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Katyusha rocket launcher

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Katyusha
BM-13 Katyusha multiple rocket launcher, based on aZIS-5truck.
TypeMultiple rocket launcher
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1941–present
Used bySoviet Union, and others
Wars
Production history
DesignerGeorgy Langemak
ManufacturerVoronezh Plant Comintern
Produced1941
No.built~100,000

TheKatyusha(Russian:Катю́ша,IPA:[kɐˈtʲuʂə]ⓘ) is a type ofrocket artilleryfirst built and fielded by theSoviet UnioninWorld War II.Multiple rocket launcherssuch 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 firstself-propelled artillerymass-produced by the Soviet Union,[1]were usually mounted on ordinarytrucks.This mobility gave the Katyusha, and other self-propelled artillery, another advantage: being able to deliver a large blow all at once, and thenmove before being locatedand attacked withcounter-battery fire.

Katyusha weapons of World War II included theBM-13launcher, lightBM-8,and heavyBM-31.Today, the nicknameKatyushais also applied to newer truck-mounted post-Soviet – in addition to non-Soviet – multiple-rocket launchers, notably the commonBM-21 Gradand its derivatives.

Nickname

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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 asKostikov guns,afterA. Kostikov,the head of theRNII,the Reactive Scientific Research Institute, and finally classed asGuards Mortars.[2]The nameBM-13was only allowed into secret documents in 1942, and remained classified until after the war.[3]

Because they were marked with the letterK(forVoronezhKomintern Factory),[3][4]Red Armytroops adopted a nickname fromMikhail Isakovsky's popular wartime song, "Katyusha",about a girl longing for her absent beloved, who has gone away on military service.[5]Katyusha is the Russian equivalent ofKatie,an endearingdiminutiveform of the name Katherine.Yekaterinais given the diminutiveKatya,which itself is then given the affectionate diminutiveKatyusha.[6]

German troops coined the nickname "Stalin's organ" (Stalinorgel), after Soviet leaderJoseph Stalin,comparing the visual resemblance of the launch array to apipe organ,and the sound of the weapon's rocket motors, a distinctive howling sound which terrified the German troops,[7]adding apsychological warfareaspect to their use. Weapons of this type are known by the same name inDenmark(Danish:Stalinorgel),Finland(Finnish:Stalinin urut),France(French:orgue de Staline),Norway(Norwegian:Stalinorgel), theNetherlandsandBelgium(Dutch:Stalinorgel),Hungary(Hungarian:Sztálinorgona),Spainand otherSpanish-speaking countries(Spanish:Órganos de Stalin) as well as inSweden(Swedish:Stalinorgel).[5]

The heavy BM-31 launcher was also referred to asAndryusha(Андрюша,an affectionate diminutive of "Andrew" ).[8]

World War II

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A battery of Katyusha launchers fires at German forces during theBattle of Stalingrad,6 October 1942

Katyusha rocket launchers, which were built inVoronezh,were mounted on many platforms during World War II, including on trucks,artillery tractors,tanks, andarmoured trains,as well as on naval and riverine vessels as assault support weapons. Soviet engineers also mounted single Katyusha rockets on lengths ofrailway trackto serve in urban combat.[citation needed]

The design was relatively simple, consisting of racks of parallel rails on whichrocketswere mounted, with a folding frame to raise the rails to launch position. Each truck had 14 to 48 launchers. TheM-13rocket of the BM-13 system was 80 cm (2 ft 7 in) long, 13.2 cm (5.2 in) in diameter and weighed 42 kg (93 lb).[9]

The weapon is less accurate than conventionalartilleryguns, but is extremely effective insaturation bombardment.Abatteryof four BM-13 launchers could fire a salvo in 7–10 seconds that delivered 4.35 tons of high explosives over a 400,000-square-metre (4,300,000 sq ft) impact zone,[2]making its power roughly equivalent to that of 72 conventional artillery guns. With an efficient crew, the launchers couldredeploy to a new location immediately after firing,denying the enemy the opportunity forcounterbattery fire.Katyusha batteries were often massed in very large numbers to create ashock effecton 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.[citation needed]

Development

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Main article:Reactive Scientific Research Institute
BM-13N Katyusha on aLend-LeaseStudebaker US62+1⁄2-ton 6×6 truck,at theMuseum of the Great Patriotic War,Moscow (2006)
BM-31-12 on ZIS-12 at the Museum (Diorama) on Sapun Mountain,Sevastopol
Katyusha on aZIL-157truck
Reloading a BM-13
An M13 rocket for the Katyusha launcher on display inMusée de l'Armée.

