The decision to mass produce Katyushas in the USSR was made 12 hours before the start of the Great Patriotic War Patriotic War, June 21, 1941. Only then they were still called not “Katyushas”, but BM-13 installations.
Just 10 days later, on July 2, 1941, the first battery of seven BM-13s under the command of Captain I. A. Flerov moved to the front. And two days later she fired the first salvo at the Nazis who occupied the Orsha station.
The commander of one of the guns, Valentin Ovsov, recalled: “The earth shook and lit up.” “The effect of a one-time explosion of 112 mines within a matter of seconds exceeded all expectations,” wrote Marshal A. I. Eremenko, commander of the Western Front. “The enemy soldiers began to run in panic. Our soldiers, who were on the front line, near the explosions, also retreated back (in In order to maintain secrecy, no one was warned about the tests)."
After the salvo, the German General Staff received a telegram from the Eastern Front:
“The Russians used a battery with an unprecedented number of guns. Shells of unusual action. The troops fired at by the Russians testify: the fire raid is like a hurricane. The shells explode simultaneously.
The loss of life is significant."
Destruction of the first installations
After the first salvos, Nazi aircraft began hunting for Captain Flerov’s battery and intensively bombed its supposed base areas. To capture at least one Katyusha, several sabotage groups were sent to our rear and a large reward was announced for the one who would obtain the Russian secret weapon.
As a result of large-scale operations undertaken by the Germans in October 1941, Flerov’s battery found itself surrounded near the Smolensk village of Bogatyr. On October 7, a salvo of the remaining shells was fired. After this, the installations had to be blown up.
Thus the first page of the legendary Katyusha battery was turned.
Chassis search
The deadly BM-13 is actually a frame of eight guide rails connected to each other by welded spars. Rocket mines, each weighing 42.5 kg, launched from the frame, emitting wild grinding sounds. There were 16 of them attached to the frame. You can’t carry such a setup by hand. Therefore, the question of what to carry the Katyusha with arose immediately.
Before the war, only one truck was produced in the USSR - the famous lorry in various modifications. The ZIS-5 truck turned out to be rather weak for the Katyusha, and this became clear almost immediately. 73 hp motor could reach a speed of only 60 km/h, and only on asphalt, while consuming 33 liters of gasoline for every 100 km. But the truck did not have the strength to plow the front-line off-road terrain with a heavy installation.
In addition, the BM-13 from its body only fired in a transverse position; there was no other way. The transverse location of the installation during a salvo rocked the vehicle so much that there was no need to talk about the accuracy of the hit.
Therefore, it was decided to install a rocket launcher on the improved three-axle ZIS-6.
ZIS did not improve the situation
It is interesting that many “one and a half” have survived to this day; you can find them in almost every military museum and in private collections, but the ZIS-6 is a rarity.
The ZIS-6 crew consisted of 5-7 people, and with full ammunition the vehicle weighed more than eight tons. The three-axle truck provided much greater maneuverability. Unlike its two-axle counterpart, the ZIS-6 had a reinforced frame, a larger radiator and a gas tank of up to 105 liters. The car was equipped with brakes with a vacuum booster and a compressor for inflating the tires. Thanks to two rear drive axles, the ZIS-6 was no longer so afraid of wet roads and snow drifts. Is it true, maximum speed it turned out to be lower than that of the ZIS-5: 55 km/h on asphalt and 10 km/h on off-road. This is not surprising, because the engine remains the same - 73 hp. Fuel consumption on the highway reached 40 liters per 100 km, on a country road - up to 70.
The ZIS-6 was assembled until October 1941, and in total a little more than 20 thousand of them came off the assembly line.
Studebaker for the Russian miracle
During the war years, the largest number of Katyushas were mounted on all-wheel drive three-axle Studebakers. No matter how unpatriotic it may sound, it was thanks to powerful and reliable American trucks that our rocket launch batteries received the desired mobility.
The first three-axle army vehicles, designated US-6, rolled off the Studebaker assembly line at the end of 1941. It was then decided to send them to the Allied armies, mainly to the USSR. As a result, most of the 197 thousand trucks produced were delivered to us. They arrived in the USSR mainly in disassembled form. The assembly and installation of rocket launchers was carried out at the evacuated ZIS plant.
The Americans produced a dozen different modifications of the US-6 - some of them were equipped with a driven front axle (6x6), some with a conventional one (6x4). The Red Army preferred vehicles with a 6x6 wheel arrangement. Their six-cylinder carburetor engine developed a power of 95 hp, and the maximum speed of the car with a full load reached 70 km/h on the highway.
In front-line conditions, “Studebakers” (or, as they were also called, “students”) proved themselves to be reliable vehicles, which could easily be loaded with up to five tons of cargo, compared with the three tons recommended by the American manufacturer.
This is how this couple fought until the end of the war: our Katyusha on American wheels.
Armed tractors
History in pictures
In general, in addition to American trucks, since 1942, the Katyusha, as a very respected “woman,” was transported on any suitable vehicle.
Katyusha is an unofficial name for barrelless field rocket artillery systems (BM-8, BM-13, BM-31 and others), which appeared during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. Such installations were actively used Armed Forces USSR during World War II. The popularity of the nickname turned out to be so great that “Katyusha” colloquial speech Post-war MLRS on automobile chassis, in particular BM-14 and BM-21 “Grad”, also often began to be called.
