| Original caption: “Weapon demonstration of the eighty millimeter multiple launcher, tank launcher on the “Maultier” half-track vehicle, impacts in the sea, landing obstacles and barbed wire barriers on the beach.” The 80 millimeter (3.14 inch) Raketen-Vielfachwerfer (“rocket multiple launcher”) was a German rocket launcher of the 2nd World War. The launcher was a near-copy of the Soviet BM-8 Katyusha rocket launcher produced under the influence of the Waffen Schultzstaffel (SS). In Ouistreham at the eastern end of Sword Beach, construction began in 1942 on the bunker coded Stützpunkt 08 (“Stronghold 08”) or Wiederstandnest 08 (“Resistance Nest 08”) by the Nazi Germans. Its role is to defend access to the Orne and the Caen channel estuaries, parallel to each other. These estuaries would give Allied Forces access to Caen. The Nazis centered their defense here around the Riva-Bella Casino. The beach area became a no man’s land; 123 villas by the sea were demolished to make way for the defenses of the Atlantic Wall: 80 concrete structures and an artillery observation post overlooking the beach where “the big bunker” were built. Defended by Grenadier-Regiment 736, the town was heavily fortified with artillery and machine guns in reinforced concrete bunkers built by the Todt Organization. On May 30, 1944, Nazi German Heer (“Army”) Generalfeldmarschall (“Field Marshall”) Erwin Rommel (November 15, 1891 – October 14, 1944) visited Riva-Bella to see a demonstration of the Raketen-Vielfachwerfer. There were at least 2 vehicles, a Sonderkraftzeug 4 Maultier (“Mule”) half-track and a captured French SOMUA MCG half-track. Major Alfred Becker (August 20, 1899 – December 26, 1981) modified the vehicles. They threw rockets into the sea to demonstrate their ability to repel landing craft. The Raketen-Vielfachwerfer was not as popular as the Nebelwefer (literally “fog launcher”) because that weapon used spin-stabilized rockets. The Raketen-Vielfachwerfer was never produced in quantity, despite the availability of captured Soviet Katyusha rockets. On June 6, 1944, Capitaine de Corvette (“Corvette Captain”) Philippe Kieffer’s (October 24, 1899 – November 20, 1962) Number 10 commando comprising the 177 French marines, part of the British 1st Special Brigade, then reached the bridges of Bénouville – known as Pegasus Bridge – and Ranville. With the paratroopers of the United Kingdom Royal Army 6th Airborne Infantry Division, the French Commandoes held open the access bridges after street fighting in Ouistreham. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0463.jpg |
| Image Size | 186.53 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1582 x 1015 |
| Photographer | Speck |
| Photographer Title | Photo Kompanie 698 |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 30, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | France |
| Archive | Bundesarchiv |
| Record Number | 101I-300-1863-07 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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