Initial development ofsolid propellant rocketswas carried out byNikolai Tikhomirovat the SovietGas Dynamics Laboratory(GDL), with the first test-firing of a solid fuel rocket carried out in March 1928, which flew for about 1,300 meters[10]The rockets were used to assisttake-off of aircraftand were later developed into theRS-82 and RS-132(RS forReaktivnyy Snaryad,'rocket-powered shell')[11]in the early 1930s led byGeorgy Langemak,[12]including firing rockets from aircraft and the ground. In June 1938, GDL's successorReactive Scientific Research Institute(RNII) began building severalprototypelaunchers for the modified 132 mm M-132 rockets.[13]Firing over the sides ofZIS-5trucks proved unstable, and V.N. Galkovskiy proposed mounting the launch rails longitudinally. In August 1939, the result was the BM-13 (BM stands forбоевая машина(translit.boyevaya mashina), 'combat vehicle' for M-13 rockets).[1]

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 5,500 metres (3.4 mi). 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.[citation needed]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 beforeGermany invaded the Soviet Unionin June 1941.[5]

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.[2]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.[14]

The truck-mounted Katyushas were installed onZIS-66×4 trucks, as well as the two-axleZIS-5andZIS-5V.In 1941, a small number of BM-13 launchers were mounted onSTZ-5artillery tractors. A few were also tried onKV tankchassis 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-Leasetrucks, in which case they were sometimes referred to as BM-13S. Thecross-countryperformance of theStudebaker US6 2½-ton 6×6 truckwas 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.[15]After World War II, BM-13s were based on Soviet-builtZIS-151trucks.

The 82 mm BM-8 was approved in August 1941, and deployed as the BM-8-36 on truck beds and BM-8-24 onT-40andT-60light tank chassis. Later these were also installed onGAZ-67jeeps as the BM-8-8, and on the largerStudebakertrucks as the BM-8-48.[2]In 1942, the team of scientists Leonid Shvarts, Moisei Komissarchik and engineer Yakov Shor received theStalin Prizefor the development of the BM-8-48.[16][17]

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.[2]

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 toswitch to a new positionsome 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.[citation needed]

Variants

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Soviet World War II rocket systems were named according to set patterns:

  • Ground vehicles were designated BM-x-y,wherexreferred to the rocket model andythe number of launch rails or tubes.
  • towed trailers and sledges used the format M-x-y
  • In navy use, the order of the elements was different, taking the formy-M-x

For example, the BM-8-16 was a vehicle with 16 rails for M-8 rockets while the BM-31-12 fired the M-31 rockets from 12 launch tubes. Short names such as BM-8 or BM-13 were used as well. The chassis carrying the launcher was not defined in the name e.g. BM-8-24 referred to a truck mounted launcher (ZIS-5) as well as on the T-40 tank and on the STZ-3artillery tractor.

Chassis for the launchers included:

  • Soviet-builtZIS-5,ZIS-6,GAZ-AAtrucks, and post war theZIS-151
  • STZ-5tracked artillery tractor
  • T-40tank
  • Lend-lease providedStudebaker US6truck,
  • Armored train car,
  • River boat,
  • Towed sledge,
  • Towed trailer,
  • Backpack (portable variant, so called "mountain Katyusha" ),