Back in 1921, employees of the Gas Dynamics Laboratory N.I. Tikhomirov and V.A. Artemyev began developing rockets for aircraft.
In 1929-1933, B. S. Petropavlovsky, with the participation of other GDL employees, conducted official tests of rockets of various calibers and purposes using multi-shot and single-shot aircraft and ground launchers.
In 1937-1938, rockets developed by the RNII (GDL together with the GIRD in October 1933 formed the newly organized RNII) under the leadership of G. E. Langemak were adopted by the RKKVF. RS-82 rockets of 82 mm caliber were installed on I-15, I-16, and I-153 fighters. In the summer of 1939, RS-82 on I-16 and I-153 were successfully used in battles with Japanese troops on the Khalkhin Gol River.
In 1939-1941, RNII employees I. I. Gvai, V. N. Galkovsky, A. P. Pavlenko, A. S. Popov and others created a multi-charge launcher mounted on a truck.
In March 1941, field tests of the installations, designated BM-13 (combat vehicle with 132 mm caliber shells), were successfully carried out. The RS-132 132 mm rocket and a launcher based on the ZIS-6 BM-13 truck were put into service on June 21, 1941; It was this type of combat vehicle that first received the nickname “Katyusha”. During the Great Patriotic War, it was created significant amount variants of RS shells and launchers for them; In total, Soviet industry produced more than 10,000 rocket artillery combat vehicles during the war years
It is known why BM-13 installations began to be called “guards mortars” at one time. The BM-13 installations were not actually mortars, but the command sought to keep their design secret for as long as possible:
When, at range shooting, soldiers and commanders asked a GAU representative to name the “true” name of the combat installation, he advised: “Name the installation as usual artillery piece. This is important for maintaining secrecy."
There is no single version of why the BM-13 began to be called “Katyusha”. There are several assumptions:
Based on the title of Blanter’s song “Katyusha”, which became popular before the war, based on the words of Isakovsky. The version is convincing, since for the first time Captain Flerov’s battery fired at the enemy on July 14, 1941 at 10 o’clock in the morning, firing a salvo at the Market Square of the city of Rudnya. This was the first combat use of Katyushas, confirmed in historical literature. The installations were shooting from a high, steep mountain - the association with the high, steep bank in the song immediately arose among the fighters. Finally alive former sergeant headquarters company of the 217th separate communications battalion of the 144th Infantry Division of the 20th Army Andrei Sapronov, now a military historian, who gave it this name. Red Army soldier Kashirin, having arrived with him at the battery after the shelling of Rudnya, exclaimed in surprise: “What a song!” “Katyusha,” answered Andrei Sapronov (from the memoirs of A. Sapronov in the Rossiya newspaper No. 23 of June 21-27, 2001 and in the Parliamentary Gazette No. 80 of May 5, 2005).
What kind of verses they didn’t come up with at the front based on their favorite song!
There were battles at sea and on land,
Shots roared all around -
Sang songs "Katyusha"
Near Kaluga, Tula and Orel.
— — — — — — — — — — — — —
Let the Fritz remember the Russian Katyusha,
Let him hear her sing:
Shakes out the souls of enemies,
And it gives courage to its own!
Through the communications center of the headquarters company, the news about a miracle weapon called “Katyusha” within 24 hours became the property of the entire 20th Army, and through its command - the entire country. On July 13, 2012, the veteran and “godfather” of Katyusha turned 91, and on February 26, 2013 he passed away. He left his on the desk last job- a chapter about the first salvo of Katyusha rockets for the upcoming multi-volume history of the Great Patriotic War.
There is also a version that the name is associated with the “K” index on the mortar body - the installations were produced by the Kalinin plant (according to another source, by the Comintern plant). And front-line soldiers loved to give nicknames to their weapons. For example, the M-30 howitzer was nicknamed “Mother”, the ML-20 howitzer gun was nicknamed “Emelka”. Yes, and the BM-13 was at first sometimes called “Raisa Sergeevna,” thus deciphering the abbreviation RS (missile).
The third version suggests that this is how the girls from the Moscow Kompressor plant, who worked on the assembly, dubbed these cars. [source not specified 284 days]
Another, exotic version. The guides on which the projectiles were mounted were called ramps. The forty-two-kilogram projectile was lifted by two fighters harnessed to the straps, and the third usually helped them, pushing the projectile so that it lay exactly on the guides, and he also informed those holding that the projectile stood up, rolled, and rolled onto the guides. It was allegedly called “Katyusha” (the role of those holding the projectile and the one rolling it was constantly changing, since the crew of the BM-13, unlike cannon artillery, was not explicitly divided into loader, aimer, etc.) [source not 284 days indicated]
It should also be noted that the installations were so secret that it was even forbidden to use the commands “fire”, “fire”, “volley”, instead they were sounded “sing” or “play” (to start it was necessary to turn the handle of the electric generator very quickly), that , may also have been related to the song “Katyusha”. And for our infantry, a salvo of Katyusha rockets was the most pleasant music. [source not specified 284 days]
There is an assumption that initially the nickname “Katyusha” had a front-line bomber equipped with rockets - an analogue of the M-13. And the nickname jumped from an airplane to a rocket launcher via shells. [source not specified 284 days]
An experienced squadron of SV bombers (commander Doyar) in the battles on Khalkhin Gol was armed with RS-132 missiles. SB (fast bomber) bombers were sometimes called "Katyusha". It seems that this name appeared during civil war in Spain in the 1930s.
