| This is a shoulder-mounted weapon with a long smoothbore tube that fired armor-piercing rockets at short range, used first by American forces during World War II. The bazooka weighed in at around 16 pounds (7.25 kilograms), and measured 61 inches (1.5 meters) fully assembled. The weapon was named for a crude pipe instrument called by the same name (probably from bazoo, kazoo) invented by American comedian Bob Burns (1896-1956).
A competent two-soldier team could fire ten rockets per minute with this weapon. The bazooka was only marginally effective against German tanks, the soldier having to hit the tank on its flanks to have any demonstrable effect. Soldiers had more success using this weapon against light bunkers, machine gun emplacements, and light vehicles. | 
