The Katyusha ( rus, Катю́ша, p=kɐˈtʲuʂə, a=Ru-Катюша.ogg) is a type of
rocket artillery
Rocket artillery is artillery that uses rocket explosives as the projectile. The use of rocket artillery dates back to medieval China where devices such as fire arrows were used (albeit mostly as a psychological weapon). Fire arrows were also ...
first built and fielded by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Multiple rocket launcher
A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...
s such as these deliver explosives to a target area more intensively than conventional artillery, but with lower accuracy and requiring a longer time to reload. They are fragile compared to artillery guns, but are cheap, easy to produce, and usable on almost any chassis. The Katyushas of World War II, the first
self-propelled artillery
Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled ...
mass-produced by the Soviet Union,
[Zaloga, p 150.] were usually mounted on ordinary
trucks
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
. This mobility gave the Katyusha, and other self-propelled artillery, another advantage: being able to deliver a large blow all at once, and then
move before being located and attacked with
counter-battery fire
Counter-battery fire (sometimes called counter-fire) is a battlefield tactic employed to defeat the enemy's indirect fire elements (multiple rocket launchers, artillery and mortars), including their target acquisition, as well as their command ...
.
Katyusha weapons of World War II included the BM-13 launcher, light BM-8, and heavy BM-31. Today, the nickname ''Katyusha'' is also applied to newer truck-mounted post-Soviet – in addition to non-Soviet – multiple-rocket launchers, notably the common
BM-21 Grad
The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first com ...
and its derivatives.
Nickname
Initially, concerns for secrecy kept the military designation of the Katyushas from being known by the soldiers who operated them. They were called by code names such as ''Kostikov guns'', after
A. Kostikov, the head of the
RNII
Reactive Scientific Research Institute (commonly known by the joint initialism RNII; russian: Реактивный научно-исследовательский институт, Reaktivnyy nauchno-issledovatel’skiy institut) was one of the ...
, the Reactive Scientific Research Institute, and finally classed as ''Guards Mortars''.
The name ''BM-13'' was only allowed into secret documents in 1942, and remained classified until after the war.
Viktor Suvorov
Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun (russian: link=no, Владимир Богданович Резун; born 20 April 1947), known by his pseudonym of Viktor Suvorov () is a former Soviet GRU officer who is the author of non-fiction books about World ...
(1982), '' Inside the Soviet Army''
p 207
Prentice Hall, .
Because they were marked with the letter ''K'' (for
Voronezh
Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...
Komintern Factory),
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
troops adopted a nickname from
Mikhail Isakovsky's popular wartime song, "
Katyusha", about a girl longing for her absent beloved, who has gone away on military service.
[Zaloga, p 153.] Katyusha is the Russian equivalent of ''Katie'', an endearing
diminutive form of the name Katherine. ''Yekaterina'' is given the diminutive ''Katya,'' which itself is then given the affectionate diminutive ''Katyusha''.
German troops coined the nickname "Stalin's organ" (), after Soviet leader
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
, comparing the visual resemblance of the launch array to a
pipe organ, and the sound of the weapon's rocket motors, a distinctive howling sound which terrified the German troops, adding a
psychological warfare
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and M ...
aspect to their use. Weapons of this type are known by the same name in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
( da, Stalinorgel),
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
( fi , Stalinin urut),
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
(french: orgue de Staline),
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
( no, Stalinorgel), the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
( nl, Stalinorgel),
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
( hu, Sztálinorgona),
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and other
Spanish-speaking countries
The following is a list of countries where Spanish is an official language, plus a number of countries where Spanish or any language closely related to it, is an important or significant language.
Official or national language
Spanish is the o ...
( es, Órganos de Stalin) as well as in
Sweden ( sv , Stalinorgel).
The heavy BM-31 launcher was also referred to as ''Andryusha'' (''Андрюша'', an affectionate diminutive of "Andrew").
World War II
![RIAN archive 303890 A battery of Katyusha during the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/RIAN_archive_303890_A_battery_of_Katyusha_during_the_1941-1945_Great_Patriotic_War.jpg)
Katyusha rocket launchers, which were built in
Voronezh
Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...