In the German troops, these machines were called “Stalin’s organs” because of the external resemblance of the rocket launcher to the pipe system of this musical instrument and the powerful stunning roar that was produced when launching missiles. [source not specified 284 days]
During the battles for Poznan and Berlin, the M-30 and M-31 single-launch installations received the nickname “Russian Faustpatron” from the Germans, although these shells were not used as an anti-tank weapon. With “dagger” (from a distance of 100-200 meters) launches of these shells, the guards broke through any walls.
BM-13 is a Soviet rocket artillery combat vehicle during the Great Patriotic War, the most popular and famous Soviet combat vehicle (BM) of this class. Most widely known by the popular nickname "Katyusha", soldiers of the Third Reich called it "Stalin's organ" because of the sound made by the fins of the rockets.
In 1938-1941. at the RNII, I. I. Gvai, V. N. Galkovsky, A. P. Pavlenko, R. I. Popov created a multi-charge launcher mounted on a truck.
In March 1941, successful field tests were carried out on BM-13 installations (the name stood for: “Combat vehicle of 132 mm shells”) with a 132 mm M-13 caliber projectile. The M-13 rocket (132-mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile) and the BM-13 launcher were adopted by the artillery on June 21, 1941, and then, a few hours before the war, a decree on their mass production was signed.
On June 26, 1941, at plant No. 723 of the People's Commissariat of Mortar Armaments of the USSR in Voronezh, the assembly of the first two serial BM-13 launchers on the ZIS-6 chassis was completed, and they were immediately accepted by representatives of the Main Artillery Directorate. The next day, the installations were sent under their own power to Moscow, where on June 28, after successful tests, they were combined with five installations previously manufactured at the RNII into a battery for sending to the front.
The production of BM-13 units was organized at the Voronezh plant named after. Comintern and at the Moscow plant "Compressor" ( chief designer- V.P. Barmin). One of the main enterprises for the production of rockets was the Moscow plant named after. Vladimir Ilyich.
The first two BM-13 launchers on the chassis of ZIS vehicles were manufactured on June 27, 1941 in Voronezh, at the Comintern plant
Commander of the first rocket battery artillery installations BM-13 (“Katyusha”) captain I.A. Flerov
The commander of the first BM-13 (Katyusha) rocket artillery battery in the Soviet armed forces is Captain Ivan Andreevich Flerov. His battery was the first to use Katyusha rockets in the Great Patriotic War. The following entries appeared in the battery's combat log: “14.7. 1941 15 hours 15 minutes. They attacked fascist trains at the Orsha railway junction. The results are excellent. A continuous sea of fire." "14.7. 1941 16 hours 45 minutes. A salvo at the crossing of fascist troops through Orshitsa. Large enemy losses in manpower and military equipment, panic. All the Nazis who survived on the eastern bank were taken prisoner by our units...”
On October 2, 1941, Flerov’s battery was among the troops that were surrounded in the Vyazemsky cauldron. The artillerymen covered more than 150 kilometers behind enemy lines. On the night of October 7, a convoy of battery vehicles was ambushed near the village of Bogatyri, Znamensky district, Smolensk region. The battery personnel took up the fight. In a hopeless situation, under heavy fire, they blew up the cars. Being seriously wounded, the commander blew himself up along with the main launcher. From the last report of Captain Flerov: “7.10.1941 21 hours. We were surrounded near the village of Bogatyr - 50 km from Vyazma. We will hold out until the end. No exit. We are preparing for self-explosion. Farewell comrades."
In the early 1960s, Flerov was nominated for the title of hero Soviet Union, but instead was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. On June 21, 1995, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation (No. 619), for the courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders in the Great Patriotic War, Captain Ivan Andreevich Flerov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.
In the fall of 1995, a group of Vyazma search engines, 250 meters west of the village of Bogatyr, found the remains of seven artillerymen who died along with the Katyushas. Among them, the remains of Captain Flerov were identified. On October 6, 1995, all the remains were reburied next to the obelisk near the village of Bogatyr, erected in memory of the feat of the rocket scientists.
A salvo of Soviet Katyusha rocket launchers on the approaches to Vyborg. To the left you can see KV tanks going on the attack.
Device:
The weapon is relatively simple, consisting of rail guides and a device for guiding them. For aiming, rotating and lifting mechanisms and an artillery sight were provided. There were two jacks at the rear of the vehicle, providing greater stability when firing. One machine could accommodate from 14 to 48 guides.
The body of the rocket (missile) was a welded cylinder, divided into three compartments - the warhead compartment, the engine compartment (combustion chamber with fuel) and the jet nozzle. The RS-132 aviation missile had a length of 0.935 meters, a diameter of 132 millimeters and weighed 23.1 kg, and the M-13 missile for the BM-13 ground installation had a length of 1.41 meters, a diameter of 132 millimeters and weighed 42.3 kg. Inside the cylinder with the feathers there was solid nitrocellulose. The mass of the warhead of the M-13 projectile is 22 kg. Weight explosive M-13 projectile 4.9 kg - “like six anti-tank grenades.” Firing range - up to 8.4 km.
