
A Rocket Projectile 3 inch (RP-3) warhead from the Greek Civil War, by Ntinos Mpampakos
By Pierre Kosmidis
Photos © Ntinos Mpampakos, submitted to www.ww2wrecks.com and used by permission
Mr. Ntinos Mpampakos, 29 years old, has shared the photos he has shot, during his numerous visits on the mountains, on the northwestern borders of Greece with Albania, showing the beauty of Nature, but also the relics of War.
Mr. Mpampakos found a war relic on Vitsi mountain, in northwestern Greece, the warhead of an RP-3 rocket, used by Hellenic Royal Air Force aircraft against the communist-backed Democratic Army, during the Greek Civil War 1946-1949.
The rocket body was a steel tube 3.25 in (83 mm) in diameter and 55.19 in (1,402 mm) long[4] filled with 5.2 kg (11.5 lb) of cordite propellant, fired electrically.

2ND TACTICAL AIR FORCE, 1943-1945. Still from film shot by a Hawker Typhoon of No. 181 Squadron RAF while attacking trucks in railways sidings at Nordhorn, Germany, showing a salvo of 60-lb rocket projectiles heading for the target, which has already been hit. Public Domain
The warhead was screwed into the forward end, and was initially a solid 24 lb 12 oz (11.2 kg), 3.44 in (87 mm) diameter and 12.4 in (310 mm) long (with adaptor)[6] armour-piercing warhead which was quickly supplanted by a 152 mm (5.98 in), 27.4 kg (60.4 lb) high explosive head.

Once the rocket had been mounted on the rails, an electrical lead (or “pigtail”) connected the rocket to the firing controls.
Four large tailfins 4 by 5 in (100 by 130 mm) induced enough spin to stabilize the rocket, but as it was unguided, aiming was a matter of judgment and experience.

Approach to the target needed to be precise, with no sideslip or yaw, which could throw the RP off line. Aircraft speed had to be precise at the moment of launch, and the angle of attack required precision. Trajectory drop was also a problem, especially at longer ranges.
The rocket was less complicated and more reliable than a gun firing a shell and there was no recoil on firing. It was found to be a demoralising form of attack against ground troops and the 60-pound warhead could be devastating. The rocket installations were light enough to be carried by single-seat fighters, giving them the punch of a cruiser.