# Mattress (rocket)

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British multiple launcher

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Land Mattress Land Mattress (right) and German Nebelwerfer (left) at the Canadian War Museum. The brass registration plaque on the Mattress reads Proj., Rocket 3in, No. 8 MK-1. A.C. Cars. 1945. Reg. No. 108 Type Multiple rocket launcher Place of origin United Kingdom Service history Wars World War II Specifications Mass 1,118 kg (2,465 lb) Shell Rocket length: 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) Rocket weight: 30.5 kg (67 lb) Warhead: 3.18 kg (7 lb) Caliber 76.2 mm (3 in) Muzzle velocity 353 m/s (1,160 ft/s) Maximum firing range 7,230 m (7,910 yd)

**Mattress** was the term applied to ground-based British-devised [multiple rocket launchers](/source/Multiple_rocket_launcher) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II). Compared with the German and [Soviet](/source/Soviet_Union) counterparts (the *[Nebelwerfer](/source/Nebelwerfer)* and *[Katyusha](/source/Katyusha_rocket_launcher)* launchers respectively), the western Allies deployed these weapons late in the war. Nevertheless, they did see useful service as [artillery](/source/Artillery) support during the crossings of the [Rhine](/source/Rhine) and the [Scheldt](/source/Scheldt) rivers.

## Sea Mattress

The first multiple [rocket](/source/Rocket) launch system developed by the British was designed to be deployed on warships and landing craft and fired in support of troops in a landing action. The rockets were 5-inch [cordite](/source/Cordite) sticks and the launching system, known as a "mattress projector", was capable of projecting a salvo of 16 to 30 rockets 3,000 yards (2.7 km) in around 45 seconds. The weapon was also known as the "Stickleback".

For naval assault on beaches, the specially-outfitted [Landing Craft Tank (Rocket)](/source/Landing_Craft_Tank_(Rocket)) - LCT(R) was devised, each of which carried over a thousand rockets intended to be fired [en masse](/source/En_masse) against targets on the invasion beaches and intended for saturating the defenders' positions with rockets. They were used in the [Allied invasion of Italy](/source/Allied_invasion_of_Italy) and in the [Battle of Normandy](/source/Battle_of_Normandy).

## Land Mattress

The so-called land mattress was a ground weapon named after its naval equivalent. It was originally developed by Lt. Col. [Michael Wardell](/source/Michael_Wardell_(publisher)) of the British army in 1944.[1] Based on the British [Z gun anti-aircraft rockets](/source/Z_battery), it was tested in the summer of 1944 and saw some action with British and Canadian troops, with mixed results. The Land Mattress was based on the 3-inch-diameter (76 mm) tube of the [RP-3](/source/RP-3) or "60-lb" rocket used as an air-to-ground weapon with naval 5-inch shells as warheads and consisted of a 16- or 30-tube launchering system mounted on a towed carriage. The land version had an operational range of 8,000 yd (4.5 mi; 7.3 km). Rounds were fired at a rate of 4 per second. At the crossing of the [Scheldt](/source/Scheldt), over a thousand rockets were fired in six hours.

## See also

- [Landing Craft Tank (Rocket)](/source/Landing_Craft_Tank_(Rocket))

- [Hedgehog (weapon)](/source/Hedgehog_(weapon))

- [List of U.S. Army rocket launchers](/source/List_of_U.S._Army_rocket_launchers)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Land Mattress"](https://friends-amis.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/FS04_land_mattress_E.pdf) (PDF). *Canadian War Museum Fact Sheet No. 4*. Friends of the Canadian War Museum. Retrieved 29 January 2020.

- Knight, Doug (2003). *The Land Mattress in Canadian Service*. Weapons of war. Ottawa, ON: [Service Publications](/source/Service_Publications). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-894581-18-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-894581-18-9).

## External links

- Media related to [Land Mattress](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Land_Mattress) at Wikimedia Commons

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mattress (rocket)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattress_(rocket)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattress_(rocket)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.