The M-31 projectile for mounting the BM-31 was 310 mm in diameter, it weighed 92.4 kg and contained 28.9 kg of explosives. Range - 13 km, salvo duration for BM-13 (16 shells) - 7 - 10 seconds, for BM-8 (24 - 48 shells) - 8 - 10 seconds; loading time - 5 - 10 minutes for BM-31-21 (12 guides) - respectively 7 - 10 seconds and 10 - 15 minutes. The launch was carried out by a hand-held electric coil connected to a battery and contacts on the guides - when the handle was turned, the contacts closed in turn and the starting squib was fired in the next projectile. It is extremely rare that when there are a large number of guides on an installation, two coils are used simultaneously.
Unlike the German Nebelwerfer, it is a low-precision area weapon with a large dispersion of shells over the terrain. As a result, it was pointless to deliver precise strikes like the Nebelwerfer. With half the explosive charge, the damaging effect on unarmored vehicles and manpower was much stronger than that of the Nebelwerfer. This was achieved by increasing the gas pressure of the explosion due to the counter-propulsion of the detonation. The explosive was detonated from both sides (the length of the detonator was only slightly less than the length of the cavity for the explosive) and when two waves of detonation met, the gas pressure of the explosion at the meeting point increased sharply, as a result of which the body fragments had a significantly greater acceleration, heated up to 600 - 800 ° C and had a good igniting effect. In addition to the body, part of the rocket chamber, which was heated from the gunpowder burning inside, also burst; this increased the fragmentation effect by 1.5 - 2 times compared to artillery shells of a similar caliber. That is why the legend about the “thermite charge” in Katyusha ammunition arose. The “thermite” charge was tested in Leningrad in the spring of 1942, but it turned out to be unnecessary - after a salvo of Katyusha rockets, everything was already burning. (from the collection “Katyusha Guards”). The combined use of dozens of missiles at the same time also created interference of blast waves, which further enhanced the damaging effect.
Military artillerymen of the Soviet unit of BM-13 Katyusha combat vehicles
The Great Patriotic War
Since the advent of rocket artillery (RA), its formations have been subordinate to the Supreme High Command. They were used to strengthen the rifle divisions defending in the first echelon, which significantly increased their firepower and increased stability in defensive battles. The requirements for the use of new weapons - mass and surprise - were reflected in the Directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters No. 002490 of October 1, 1941.
During the Battle of Moscow, due to the difficult situation at the front, the command was forced to use rocket artillery on a “subdivisional basis.”
But by the end of 1941, the number of rocket artillery in the troops increased significantly and reached 5-10 divisions in the armies operating in the main direction. Fire and maneuver control large number divisions, as well as supplying them with combat supplies and other types of food became difficult. By decision of the Headquarters, in January 1942, the creation of 20 guards mortar regiments began.
The “Guards Mortar Regiment (Gv.mp) of the Reserve Artillery of the Supreme High Command (RVGK)” consisted of a department, three divisions of three batteries. Each battery had four combat vehicles. Thus, a salvo of only one division of 12 BM-13-16 GMP vehicles (Staff Directive No. 002490 prohibited the use of RA in numbers of less than a division) could be compared in strength to a salvo of 12 heavy howitzer regiments of the RVGK (48 152 mm howitzers per regiment) or 18 heavy howitzer brigades of the RVGK (32 152 mm howitzers per brigade).
Red Army artillerymen service the BM-13 Katyusha combat vehicle
The emotional effect was also important: during the salvo, all the missiles were fired almost simultaneously - within a few seconds the ground in the target area was literally plowed up by rockets. The mobility of the installation made it possible to quickly change position and avoid a retaliatory strike from the enemy.
On July 17, 1944, in the area of the village of Nalyuchi, a salvo of 144 launching frames equipped with 300-mm rockets was heard. This was the first use of a somewhat less famous related weapon - "Andryusha".
In July-August 1942, the Katyushas (three regiments and a separate division) were the main striking force of the Mobile Mechanized Group of the Southern Front, which held back the advance of the German 1st Tank Army south of Rostov for several days. This is even reflected in the diary of General Halder: “increased Russian resistance south of Rostov”
In August 1942, in the city of Sochi, in the garage of the Caucasian Riviera sanatorium, under the leadership of the head of mobile repair shop No. 6, military engineer of the 3rd rank A. Alferov, a portable version of the installation was created based on M-8 shells, which was later called the “mountain Katyusha”. The first “mountain Katyushas” entered service with the 20th Mountain Rifle Division and were used in battles at the Goytkh Pass. In February - March 1943, two divisions of “Mountain Katyushas” became part of the troops defending the legendary bridgehead on Malaya Zemlya near Novorossiysk.
In the 62nd Army in Stalingrad, the Katyusha division fought on the T-70 base, which was directly subordinate to Army Commander V.I. Chuikov.
In addition, 4 installations based on railcars were created at the Sochi locomotive depot, which were used to protect the city of Sochi from the shore.
The minesweeper "Skumbria" was equipped with eight installations, which covered the landing on Malaya Zemlya.