, were mounted on many platforms during World War II, including on trucks,
artillery tractor
An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be wheeled, tracked, or half-tracked.
Traction
There are two ...
s, tanks, and
armoured train
An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facili ...
s, as well as on naval and riverine vessels as assault support weapons. Soviet engineers also mounted single Katyusha rockets on lengths of
railway track
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleeper ...
to serve in urban combat.
The design was relatively simple, consisting of racks of parallel rails on which
rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
s were mounted, with a folding frame to raise the rails to launch position. Each truck had 14 to 48 launchers. The
M-13 M13, M-13 or M13 may refer to:
Military
* Fiat M13/40, an Italian tank used in World War II
* M13 Half-track, a U.S. anti-aircraft gun used in World War II
* M13 link, a machine gun's ammunition link
* M-13 rocket, a version of the Soviet World War ...
rocket of the BM-13 system was long, in diameter and weighed .
The weapon is less accurate than conventional
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
guns, but is extremely effective in
saturation bombardment. A
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
of four BM-13 launchers could fire a salvo in 7–10 seconds that delivered 4.35 tons of high explosives over a impact zone,
[Zaloga, p 154.] making its power roughly equivalent to that of 72 conventional artillery guns. With an efficient crew, the launchers could
redeploy to a new location immediately after firing, denying the enemy the opportunity for
counterbattery fire. Katyusha batteries were often massed in very large numbers to create a
shock effect on enemy forces. The weapon's disadvantage was the long time it took to reload a launcher, in contrast to conventional guns which could sustain a continuous low rate of fire.
Development
![KatyushaMusee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/KatyushaMusee.jpg)
Initial development of
solid propellant rockets was carried out by
Nikolai Tikhomirov at the Soviet
Gas Dynamics Laboratory
Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) (russian: Газодинамическая лаборатория) was the first Soviet research and development laboratory to focus on rocket technology. Its activities were initially devoted to the development ...
(GDL), with the first test-firing of a solid fuel rocket carried out in March 1928, which flew for about 1,300 meters
The rockets were used to assist
take-off of aircraft and were later developed into the
RS-82 and RS-132 (RS for , 'rocket-powered shell') in the early 1930s led by
Georgy Langemak
Georgy Erikhovich Langemak (russian: Георгий Эрихович Лангемак; – 11 January 1938) was a Soviet engineer in the Soviet space program, working on rocket design applications. He is chiefly remembered for being the c ...
,
including firing rockets from aircraft and the ground. In June 1938, GDL's successor
Reactive Scientific Research Institute
Reactive Scientific Research Institute (commonly known by the joint initialism RNII; russian: Реактивный научно-исследовательский институт, Reaktivnyy nauchno-issledovatel’skiy institut) was one of the ...
(RNII) began building several
prototype launchers for the modified 132 mm M-132 rockets. Firing over the sides of
ZIS-5
The 76 mm tank gun M1940 F-34 (''76-мм танковая пушка обр. 1940 г. Ф-34'') was a 76.2 mm Soviet tank gun used on the T-34/76 tank. A modified version of the gun, the 76 mm tank gun M1941 ZiS-5 (''76-мм т ...
trucks proved unstable, and V.N. Galkovskiy proposed mounting the launch rails longitudinally. In August 1939, the result was the BM-13 (BM stands for ''боевая машина'' (translit. ''boyevaya mashina''), 'combat vehicle' for M-13 rockets).
The first large-scale testing of the rocket launchers took place at the end of 1938, when 233 rounds of various types were used. A salvo of rockets could completely straddle a target at a range of . But the artillery branch was not fond of the Katyusha, because it took up to 50 minutes to load and fire 24 rounds, while a conventional howitzer could fire 95 to 150 rounds in the same time. Testing with various rockets was conducted through 1940, and the BM-13-16 with launch rails for sixteen rockets was authorized for production. Only forty launchers were built before
Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941.
After their success in the first month of the war, mass production was ordered and the development of other models proceeded. The Katyusha was inexpensive and could be manufactured in light industrial installations which did not have the heavy equipment to build conventional artillery gun barrels.
