M19 SSM Rocket Launcher

The M19 SSM Rocket Launcher is a heavy ordnance weapon used by UNSC forces in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 to combat armored and non-armored vehicles. It features a 2x scope, and, in Halo 2, lock-on capabilities. It is designed so that it can be used by all UNSC Marine Corps personnel. It is also known as the SPNKr, or "Spanker" for the letters painted on the side, as a reference to its namesake from Bungie's previous Marathon franchise.

Summary

The M19, alternatively called the SPNKr, Jackhammer, Rox, or Hunter Killer (by some fans, due to its effective use against Hunters) is a heavy ordnance weapon of the UNSC arsenal used in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. It fires H.E.A.T. (High Explosive Anti-Tank) rockets. The launcher sports a 2x scope and can fire rockets over long distances with devastating accuracy, although in Halo: Combat Evolved it falls in altitude if shot from a long distance.

The weapon consists of two disposable barrels and the weapon unit, allowing two consecutive shots. When reloading, the spent barrels are discarded and a new pair inserted. With this mechanism, a Marine can greatly reduce the weight he carries without throwing the weapon away like with modern day disposable rocket launchers, and reduced production costs as only the barrels are thrown away. A Spartan wielding one is also very effective, since their augmentations have given them the ability to wield both a Rocket Launcher and a small sidearm at the same time, though this is only seen in a cinematic in the Halo 2 level Delta Halo, and cannot be done during actual gameplay. Still, it is a heavy ordnance and is very effective at killing both the enemy, and if fired at a target that is too close, the splash damage can and probably will kill the user.

Advantages

The Rocket Launcher spreads a huge amount of damage over a large area. It is capable of taking out entire groups of targets at any range and can kill both the passengers and crew of nearly any vehicle (with the exception of the Scorpion Tank or Wraith) with one direct hit. It is very useful for killing Hunters, which are often the most difficult enemies to kill. For an anti-tank weapon it has a high rate of fire and can quickly launch two consecutive shots so it is effective in close range assaults against tanks. It also has a strong melee attack. In Halo: Combat Evolved, it was originally possible to kill someone with a single running or jumping version of the Rocket Launcher's melee attack. This has since been corrected. Also in Halo 2 and 3 it has a nice propulsion alternative for the "grenade jump" if done correctly. With the Rocket Launcher you do not have to have perfect aim, the blast's splash damage will be enough to kill them. The lock-on feature in Halo 2 makes aiming much easier, and killing vehicles almost a guarantee. This feature was deleted in Halo 3 since the Missile Pod has the lock-on feature in a package that Bungie considers to be more balanced gameplay-wise.

Disadvantages

The Master Chief in Mk. V armor fires a rocket at a Covenant Wraith.

Several things counterbalance the rocket launcher's sheer power:

• The rocket, though powerful, is a anti-vehicle weapon, not specifically targeting infantry. Consequently, many enemies, who would have perished had they have been in a vehicle, can survive. For example, Elite Zealots within a vehicle cannot survive, while Zealots engaging in direct combat will merely lose their shields and some health.
• Its reload time is quite slow - about three to five seconds, in fact.
• The rockets leave a trail of black smoke in their wake, giving away your exact position if you are hidden.
• Ammunition is often unavailable, and the player can carry only 10 rockets in Halo: Combat Evolved, and 8 in Halo 2 and Halo 3.
• The splash damage of a rocket can severely injure or kill its operator if fired carelessly into surrounding terrain or an enemy at extremely short range.
• The rocket travels slowly enough to be dodged, and trying to hit moving vehicles from long range will require very precise timing and predictable driving by the opponent. In Halo 2, this is not an issue due to the homing rockets. Also the Rocket Launcher has only two rockets making a inexperienced wielder dead if he misses. The Fuel rod cannon is better launching more than two shots in rapid succession.
• In Halo 2, you can loose a rocket lock if you are in a banshee by pointing the nose as high as you can, getting out then back in quickly by pressing the X button rapidly.

Halo: Combat Evolved

The Rocket launcher of Halo: CE is known to be the strongest out of all in the Halo universe, one shot can destroy a Ghost or a Banshee. It holds up to 10 rockets (2 in the barrel and 8 in reload position). The size of the Rocket launcher is bigger than the one in Halo 2. Also, it shoots slower than its Halo 2 and Halo 3 counterparts, but can kill a large group of enemies. A downside to this variant of the rocket launcher is that it doesn't lock on to an enemy vehicle like in Halo 2.

Halo 2

In Halo 2, the Rocket Launcher is much weaker than the one from Halo:Combat Evolved, although it still can destroy a small sized vehicle with one shot. Despite how many rockets it takes to take out a vehicle, the Halo 2 rocket launcher has a lock on system that can track an enemy vehicle and destroy it. This variant is better than the Rocket Launcher of the previous game, because it can shoot much faster.