In September 1943, during the Bryansk operation, the Katyusha maneuver along the front line made it possible to carry out a sudden flank attack, as a result of which the German defense was “collapsed” in a strip of the entire front - 250 kilometers. During the artillery preparation, 6,000 rocket shells and only 2,000 barrel shells were expended.
BM-13 Katyusha rocket artillery combat vehicles on the street of a Western European city
Soviet BM-13 Katyusha rocket artillery combat vehicles fire at the enemy at night.
A battery of BM-13-16N combat vehicles (Studebaker US 6 chassis) is preparing for a salvo. The soldier on the right works with an artillery compass.
Soviet BM-13 Katyusha rocket launchers (on an American-made Studebaker US6 truck chassis) near Belgrade
Night salvo of the BM-13 Katyusha rocket launcher.
Soviet artillerymen prepare a BM-13 Katyusha rocket launcher for a salvo in Berlin.
A salvo of BM-13 (Katyusha) rocket launchers in Berlin
Filming location: Berlin, Germany. Time taken: 04/29/1945.
Soviet Katyusha rocket launchers fire a salvo at the enemy
Combat use of the Guards rocket mortar "Katyusha"
Soviet troops on the offensive near Stalingrad, the famous Katyusha rocket launchers in the foreground, T-34 tanks behind
A salvo of Guards BM-13 Katyusha rocket launchers, mounted on the chassis of American Studebaker US6 trucks. Carpathian region, western Ukraine.
Location: Ukraine, USSR. Time taken: 1944.
On the day of entering the capital of Bulgaria, units of the Red Army pass through one of its main streets. The Bulgarians welcome the unit armed with Katyusha guard mortars on the chassis of American Studebaker trucks.
A volley of BM-31-12 guard rocket mortars during the assault on Breslau (now the Polish city of Wroclaw).
Filming location: Germany. Time taken: 1945.
Guards rocket mortar BM-31-12 in Berlin. Time taken: May 1945
This is a modification of the famous Katyusha rocket launcher (by analogy it was called “Andryusha”). It fired with 310 mm caliber shells (as opposed to 132 mm Katyusha shells), launched from 12 honeycomb-type guides (2 tiers of 6 cells each). The system is located on the chassis of the American Studebaker US6 truck, which was supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease.
Killed German soldiers and a BM-31-12 rocket launcher (a modification of the Katyusha with M-31 shells on the chassis of an American Studebaker truck, nicknamed “Andryusha”) on the street of Berlin
The famous Soviet singer Lidiya Ruslanova performs “Katyusha” against the backdrop of the destroyed Reichstag. Lidia Ruslanova was one of the first singers to perform “Katyusha”.
After the adoption of 82-mm air-to-air missiles RS-82 (1937) and 132-mm air-to-ground missiles RS-132 (1938) into aviation service, the Main Artillery Directorate set the projectile developer - Reactive Research Institute - the task of creating a reactive field system volley fire based on RS-132 shells. The updated tactical and technical specifications were issued to the institute in June 1938.
In accordance with this task, by the summer of 1939 the institute had developed a new 132-mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile, which later received the official name M-13. Compared to the aircraft RS-132, this projectile had a longer flight range and was significantly more powerful. combat unit. The increase in flight range was achieved by increasing the amount of rocket fuel; this required lengthening the rocket and warhead parts of the rocket by 48 cm. The M-13 projectile had slightly better aerodynamic characteristics than the RS-132, which made it possible to obtain higher accuracy.
A self-propelled multi-charge launcher was also developed for the projectile. Its first version was created on the basis of the ZIS-5 truck and was designated MU-1 (mechanized unit, first sample). Field tests of the installation carried out between December 1938 and February 1939 showed that it did not fully meet the requirements. Taking into account the test results, the Jet Research Institute developed a new MU-2 launcher, which was accepted by the Main Artillery Directorate for field testing in September 1939. Based on the results of field tests completed in November 1939, the institute was ordered five launchers for military testing. Another installation was ordered by the Ordnance Department of the Navy for use in the coastal defense system.
On June 21, 1941, the installation was demonstrated to the leaders of the All-Union Communist Party (6) and the Soviet government, and on the same day, literally a few hours before the start of the Great Patriotic War, a decision was made to urgently launch mass production of M-13 missiles and a launcher, which received the official name BM-13 (combat vehicle 13).
The production of BM-13 units was organized at the Voronezh plant named after. Comintern and at the Moscow plant "Compressor". One of the main enterprises for the production of rockets was the Moscow plant named after. Vladimir Ilyich.
During the war, the production of launchers was urgently launched at several enterprises with different production capabilities, and in connection with this, more or less significant changes were made to the design of the installation. Thus, the troops used up to ten varieties of the BM-13 launcher, which made it difficult to train personnel and had a negative impact on the operation of military equipment. For these reasons, a unified (normalized) launcher BM-13N was developed and put into service in April 1943, during the creation of which the designers critically analyzed all parts and components in order to increase the manufacturability of their production and reduce cost, as a result of which all components received independent indexes and became universal. Compound
The BM-13 "Katyusha" includes the following combat weapons:
Combat vehicle (BM) MU-2 (MU-1);
Missiles.