By the end of 1942, 3,237 Katyusha launchers of all types had been built, and by the end of the war total production reached about 10,000.
[Zaloga, pp 154–55.]
The truck-mounted Katyushas were installed on
ZIS-6
The ZIS-6 (russian: ЗИС-6) is a Soviet general purpose 6×4 army cargo truck, a three-axle version of the ZIS-5
The 76 mm tank gun M1940 F-34 (''76-мм танковая пушка обр. 1940 г. Ф-34'') was a 76.2 mm Sov ...
6×4 trucks, as well as the two-axle
ZIS-5
The 76 mm tank gun M1940 F-34 (''76-мм танковая пушка обр. 1940 г. Ф-34'') was a 76.2 mm Soviet tank gun used on the T-34/76 tank. A modified version of the gun, the 76 mm tank gun M1941 ZiS-5 (''76-мм т ...
and
ZIS-5V
The ZIS-5 (russian: ЗИС-5) was a 4x2 Soviet truck produced by Moscow Zavod imeni Likhacheva, ZIS factory from 1932 to 1948 (first one made at the end of 1930).
Development
In 1931 Moscow Avtomobilnoe Moskovskoe Obshchestvo (AMO, Russian Ав ...
. In 1941, a small number of BM-13 launchers were mounted on
STZ-5
The STZ-5 artillery tractor was a product of the Stalingrad Tractor Factory (STZ) (Russian: Сталинградский тракторный завод) from 1937 to 1942 in the Soviet Union. The tractor was designed to tow division to corps le ...
artillery tractors. A few were also tried on
KV tank
The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks are a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov who operated with the Red Army during World War II. The KV tanks were known for their heavy armour pro ...
chassis as the KV-1K, but this was a needless waste of heavy armour. Starting in 1942, they were also mounted on various British, Canadian and U.S.
Lend-Lease trucks, in which case they were sometimes referred to as BM-13S. The
cross-country performance of the
Studebaker US6 2½-ton 6×6 truck was so good that it became the GAU's standard mounting in 1943, designated BM-13N (''normalizovanniy'', 'standardized'), and more than 1,800 of this model were manufactured by the end of World War II. After World War II, BM-13s were based on Soviet-built
ZIS-151
The ZIS-151 (russian: ЗИС-151) was a general-purpose truck produced by the Soviet car manufacturer Automotive Factory No. 2 ''Zavod imeni Stalina'' in 1948–1958. In 1956, the factory was renamed to ''Zavod imeni Likhacheva'', and new tru ...
trucks.
The 82 mm BM-8 was approved in August 1941, and deployed as the BM-8-36 on truck beds and BM-8-24 on
T-40
The T-40 amphibious scout tank was an amphibious light tank used by the Soviet Union during World War II. It was armed with one 12.7 mm (0.5 in) DShK machine gun. It was one of the few tanks that could cross an unfordable river without ...
and
T-60
The T-60 scout tank was a light tank produced by the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1942. During this period, 6,292 units were built. The tank was designed to replace the obsolete T-38 amphibious scout tank and saw action during World War II. The K ...
light tank chassis. Later these were also installed on
GAZ-67
The GAZ-67 and the GAZ-67B (from January 1944) were general-purpose four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simult ...
jeeps as the BM-8-8, and on the larger
Studebaker trucks as the BM-8-48.
In 1942, the team of scientists Leonid Shvarts, Moisei Komissarchik and engineer Yakov Shor received the
Stalin prize Stalin Prize may refer to:
* The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
for the development of the BM-8-48.
Based on the M-13, the M-30 rocket was developed in 1942. Its bulbous warhead required it to be fired from a grounded frame, called the M-30 (single frame, four round; later double frame, 8 round), instead of a launch rail mounted on a truck. In 1944 it became the basis for the BM-31-12 truck-mounted launcher.
A battery of BM-13-16 launchers included four firing vehicles, two reload trucks and two technical support trucks, with each firing vehicle having a crew of six. Reloading was executed in 3–4 minutes, although the standard procedure was to
switch to a new position some 10 km away due to the ease with which the battery could be identified by the enemy. Three batteries were combined into a division (company), and three divisions into a separate mine-firing regiment of rocket artillery.
