Nahverteidigungswaffe

The Nahverteidigungswaffe was a roof mounted, breech-loaded, single shot, multi-purpose, 360° rotating grenade launcher[1] that could fire a variety of ammunition.

It was typically found on German tanks such as the Panzer IV, Panther I, Tiger I, and Tiger II from 1944 until the end of the war and was intended to replace three previous devices: the Nebelwurfgerät, the Minenabwurfvorrichtung, and pistol ports.

[2] The Nahverteidigungswaffe was a simple breech-loaded launcher tube oriented at a 50° angle and fitted in a traversable mounting on the turret roof.

Unlike the previous externally mounted launchers, it was not exposed to enemy fire, being reloaded from within the vehicle through a hinged breech.

The Nahverteidigungswaffe was designed to mate with the standard 26 millimetres (1 in) Kampfpistole flare gun[3] and could be sealed by an armored plug when not in use.