M-13 rocket:
The M-13 projectile consists of a warhead and a powder jet engine. The design of the warhead resembles a high-explosive fragmentation artillery shell and is equipped with an explosive charge, which is detonated using a contact fuse and an additional detonator. A jet engine has a combustion chamber in which a propellant propellant charge is placed in the form of cylindrical blocks with an axial channel. Pyro-igniters are used to ignite the powder charge. The gases formed during the combustion of powder bombs flow through the nozzle, in front of which there is a diaphragm that prevents the bombs from being ejected through the nozzle. Stabilization of the projectile in flight is ensured by a tail stabilizer with four feathers welded from stamped steel halves. (This method of stabilization provides lower accuracy compared to stabilization by rotation around the longitudinal axis, but allows for a greater range of projectile flight. In addition, the use of a feathered stabilizer greatly simplifies the technology for producing rockets).
The flight range of the M-13 projectile reached 8470 m, but there was very significant dispersion. According to the shooting tables of 1942, with a firing range of 3000 m, the lateral deviation was 51 m, and at the range - 257 m.
In 1943, a modernized version of the rocket was developed, designated M-13-UK (improved accuracy). To increase the accuracy of fire, the M-13-UK projectile has 12 tangentially located holes in the front centering thickening of the rocket part, through which, during operation of the rocket engine, part of the powder gases escapes, causing the projectile to rotate. Although the projectile’s flight range decreased somewhat (to 7.9 km), the improvement in accuracy led to a decrease in the dispersion area and an increase in fire density by 3 times compared to M-13 projectiles. The adoption of the M-13-UK projectile into service in April 1944 contributed to a sharp increase in the fire capabilities of rocket artillery.
MLRS "Katyusha" launcher:
A self-propelled multi-charge launcher has been developed for the projectile. Its first version, MU-1, based on the ZIS-5 truck, had 24 guides mounted on a special frame in a transverse position relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Its design made it possible to launch rockets only perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and jets of hot gases damaged the elements of the installation and the body of the ZIS-5. Safety was also not ensured when controlling fire from the driver's cabin. The launcher swayed strongly, which worsened the accuracy of the rockets. Loading the launcher from the front of the rails was inconvenient and time-consuming. The ZIS-5 vehicle had limited cross-country ability.
The more advanced MU-2 launcher based on the ZIS-6 off-road truck had 16 guides located along the axis of the vehicle. Every two guides were connected, forming a single structure called a “spark”. A new unit was introduced into the design of the installation - a subframe. The subframe made it possible to assemble the entire artillery part of the launcher (as a single unit) on it, and not on the chassis, as was previously the case. Once assembled, the artillery unit was relatively easily mounted on the chassis of any make of car with minimal modification to the latter. The created design made it possible to reduce the labor intensity, manufacturing time and cost of launchers. The weight of the artillery unit was reduced by 250 kg, the cost by more than 20 percent. The combat and operational qualities of the installation were significantly increased. Due to the introduction of armor for the gas tank, gas pipeline, side and rear walls of the driver's cabin, the survivability of the launchers in combat was increased. The firing sector was increased, the stability of the launcher in the traveling position was increased, and improved lifting and turning mechanisms made it possible to increase the speed of pointing the installation at the target. Before launch, the MU-2 combat vehicle was jacked up similarly to the MU-1. The forces rocking the launcher, thanks to the location of the guides along the chassis of the vehicle, were applied along its axis to two jacks located near the center of gravity, so the rocking became minimal. Loading in the installation was carried out from the breech, that is, from the rear end of the guides. This was more convenient and made it possible to significantly speed up the operation. The MU-2 installation had a rotating and lifting mechanism of the simplest design, a bracket for mounting a sight with a conventional artillery panorama, and a large metal fuel tank mounted at the rear of the cabin. The cockpit windows were covered with armored folding shields. Opposite the seat of the commander of the combat vehicle, on the front panel there was mounted a small rectangular box with a turntable, reminiscent of a telephone dial, and a handle for turning the dial. This device was called the “fire control panel” (FCP). From it went a wiring harness to a special battery and to each guide.
With one turn of the launcher handle, the electrical circuit closed, the squib placed in the front part of the projectile’s rocket chamber was triggered, the reactive charge was ignited and a shot was fired. The rate of fire was determined by the rate of rotation of the PUO handle. All 16 shells could be fired in 7-10 seconds. The time it took to transfer the MU-2 launcher from traveling to combat position was 2-3 minutes, the vertical firing angle ranged from 4° to 45°, and the horizontal firing angle was 20°.
The design of the launcher allowed it to move in a charged state at a fairly high speed (up to 40 km/h) and quickly deploy to a firing position, which facilitated the delivery of surprise attacks on the enemy.
A significant factor increasing the tactical mobility of rocket artillery units armed with BM-13N installations was the fact that a powerful American freight car"Studebaker US 6x6", supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease. This car had increased cross-country ability, provided by a powerful engine, three drive axles (6x6 wheel arrangement), a range multiplier, a winch for self-pulling, and a high location of all parts and mechanisms sensitive to water. The development of the BM-13 serial combat vehicle was finally completed with the creation of this launcher. In this form she fought until the end of the war.
