Nahverteidigungswaffe

The Nahverteidigungswaffe was a smoke bomb discharger for German panzers which could also be used as a close defense weapon to combat close assaulting infantry. It was a 92mm rotating launcher for smoke bombs, mounted in the roof of the turret or superstructure, which also allowed the occupants to fire a flare pistol through it. The flare pistol could fire flares, smoke rounds or small calibre fragmentation grenades.

                                             

                                     


krummlauf

                       
                        Nahverteidigungswaffe at Panzermuseum Munster

Other methods of close defense involved attaching electrically fired s-mine launchers at the four corners of the tank, or pistol ports, as well as adapting the late-war Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle to firing around corners with the unique Krummlauf curved gun barrel attachment.