Effective Against

Regularly all enemies, vehicles, and even particularly heavier vehicles such as the Wraith and Scorpion (One accurate shot can kill a Scorpion's driver in Halo: Combat Evolved). Two quick shots to the front or close up on the flank will destroy it. A Wraith may take two hits to the front before getting destroyed. Sometimes, it will take three but it will take one hit in the back to destroy it but it will have to be in the right spot. However, against enemy vehicles on their flanks at medium ranges is arguably useless and ineffective over the map, unless in flat terrain and using extreme leading, it suffers against Ghosts and Warthogs due to their high speed and agility. If fired at an oncoming vehicle at medium range it can usually be avoided. It can also be used to deadly efficiency in some of the indoor multi player levels if the player can predict the rockets impact point and where the target will be at that given time. This is easier than it sounds due to the "splash" radius of the rocket.

Ammo

M19 Surface to Surface Missile (x2) 102mm Shaped-Charge High-Explosive. (As shown on Ammo Box in Halo Graphic Novel)

Influences

Apart from its lock-on ability in Halo 2, the M19 SSM is essentially a Halo Universe copy of the SPNKR-X18 SSM Launcher from the Marathon series, making the "SPNKr" on the side of the M19 SSM a possible inside joke for fans of Bungie's former series. The M19 is also nicknamed the "Spanker" due to the "SPNKr" labeling on the launcher and the rectangular cases that contain rocket ammunition.

Trivia

• This version of the Rocket launcher has a TEST button that, when pressed, spins the barrels around. This animation only happens when the player is idle.
• The rocket launcher in Marathon bore the same name, SPNKr.
• Gamestop released a Halo 3 Rocket Launcher missile case game holder to coincide with the release of Halo 3.
• If the Rocket Launcher is given to a Grunt in Halo 2, it will actually shrink.
• The Rocket Launcher actually says M41 on the side.
• The letters on the side say "SPNKr", which is pronounced "Spanker".
• According to the diagram on the side of the Rocket Launcher, everybody using it is holding it on the wrong side. The only exception is the Master Chief in the Delta Halo cinematic.
• It is commonly regarded as a noob weapon purely because it requires almost no skill to kill any sort of enemy, including Spartans. (However, it may take two shots to kill a Hunter if it is an indirect hit and it is actually easy to miss if the target is in the air.)
• In the novel Halo: The Flood, Hunters can actually deflect rockets (that is, redirect it). This is highly improbable, as the rocket explodes the moment it comes in contact with anything, unless it is hit at its side. So a possible explanation is that the Hunters mentioned timed it perfectly and gave it a swift hit at the rocket's side. John-117 performed a similar feat with the help of Cortana during a test on Reach.
• In Halo 2, if a player drives a vehicle to the top of the hill in a given map, and another player stands a certain distance away, locks on, drags the aiming reticule away to a certain point, and releases, the rocket will actually fly around the vehicle in a perfect circle until something gets in the way or the hill player moves. Furthermore, if the player in the vehicle gets out, the rocket will stop homing on to the vehicle and fly off at a random circular trajectory.
• In Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo: PC, it is often referred to as the rocket "lawn chair".
• In Halo: The Fall of Reach, the Rocket Launcher is called the Jackhammer.
• The first level in the Halo trilogy the rocket launcher is featured in is in The Silent Cartographer, in Halo: Combat Evolved.
• Jumping up and away can be a useful tactic to kill an enemy without suffering splash damage.
• While your shields are upgraded to Overshield status, aim at the ground, jump, and fire a rocket at your jumps peak to be given a moderate jump boost. This is because the explosive shock wave of the rocket launcher causes you to fly a little, but is also only possible because during the short (around 2.5 second) period that your overshields charge, you are temporarily invincible.
• It is possible to survive a rocket blast without losing health in Halo PC.
• On Xbox Live the SPNKr is considered a "noob" weapon because new players often use it too often to get kills.
• Strangely, in Halo: CE, it is the only weapon which Marines cannot pick up (if you bump-possess them).
• In Animator vs. Animation II, the "rocket launcher" that the animator pulls out is a SPNKr.
• If you seat yourself as a passenger in an enemy's Warthog in Halo 2, and have the Rocket Launcher with you, you can lock onto to the vehicle as long as the driver is not on your team. It takes two to one shots to kill you both, the gunner can survive.

Character Compatibility

• Spartans
• Elites (Halo 2 and Halo 3)
• Marines
• Cortana (has animation but not used)
• Flood Combat Form (Human)
• Flood Combat Form (Elite)
• Brutes (Halo 2, though in Halo 2 they are never seen using a rocket launcher, they might have since of the armory in the level Uprising).
• Grunts (Can be given to them in Uprising)

Related Pages

• M19-B SAM Missile Launcher
• M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher

References

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