Performance characteristics MLRS BM-13 "Katyusha"
M-13 rocket
Caliber, mm 132
Projectile weight, kg 42.3
Warhead mass, kg 21.3
Mass of explosive, kg 4.9
Maximum firing range, km 8.47
Salvo production time, sec 7-10
MU-2 combat vehicle
Base ZiS-6 (8x8)
BM weight, t 43.7
Maximum speed, km/h 40
Number of guides 16
Vertical firing angle, degrees from +4 to +45
Horizontal firing angle, deg 20
Calculation, pers. 10-12
Year of adoption 1941
Testing and operation
The first battery of field rocket artillery, sent to the front on the night of July 1–2, 1941, under the command of Captain I.A. Flerov, was armed with seven installations manufactured by the Jet Research Institute. With its first salvo at 15:15 on July 14, 1941, the battery wiped out the Orsha railway junction along with the German trains with troops and military equipment located on it.
The exceptional efficiency of the battery of Captain I. A. Flerov and the seven more such batteries formed after it contributed to the rapid increase in the rate of production of jet weapons. Already in the autumn of 1941, 45 three-battery divisions with four launchers per battery operated at the fronts. For their armament, 593 BM-13 installations were manufactured in 1941. As military equipment arrived from industry, the formation of rocket artillery regiments began, consisting of three divisions armed with BM-13 launchers and an anti-aircraft division. The regiment had 1,414 personnel, 36 BM-13 launchers and 12 37-mm anti-aircraft guns. The regiment's salvo amounted to 576 132mm shells. At the same time, enemy manpower and military equipment were destroyed over an area of over 100 hectares. Officially, the regiments were called Guards Mortar Regiments of the Reserve Artillery of the Supreme High Command.
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"Katyusha"
The Guards rocket mortar became one of the most terrible types of weapons of the Great Patriotic War
Now no one can say for sure under what circumstances the multiple rocket launcher received female name, and even in a diminutive form - “Katyusha”. One thing is known - not all types of weapons received nicknames at the front. And these names were often not at all flattering. For example, the Il-2 attack aircraft of early modifications, which saved the lives of more than one infantryman and was the most welcome “guest” in any battle, received the nickname “humpback” among the soldiers for its cockpit protruding above the fuselage. And the small I-16 fighter, which bore on its wings the entire weight of the first air battles, was called "donkey". There were, however, also formidable nicknames - the heavy self-propelled artillery unit Su-152, which was capable of knocking down the turret of a Tiger with one shot, was respectfully called the “St. one-story house - "sledgehammer". In any case, the names most often given were stern and strict. And here is such unexpected tenderness, if not love...
However, if you read the memories of veterans, especially those who, in their military profession, depended on the actions of mortars - infantrymen, tank crews, signalmen, then it becomes clear why the soldiers loved these combat vehicles so much. In terms of its combat power, "Katyusha" had no equal.
Suddenly there was a grinding noise behind us, a rumble, and fiery arrows flew through us to the heights... At the heights, everything was covered with fire, smoke and dust. In the midst of this chaos, fiery candles flared from individual explosions. A terrible roar reached us. When all this calmed down and the command “Forward” was heard, we took the height, meeting almost no resistance, we “played the Katyushas” so cleanly... At the height, when we got up there, we saw that everything had been plowed up. There are almost no traces left of the trenches in which the Germans were located. There were many corpses of enemy soldiers. The wounded fascists were bandaged by our nurses and, together with a small number of survivors, sent to the rear. There was fear on the faces of the Germans. They had not yet understood what had happened to them, and had not recovered from the Katyusha salvo.
From the memoirs of war veteran Vladimir Yakovlevich Ilyashenko (published on the website Iremember.ru)
Each projectile was approximately equal in power to a howitzer, but the installation itself could almost simultaneously fire, depending on the model and size of the ammunition, from eight to 32 missiles. "Katyushas" operated in divisions, regiments or brigades. Moreover, in each division, equipped, for example, with BM-13 installations, there were five such vehicles, each of which had 16 guides for launching 132-mm M-13 projectiles, each weighing 42 kilograms with a flight range of 8470 meters. Accordingly, only one division could fire 80 shells at the enemy. If the division was equipped with BM-8 launchers with 32 82-mm shells, then one salvo would already amount to 160 missiles. What are 160 rockets that fall on a small village or fortified height in a few seconds - imagine for yourself. But in many operations during the war, artillery preparation was carried out by regiments and even Katyusha brigades, and this is more than a hundred vehicles, or more than three thousand shells in one salvo. Probably no one can imagine what three thousand shells are that plow up trenches and fortifications in half a minute...
During the offensive, the Soviet command tried to concentrate as much artillery as possible at the forefront of the main attack. Super-massive artillery preparation, which preceded the breakthrough of the enemy front, was the trump card of the Red Army. Not a single army in that war was able to provide such fire. In 1945, during the offensive, the Soviet command concentrated up to 230-260 cannon artillery guns along one kilometer of the front. In addition to them, for every kilometer there were, on average, 15-20 rocket artillery combat vehicles, not counting the stationary launchers - M-30 frames. Traditionally, Katyushas completed an artillery attack: rocket launchers fired a salvo when the infantry was already attacking. Often, after several volleys of Katyusha rockets, the infantrymen entered an empty settlement or enemy positions without encountering any resistance.