Katyusha mountings[18][9][19]
Weapon Caliber(mm) Tubes/
rails 		Chassis
BM-8 82 1 Improvised vehicle mount, towed trailer or sled
M-8-6 82 6 Towed trailer or sled
BM-8-8 82 8 Willys MBjeep
M-8-12 82 12 Towed trailer or sled
16-M-8 82 16 Project 1125 armored river boat
BM-8-24 82 24 T-40 light tank,T-60 light tank
24-M-8 82 24 Project 1125 armored river boat
BM-8-36 82 36 ZIS-5 truck, ZIS-6 truck
BM-8-40 82 40 Towed trailer, GAZ-AA truck
BM-8-48 82 48 ZIS-6 truck, Studebaker US6 U3 truck, rail carriage
BM-8-72 82 72 Rail carriage
BM-13 132 24 ZIS-6 truck, improvised vehicle mount, towed trailer or sled
6-M-13 132 6 Project 1125 armored river boat
BM-13-16 132 16 International K7"Inter" truck, International M-5-5-318 truck,Fordson WOT8truck, Ford/Marmon-HerringtonHH6-COE4 truck,ChevroletG-7117 truck, Studebaker US6 U3 truck,GMC CCKW-352M-13 truck, rail carriage
M-20-6 132 6 static launching rail
M-30-4 300 4 static launching rail, in 1944 also available with 2x4 launching rails (M-30-8)
M-31-4 300 4 static launching rail, in 1944 also available with 2x4 launching rails (M-31-8)
BM-31-12 300 12 Studebaker US6 U3 truck
Katyusha rockets:[9]
Weapon name Caliber
(mm) 		Warhead Maximum range
M-8 82 0.64 kg (1.4 lb) 5,900 m (6,500 yd)
M-13 132 4.9 kg (11 lb) 8,740 m (9,560 yd)
M-13DD 132 4.9 kg (11 lb) 11,800 m (12,900 yd)
M-13UK 132 4.9 kg (11 lb) 7,900 m (8,600 yd)
M-20 132 18.4 kg (41 lb) 5,050 m (5,520 yd)
M-30 300 28.9 kg (64 lb) 2,800 m (3,100 yd)
M-31 300 28.9 kg (64 lb) 4,325 m (4,730 yd)
M-31UK 300 28.9 kg (64 lb) 4,000 m (4,400 yd)

The M-8 and M-13 rocket could also be fitted with smoke warheads, although this was not common.

The German8 cm Raketen-Vielfachwerferwas based on the Katyusha

Foreign variants

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TheAxis powershad captured Katyushas during the war. Germany considered producing a local copy, but instead created the8 cm Raketen-Vielfachwerfer,which was based on the Katyusha.[20]

Romania had started developing itsMareșal tank destroyerin 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.[21]

Combat history

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The multiple rocket launchers were top secret at the beginning of World War II and a special unit ofNKVD troopswas raised to operate them.[2]On July 14, 1941, an experimental artillery battery of seven launchers was first used in battle atRudnya,Smolensk Oblastunder the command of CaptainIvan Flyorov,destroying a concentration of German troops with tanks, armored vehicles and trucks in the marketplace, causing massiveGerman Armycasualties and panicked retreat from the town.[22][23][24]Following the success, theRed Armyorganized newGuardsmortar batteries for the support of infantry divisions. A battery's complement was standardized at four launchers. They remained under NKVD control until GermanNebelwerferrocket launchers became common later in the war.[14]

On August 8, 1941, Stalin ordered the formation of eight special Guards mortarregimentsunder the direct control of theReserve of the Supreme High Command(RVGK). Each regiment comprised threebattalionsof three batteries, totalling 36 BM-13 or BM-8 launchers. Independent Guards mortar battalions were also formed of 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, a total of 554 launchers.[25]

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.[26]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.[25]

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.[25]

Post-war development

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The success and economy ofmultiple rocket launchers(MRL) have led them to continue to be developed. In the years following WWII, the BM-13 was replaced by the 140 mmBM-14and the BM-31 was replaced by the 240 mmBM-24.[27]During theCold War,the Soviet Union fielded several models of Katyusha-like MRL, notably theBM-21 Gradlaunchers somewhat inspired by the earlier weapon, and the largerBM-27 Uragan.Advances in artillery munitions have been applied to some Katyusha-type multiple launch rocket systems, includingbomblet submunitions,remotely deployedland mines,andchemical warheads.

BM-13s were used in theKorean Warby the ChinesePeople's Volunteer ArmyandKorean People's Armyagainst theSouth KoreanandUnited Nations forces.[28]Soviet BM-13s were known to have been imported to China before theSino-Soviet splitand were operational in thePeople's Liberation Army.TheViet Minhdeployed them against theFrench Far East Expeditionary Corpsduring theBattle of Dien Bien Phuat the end of theFirst Indochina War.[29]

Recognition and honours

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Participants in the creation of the Katyusha rocket launcher received official recognition only in 1991. By decree of thePresident of the Soviet UnionMikhail Gorbachevdated June 21, 1991, I. T. Kleymenov,G. E. Langemak,V. N. Luzhin, B. S. Petropavlovsky, B. M. Slonimer andN. I. Tikhomirovwere posthumously awarded title of theHero of Socialist Labourfor their work on the creation of the Katyusha.[30][31]