Variants
Soviet World War II rocket systems were named according to the following templates:
* BM-x-y (names used for ground vehicles)
* M-x-y (names used for towed trailers and sledges)
* y-M-x (names used for navy)
where:
* x is a model of a missile.
* y is a number of launch rails/tubes.
In particular, BM-8-16 is a vehicle which fires M-8 missiles and has 16 rails. BM-31-12 is a vehicle which fires M-31 missiles and has 12 launch tubes. Short names such as BM-8 or BM-13 were used too. Number of launch rails/tubes is absent here. Such names describe launchers only no matter what vehicle they are mounted on. In particular BM-8-24 had a number of variants: vehicle mounted (ZIS-5 truck), tank mounted (T-40) and tractor mounted (STZ-3). All of them had the same name: BM-8-24. Other launchers had a number of variants mounted on different vehicles too. Typical set of vehicles for soviet missile systems is the following:
*
ZIS-5
The 76 mm tank gun M1940 F-34 (''76-мм танковая пушка обр. 1940 г. Ф-34'') was a 76.2 mm Soviet tank gun used on the T-34/76 tank. A modified version of the gun, the 76 mm tank gun M1941 ZiS-5 (''76-мм т ...
(truck),
*
ZIS-6
The ZIS-6 (russian: ЗИС-6) is a Soviet general purpose 6×4 army cargo truck, a three-axle version of the ZIS-5
The 76 mm tank gun M1940 F-34 (''76-мм танковая пушка обр. 1940 г. Ф-34'') was a 76.2 mm Sov ...
(truck),
*
GAZ-AA
The GAZ-AA was a truck produced at the Gorki Auto Plant from 1932 to 1938, as the company's first truck produced under the ''GAZ'' brand name.
History
In 1929 the Soviet Union made an agreement with the Ford Motor Company to produce the Ford ...
(truck),
*
STZ-5
The STZ-5 artillery tractor was a product of the Stalingrad Tractor Factory (STZ) (Russian: Сталинградский тракторный завод) from 1937 to 1942 in the Soviet Union. The tractor was designed to tow division to corps le ...
(tractor),
*
T-40
The T-40 amphibious scout tank was an amphibious light tank used by the Soviet Union during World War II. It was armed with one 12.7 mm (0.5 in) DShK machine gun. It was one of the few tanks that could cross an unfordable river without ...
(tank),
*
Studebaker US6 (truck),
* Armored train car,
* River boat,
* Towed sledge,
* Towed trailer,
* Backpack (portable variant, so called "mountain Katyusha"),
* ZIS-151 (truck, used after the war);
Note: There was also an experimental KV-1K – Katyusha mounted on KV-1 tank which was not taken in service.
A list of some implementations of the Katyusha follows:
[Porter, pp 158–65.]
Rocket variants
Rockets used in the above implementations were:
The M-8 and M-13 rocket could also be fitted with smoke warheads, although this was not common.
Foreign variants
The
Axis powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
had captured Katyushas during the war. Germany considered producing a local copy, but instead created the ''
8 cm Raketen-Vielfachwerfer'', which was based on the Katyusha.
Romania had started developing its
Mareșal tank destroyer in late 1942. One of the first experimental models was equipped with a Katyusha rocket launcher and tested in the summer of 1943. The project was not continued.
Combat history
The multiple rocket launchers were top secret in the beginning of World War II. A special unit of the
NKVD troops was raised to operate them.
On July 14, 1941, an experimental artillery battery of seven launchers was first used in battle at
Rudnya in
Smolensk Oblast
Smolensk Oblast (russian: Смоле́нская о́бласть, ''Smolenskaya oblast''; informal name — ''Smolenschina'' (russian: Смоле́нщина)) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the city o ...
of Russia, under the command of Captain
Ivan Flyorov, destroying a concentration of German troops with tanks, armored vehicles and trucks at the marketplace, causing massive
German Army casualties and its retreat from the town in panic, see also in articles by a Russian military historian Andrey Sapronov, an eyewitness of the maiden launches. Following the success, the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
organized new
Guards mortar batteries for the support of infantry divisions. A battery's complement was standardized at four launchers. They remained under NKVD control until German ''
Nebelwerfer
The Nebelwerfer (smoke mortar) was a World War II German series of weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht's "smoke troops" (''Nebeltruppen''). Initially, two different mortars were fielded before they were replace ...
