The M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Medium Anti-Vehicle / Assault Weapon (M41 SSR MAAW), formally known as the Medium Anti-Vehicle / Assault Weapon, Bore 102mm, M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Launcher, and commonly known as the Jackhammer or the SPNKR, is a heavy ordnance weapon used by the UNSC Defense Force. It is manufactured by Misriah Armory.[1][2][3]
Design details
Through the various shoulder-launched rocket launchers used by the UNSC Defense Force since its creation, only the M41 rocket launcher has the tactical importance to be heavily manufactured.[4] The M41 SSR has been in service with the UNSCDF for decades, as early as the Insurrection.[2] It fires M19 102mm high-explosive shaped charge missiles. The weapon uses a unique system for loading and firing: rather than using a traditional magazine or single-shot system, it is fed by a pair of detachable barrels, each of which holds a single rocket. When one of the rockets is fired, the other is cycled into place; when both have been fired, the operator removes the barrel unit and inserts another. This allows the operator to quickly reload while in combat and greatly reduces the weight he carries without throwing the weapon away, as with some disposable rocket launchers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.[2]
The launcher has a 2x scope and can fire rockets over long distances with devastating accuracy, although the rockets' altitude decreases over long distances. The weapon possesses great firepower and, in many cases, is able to destroy even a Covenant Wraith tank with a single missile. Infantry armed with M41 rocket launchers can often turn the tide of a battle after other sources of heavy firepower have been destroyed.[4] Many M41s and their M19 rockets are equipped with target tracking systems;[1] these systems allow the operator to "home" on a target, which often guarantees that the target will be struck, even if it attempts evasive maneuvers. Some launchers are capable of tracking both ground-based and airborne targets,[5][6] while others are capable of tracking only aircraft.[7] Some M41s lack any form of tracking technology, requiring the operator to "dumb fire" the weapon without targeting assistance.[8][9][10]
Some M41s feature a smart-linked sight, a trigger guard, and an ergonomic thumbhole stock, adding the impression of greater bulk.[7][11] However, other versions lack these design features, possessing only a pistol grip and no trigger guard, resulting in a more skeletal overall appearance.[5][9][10][6]
Changes among games
Changes from Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 2
- The weapon has a different firing sound effect.
- The weapon's melee attack and reload speeds are faster.
- Holding the right trigger allows the player to home on vehicles, gun turrets, and Sentinel Enforcers in the campaign.
- Ammunition is indicated in the scope when zoomed in.
- The HUD ammunition indicator illustration is changed.
- The weapon's firepower and splash damage are decreased.
Changes from Halo 2 to Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST
- The weapon's missiles travel faster.
- The tubing has a metallic silver color rather than a synthetic black finish.
- It lacks the homing feature from Halo 2.
- It has a different firing sound effect.
- The weapon's melee attack and reload speeds are further decreased.
- The HUD ammunition indicator is again changed.
Changes from Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST to Halo: Reach
- The grips of the weapon are enclosed in a thumbhole design.
- It can now lock on to aircraft, but not other types of vehicles.
- It has slightly different firing and rocket detonation sounds.
- Rockets travel noticeably faster.
- Splash damage is increased.
- Rockets are mildly affected by gravity.
Changes from Halo: Reach to Halo 4
- Rockets' travel speed increased.
- The sound of the weapon firing has been, akin to the "tube" sound of a grenade launcher.
- The weapon no longer has an audible indicator to verify that a lock has been achieved.
- The rocket now leaves a noticeable vapor trail when fired.
Changes from Halo 4 to Halo 5: Guardians
- The M41 is now a Legendary weapon.
Trivia
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See our gameplay information related to M41 SPNKr on its gameplay page. |
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Browse more images in this article's gallery page. |
- The weapon was identified as the M19 SSM rocket launcher in the game manuals of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 as well as in the Art of Halo 3. It was also referred to in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx as the M19 missile launcher. It was established in Halo: The Essential Visual Guide that M19 SSM refers to the rocket ammunition while the launcher itself is designated as the M41.[1]
- The M41 SSR is aesthetically similar to the SPNKR-XP surface-to-surface missile launcher from Marathon 2 and Marathon Infinity. This weapon is also the source of the M41's "SPNKr" moniker.
- On the last level of Halo 3: ODST there are four rocket launchers with 1000 rockets each for use in Vidmaster Challenge: Deja Vu. These only appear on the Legendary difficulty when the Iron Skull is activated. If any player boards a Warthog, these rocket launchers will not spawn.
- If the player uses Emile-A239's voice in Firefight, he will occasionally say "Someone's gonna pay!" when he readies a rocket launcher. This is a reference to the level If I Had a Rocket Launcher, I'd Make Someone Pay from Marathon 2: Durandal, which, in turn, was named after the Bruce Cockburn song If I Had a Rocket Launcher.
Gallery
An in-game profile view of the Rocket Launcher in Halo: Combat Evolved.
An in-game profile view of the Rocket Launcher in Halo 2.
The Rocket Launcher as it appears in Halo 2.
An in-game left profile view of the Rocket Launcher in Halo 3.
An in-game right profile view of the Rocket Launcher in Halo 3.
The Rocket launcher as it appears in the Halo: Reach Beta.
An in-game profile view of the Rocket Launcher in Halo: Reach.
A first-person view of the Rocket Launcher in Halo: Combat Evolved.
View through the Rocket Launcher's scope in Halo 2.
The 2x scope of the M41 Rocket Launcher in Halo: Combat Evolved.
An M41 rocket launcher with a synthetic black finish from Halo 2.
The M41 in use from Halo 2.
The right-side of the M41 SSR.
The left-side view of the M41 SSR.
A blueprint of the M41 SSR from Halo trilogy.
Models of the M41 as it appears in Halo Wars' cinematics.
- Reach M41 SSR MAV-AW.jpg
Concept art of the M41 SSR MAV/AW for Halo: Reach.
A blueprint of the M41 SSR.
A first-person view of the M41 in Halo: Reach.
View through the scope of M41 Rocket Launcher in Halo: Reach.
HUD picture of the M41 in Halo 4.
A render of the Halo 4 era M41's scope.
A Spartan using a M41 in Halo 2 Anniversary multiplayer.
John-117 with a rocket launcher in Halo 2 Anniversary.
List of appearances
Sources
- ^ a b c Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedEVG - ^ a b c Halo Encyclopedia, page 314
- ^ Bungie.net: Halo: Reach Ordnance Page
- ^ a b Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameduniverse - ^ a b Halo 2
- ^ a b Halo Wars
- ^ a b Halo: Reach
- ^ Halo: Combat Evolved
- ^ a b Halo 3
- ^ a b Halo 3: ODST
- ^ Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
- ^ Halo Waypoint: How Fans Helped Shape the Multiplayer of Halo 5: Guardians
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