s have 60 rocket tubes, but those used in Italy had 48 rocket tubes. They still took a bit of time to reload, but a crack crew found ways to speed things up for the next salvo. The bigger and heavier twenty 7.2” rockets of the M17 Whiz-Bangs also took time to reload.

At the start of the game, place a Full Salvo marker with a platoon with Sixty Rockets rocket launchers. Remove this marker after firing an Artillery Bombardment.

If a platoon with Sixty Rockets rocket launchers does not have a Full Salvo marker when it fires an Artillery Bombardment, roll a Skill Test for each Rocket Launcher able to fire in the Bombardment. Only those that pass the Skill Test can fire as part of the Bombardment.

Place a Full Salvo marker on a platoon with Sixty Rockets rocket launchers at the end of any Shooting Step in which every Rocket Launcher in the platoon was able to fire an Artillery Bombardment, but none did so.
M17 Whizz-Bang (US059) M17 Whizz-Bang (US059)


Last Updated On Monday, February 25, 2019