'' rocket launchers became common later in the war.
On August 8, 1941, Stalin ordered the formation of eight special Guards mortar
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...
s under the direct control of the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command
The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the ''Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Stav ...
(RVGK). Each regiment comprised three
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...
s of three batteries, totalling 36 BM-13 or BM-8 launchers. Independent Guards mortar battalions were also formed, comprising 12 launchers in three batteries of four. By the end of 1941, there were eight regiments, 35 independent battalions, and two independent batteries in service, fielding a total of 554 launchers.
[Zaloga, p 155.]
In June 1942 heavy Guards mortar battalions were formed around the new M-30 static rocket launch frames, consisting of 96 launchers in three batteries. In July, a battalion of BM-13s was added to the establishment of a tank corps. In 1944, the BM-31 was used in motorized heavy Guards mortar battalions of 48 launchers. In 1943, Guards mortar brigades, and later divisions, were formed equipped with static launchers.
By the end of 1942, 57 regiments were in service—together with the smaller independent battalions, this was the equivalent of 216 batteries: 21% BM-8 light launchers, 56% BM-13, and 23% M-30 heavy launchers. By the end of the war, the equivalent of 518 batteries were in service.
Post-war development
The success and economy of
multiple rocket launcher
A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...
s (MRL) have led them to continue to be developed. In the years following WWII, the BM-13 was replaced by the 140 mm
BM-14
The BM-14 (BM for ''Boyevaya Mashina'', 'combat vehicle'), is a Soviet-made 140mm multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), normally mounted on a truck.
The BM-14 can fire 140 mm M-14 rockets with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, a smoke warh ...
and the BM-31 was replaced by the 240 mm
BM-24
The BM-24 is a multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. It is capable of launching 240mm rockets from 12 launch tubes. Versions of the BM-24 have been mounted on the ZIS-151 6×6 Truck chassis and the AT-S tracked artillery tra ...
. During the
Cold War, the Soviet Union fielded several models of Katyusha-like MRL, notably the
BM-21 Grad
The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first com ...
launchers somewhat inspired by the earlier weapon, and the larger
BM-27 Uragan
The BM-27 Uragan (russian: БМ-27 Ураган, lit=Hurricane; GRAU index 9P140) is a self-propelled 220 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system began its service with the Soviet Army in the late 1970s, and wa ...
. Advances in artillery munitions have been applied to some Katyusha-type multiple launch rocket systems, including
bomblet submunition
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehic ...
s, remotely deployed
land mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s, and
chemical warheads.
With the
breakup of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, Russia inherited most of its military arsenal including its large complement of MRLs. In recent history, they have been used by the
Russian Armed Forces during the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 ...
s and by the
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
and
Azerbaijani Armed Forces
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces ( az, Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri) were re-established according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Armed Forces from 9 October 1991. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) had originally formed ...
during the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The
Georgian Defense Forces are reported to have used BM-21 Grad or similar rocket artillery in fighting in the
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
.
Katyusha-like launchers were exported to
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
,
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
,
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
,
Khmer Republic,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
,
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
,
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
,
Syria,
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. They were also built in
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
, and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Proper Katyushas (BM-13s) also saw action in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, used by the Chinese
People's Volunteer Army and
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the '' Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General S ...
against the
South Korean and
United Nations forces.
Soviet BM-13s were known to have been imported to China before the
Sino-Soviet split
The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...
and were operational in the
People's Liberation Army. The
Viet Minh
The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
deployed them against the
French Far East Expeditionary Corps
The French Far East Expeditionary Corps (french: Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient, CEFEO) was a colonial expeditionary force of the French Union Army that was initially formed in French Indochina in 1945 during the Pacific W ...
during the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu at the end of the
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
.
Israel captured
BM-24
The BM-24 is a multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. It is capable of launching 240mm rockets from 12 launch tubes. Versions of the BM-24 have been mounted on the ZIS-151 6×6 Truck chassis and the AT-S tracked artillery tra ...