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^abZaloga, p. 150.
  2. ^abcdefZaloga, p 154.
  3. ^abViktor Suvorov(1982),Inside the Soviet Army,p 207.Prentice Hall,ISBN0-02-615500-1.
  4. ^Trigg, Jonathan (15 July 2018).Voices of the Scandinavian Waffen-SS: The Final Testament of Hitler's Vikings.Amberley Publishing Limited.ISBN978-1-4456-7469-8.
  5. ^abcZaloga, p 153.
  6. ^"Katyusha - Wiktionary".en.wiktionary.org.Retrieved14 May2021.
  7. ^Carell, Paul(1964).Hitler's war on Russia: the story of the German defeat in the East.Harrap. p. 98.
  8. ^Gordon L. Rottman (2007),FUBAR (F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition): Soldier Slang of World War II,p 279,Osprey,ISBN1-84603-175-3.
  9. ^abcBishop, Chris (2002) [1998].The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II.Sterling Publishing Company. pp. 173–174.ISBN1-58663-762-2.
  10. ^Zak, Anatoly."Gas Dynamics Laboratory".Russian Space Web.Retrieved29 May2022.
  11. ^АКИМОВ В.Н., КОРОТЕЕВ А.С., ГАФАРОВ А.А. и другие (2003)."Оружие победы — «Катюша»".Исследовательский центр имени М. В. Келдыша. 1933-2003: 70 лет на передовых рубежах ракетно-космической техники.М: Машиностроение. pp. 92–101.ISBN5-217-03205-7.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^Siddiqi, Asif (2000).Challenge to Apollo: the Soviet Union and the space race, 1945-1974(PDF).Washington, D.C: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA History Div. p. 9.Retrieved3 July2022.
  13. ^Zak, Anatoly."History of the Rocket Research Institute, RNII".Russian Space Web.Retrieved7 July2022.
  14. ^abZaloga, pp 154–55.
  15. ^Zaloga, pp 153–54.
  16. ^Rachel Bayvel, "Tales of 'Tank City'. Rachel Bayvel Celebrates the Soviet Jews Who Produced Weapons for Allied VictoryArchived2009-01-31 at theWayback Machine".Jewish Quarterlyno. 198, summer 2005. Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
  17. ^Yosif Kremenetsky (1999), "Inzhenerno-tekhnicheskaya deyatel’nost’ yevreyev v SSSRArchived2013-02-22 atarchive.today(Engineering-technical activities of Jews in the USSR) ",Yevrey pri bol’shevistskom stroye (Jews in the Bolshevist order),Minneapolis. Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
  18. ^Porter, pp 158–65.
  19. ^Soviet military review.Krasnaya Zvezda Publishing House. 1974. p. 13.
  20. ^Chamberlain, Peter (1975).Mortars and rockets.Gander, Terry. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p.35.ISBN0668038179.OCLC2067459.
  21. ^Scafeș 2004,p. 213.
  22. ^"История Великой Отечественной войны" в 6 томах (History of Great Patriotic War), vol. 2, p. 66, chapter by field-marshal Andrey Eremenko
  23. ^Andrey Sapronov «Россия» newspaper No. 23 of June 21–27, 2001
  24. ^Andrey Sapronov «Парламентская газета» No 80 of May 5, 2005
  25. ^abcZaloga, p 155.
  26. ^Zaloga, p 147.
  27. ^"The BM-24-12 in the IDF".8 January 2011.
  28. ^Rottman, Gordon L. (December 2002).Korean War Order of Battle: United States, United Nations, and Communist Ground, Naval, and Air Forces, 1950-1953.Praeger. p. 198.ISBN978-0-275-97835-8.
  29. ^Hastings, Max (2018).Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy 1945–1975.New York: Harper.ISBN9780062405661.
  30. ^"Who created the" Katyusha "? Andrey Kostikov: the life and fate of the inventor of" Katyusha "Who is the designer of Katyusha".Retrieved5 June2022.
  31. ^"Указ Президента СССР от 21.06.1991 № УП-2120 «О присвоении звания Героя Социалистического Труда создателям отечественного реактивного оружия»".КонсультантПлюс.Retrieved14 April2020.

General bibliography

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Further reading

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  • Prenatt, Jamie and Hook, Adam (2016).Katyusha: Russian Multiple Rocket Launchers 1941–Present,Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd.ISBN978 1 4728 1086 1
[edit]
Look upKatyushain Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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