MRLs during the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
(1967), used them in two battalions during the
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...
(1973) and the
1982 Lebanon War, and later developed the
MAR-240 launcher for the same rockets, based on a
Sherman tank
}
The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It w ...
chassis.
The rockets were employed by the
Tanzania People's Defence Force
The Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) ( sw, Jeshi la Ulinzi la Wananchi wa Tanzania) is the military force of the United Republic of Tanzania. It was established in September 1964, following a mutiny by the former colonial military force ...
in the
Uganda-Tanzania War. Tanzanian forces called them ''Baba Mtakatifu'' (
Kiswahili
Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili ...
for "Holy Father") while the Ugandans called them Saba Saba.
During the
2006 Lebanon War,
Hezbollah fired between 3,970 and 4,228 rockets, from light truck-mounts and single-rail man-portable launchers. About 95% of these were 122 mm (4.8 in)
Syrian-manufactured M-21OF type
artillery rockets which carried warheads up to 30 kg (66
lb) and had a range of 20 km, perhaps up to 30 km (19 mi).
Most
rockets fired at Israel by
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
from the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
are of the simpler
Qassam rocket
The Qassam rocket ( ar, صاروخ القسام ''Ṣārūkh al-Qassām''; also ''Kassam'') is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired ...
type, but
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
has also launched 122-mm
Grad-type Katyusha rockets against several cities in Israel, although they are not reported to have truck-mounted launchers. Although Katyusha originally referred to the mobile launcher, today the rockets are often referred to as Katyushas.
Some allege that the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
bought Katyushas from the
Egyptian Armed Forces
The Egyptian Armed Forces ( arz, القُوّات المُسَلَّحَة المِصْرِيَّة, alquwwat almusalahat almisria) are the military forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt. They consist of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy, Egyptia ...
and supplied them to the
Mujahideen (via
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
's
ISI) during the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Sovie ...
.
[ Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History'', George Crile, 2003, Grove/Atlantic.]
Katyusha-like MRLs were also allegedly used by the
Rwandan Patriotic Front
The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi, french: Front patriotique rwandais, FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. Led by President Paul Kagame, the party has governed the country since its armed wing defeated government forces, wi ...
during its
1990 invasion of Rwanda, through the
1994 genocide. They were effective in battle, but translated into much anti-
Tutsi
The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic ...
sentiment in the local media.
It was reported that BM-21 Grad launchers were used against the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
during the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
. They have also been used in the
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Iraq insurgencies. In
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
, according to
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
and
Agence France-Presse reports, Katyusha-like rockets were fired at the
Green Zone
The Green Zone ( ar, المنطقة الخضراء, translit=al-minṭaqah al-ḫaḍrā) is the most common name for the International Zone of Baghdad. It was a area in the Karkh district of central Baghdad, Iraq, that was the governmental ...
late March 2008.
Katyusha rockets were reportedly used by both
Gaddafi Loyalists and
anti-Gaddafi forces during the
Libyan Civil War
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
.
In February 2013, the Defence Ministry of Yemen reported seizing an Iranian ship, and that the ship's cargo included (among its other weapons) Katyusha rockets.
On May 19, 2019, a Katyusha rocket was fired inside the Green Zone in
Baghdad, Iraq, landing less than a mile from the
US Embassy
The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...
near the statue of the Unknown Soldier. No casualties were reported.
On January 4, 2020, four Katyusha rockets were fired in the Baghdad area. According to two
Iraqi Police
The Iraqi Police (IP) is the uniformed police force responsible for the enforcement of civil law in Iraq. Its organisation, structure and recruitment were guided by the Coalition Provisional Authority after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and it is ...
sources and an official
Iraqi Armed Forces
The Iraqi Armed Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة العراقية romanized: ''Al-Quwwat Al-Musallahah Al-Iraqiyyah'') ( Kurdish: هێزە چەکدارەکانی عێراق) are the military forces of the Republic of Iraq. They consist ...
statement, one Katyusha rocket landed in the Green Zone in Celebration Square near the U.S. Embassy and another landed in the nearby Jadriya neighborhood. Two other Katyusha rockets landed in
Balad Air Base
Balad Air Base ( ar, قاعدة بلد الجوية) , is an Iraqi Air Force base located near Balad, Iraq, Balad in the Sunni Triangle north of Baghdad, Iraq.
Built in the early 1980s, it was originally named Al-Bakr Air Base. In 2003 the base ...
, which houses
U.S. Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
troops, according to two security sources.
Recognition and honours
Participants in the creation of the Katyusha rocket launcher received official recognition only in 1991. By decree of the President of the USSR
Mikhail Gorbachev dated June 21, 1991, I. T. Kleymenov,
G. E. Langemak, V. N. Luzhin, B. S. Petropavlovsky, B. M. Slonimer and
N. I. Tikhomirov were posthumously awarded title of
Heroes of Socialist Labor for their work on the creation of the Katyusha.
See also
*
Congreve rocket
The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808.
The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second, Third, ...
, British military weapon designed by Sir William Congreve in 1804
*
Hwacha
The ''hwacha'' or ''hwach'a'' ( ko, 화차; Hanja: ; literally "fire cart") was a multiple rocket launcher and an organ gun of similar design which were developed in fifteenth century Korea. The former variant fired one or two hundred rocket-p ...
, Korean gunpowder-based flaming arrow launcher from the 1500s
*
Land Mattress
Mattress was the term applied to ground-based British-devised multiple rocket launchers during World War II. Compared with the German and Soviet counterparts (the ''Nebelwerfer'' and '' Katyusha'' launchers respectively), the western Allies depl ...
, employed by Allied forces in World War II
*
List of rocket artillery
Rocket artillery is a type of artillery equipped with rocket launchers instead of conventional guns or mortars.
List of rocket artillery systems
Note that the "Calibre" of rocket projectiles may not refer to the warhead diameter but to the ...
*
Nebelwerfer
The Nebelwerfer (smoke mortar) was a World War II German series of weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht's "smoke troops" (''Nebeltruppen''). Initially, two different mortars were fielded before they were replace ...
, the most common barrage rocket series employed by the ''Wehrmacht'' in World War II
*
Panzerwerfer
The German ''Panzerwerfer'' refers to either of two different types of half-tracked multiple rocket launchers employed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. The two self-propelled artillery vehicles are the ''15 cm Panzerwerfer 4 ...
, German rocket launcher mounted on a half-track
*
Reactive Scientific Research Institute
Reactive Scientific Research Institute (commonly known by the joint initialism RNII; russian: Реактивный научно-исследовательский институт, Reaktivnyy nauchno-issledovatel’skiy institut) was one of the ...
where the Katyusha rocket launcher was created
*
T34 Calliope
The Rocket Launcher T34 (Calliope) was a tank-mounted multiple rocket launcher used by the United States Army during World War II. The launcher was placed atop the M4 Sherman, with its prominent vertical side frames anchored to the turret's sid ...
, rocket launcher mounted on M-4 Sherman tank chassis. Last vehicle-mounted highly-mobile multiple-rocket launcher by US land forces before abandoning this concept until renewed interest in the mid-1980s.
*
Wurfrahmen 40
The ''Wurfrahmen 40'' ("launch frame 40") was a German World War II multiple rocket launcher. It combined a vehicle such as the Sd.Kfz. 251 halftrack or captured French Renault UE Chenillette with rocket artillery to form a more mobile and protect ...
, another German rocket launcher mounted on a half-track
References
Citations
General bibliography
*
*
*
Further reading
* Prenatt, Jamie and Hook, Adam (2016). ''Katyusha: Russian Multiple Rocket Launchers 1941–Present'', Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd.
External links
{{Commons category, Katyusha
Photosof various mounts of Katyushas
translation of a 1976 article published by the USSR Defence Ministry (broken link, se
Photo of a Cuban BM-21in
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
Multiple rocket launchers of the Soviet Union
Self-propelled artillery of the Soviet Union
World War II self-propelled artillery
Wheeled self-propelled rocket launchers
World War II artillery of the Soviet Union
Soviet inventions
Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944