Of course, such a raid could not destroy all enemy soldiers - Katyusha rockets could operate in fragmentation or high-explosive mode, depending on how the fuse was configured. When set to fragmentation action, the rocket exploded immediately after it reached the ground; in the case of a “high-explosive” installation, the fuse fired with a slight delay, allowing the projectile to go deeper into the ground or other obstacle. However, in both cases, if the enemy soldiers were in well-fortified trenches, then the losses from the shelling were small. Therefore, Katyushas were often used at the beginning of an artillery attack in order to prevent enemy soldiers from having time to hide in the trenches. It was thanks to the surprise and power of one salvo that the use of rocket mortars brought success.
Already on the slope of the height, just a short distance from reaching the battalion, we unexpectedly came under a salvo from our native Katyusha - a multi-barreled rocket mortar. It was terrible: large-caliber mines exploded around us within a minute, one after another. It took them a while to catch their breath and come to their senses. Now newspaper reports about cases in which German soldiers who were under fire from Katyusha rockets went crazy seemed quite plausible.
“If you attract an artillery regiment, the regiment commander will definitely say: “I don’t have this data, I have to shoot the guns.” If he starts shooting, and they shoot with one gun, taking the target into the fork - this is a signal to the enemy: what to do? Take cover "Usually 15-20 seconds are given for cover. During this time, an artillery barrel will fire one or two shells. And in 15-20 seconds, my division will fire 120 missiles, which come all at once," says the commander of the rocket mortar regiment, Alexander Filippovich Panuev.
It is difficult to imagine what it would be like to be hit by Katyusha missiles. According to those who survived such attacks (both Germans and Soviet soldiers), it was one of the most terrible experiences of the entire war. Everyone describes the sound that the rockets made during the flight differently - grinding, howling, roaring. Be that as it may, in combination with subsequent explosions, during which for several seconds over an area of several hectares the earth, mixed with pieces of buildings, equipment, and people, flew into the air, this gave a strong psychological effect. When the soldiers occupied enemy positions, they were not met with fire, not because everyone was killed - it was just that the rocket fire drove the survivors crazy.
The psychological component of any weapon should not be underestimated. The German Ju-87 bomber was equipped with a siren that howled during a dive, also suppressing the psyche of those who were on the ground at that moment. And during attacks by German Tiger tanks, the crews anti-tank guns sometimes they left their positions in fear of the steel monsters. "Katyushas" had the same psychological effect. For this terrible howl, by the way, they received the nickname “Stalin’s organs” from the Germans.
The only people in the Red Army who were not comfortable with the Katyusha were the artillerymen. The fact is that mobile installations rocket mortars usually moved into position immediately before the salvo and tried to escape just as quickly. At the same time, the Germans, for obvious reasons, tried to destroy the Katyushas first. Therefore, immediately after a salvo of rocket mortars, their positions, as a rule, began to be intensively processed German artillery and aviation. And given that the positions of cannon artillery and rocket mortars were often located not far from each other, the raid covered the artillerymen who remained where the rocket men were firing from.
SOVIET ROCKET MANAGERS LOAD KATYUSHA. Photo from the archives of the Russian Ministry of Defense
“We select firing positions. They tell us: “There is a firing position in such and such a place, you will wait for soldiers or placed beacons.” We take the firing position at night. At this time the Katyusha division is approaching. If I had time, I would immediately remove from there their position. The Katyushas fired a salvo at the vehicles and left. And the Germans raised nine Junkers to bomb the division, and the division ran away. They went to the battery. There was a commotion! It was an open place, they were hiding under the cannon carriages. They bombed anyone at random, those who didn’t get it and left,” says former artilleryman Ivan Trofimovich Salnitsky.
According to former Soviet missilemen who fought on Katyushas, most often the divisions operated within several tens of kilometers of front, appearing where their support was needed. First, officers entered the positions and made the appropriate calculations. These calculations, by the way, were quite complex - they took into account not only the distance to the target, the speed and direction of the wind, but even the air temperature, which influenced the trajectory of the missiles. After all the calculations were made, the vehicles moved into position, fired several salvos (most often, no more than five) and urgently went to the rear. Delay in this case was indeed like death - the Germans immediately covered the place from which the rocket mortars were fired with artillery fire.
During the offensive, the tactics of using Katyushas, which were finally perfected by 1943 and were used everywhere until the end of the war, were different. At the very beginning of the offensive, when it was necessary to break through the enemy’s deeply layered defenses, artillery (barrel and rocket) formed the so-called “barrage of fire.” At the beginning of the shelling, all howitzers (often even heavy self-propelled guns) and rocket-propelled mortars “processed” the first line of defense. Then the fire was transferred to the fortifications of the second line, and the infantry occupied the trenches and dugouts of the first. After this, the fire was transferred inland - to the third line, and meanwhile the infantrymen occupied the second. Moreover, the further the infantry went, the less cannon artillery could support it - towed guns could not accompany it throughout the entire offensive. This task was assigned to self-propelled units and "Katyusha". It was they who, together with the tanks, followed the infantry, supporting them with fire. According to those who participated in such offensives, after the “barrage” of Katyusha rockets, the infantry walked along a scorched strip of land several kilometers wide, on which there were no traces of carefully prepared defenses.
BM-13 "KATUSHA" ON THE BASE OF A "STUDEBAKER" TRUCK. Photo from Easyget.narod.ru
After the war, Katyushas began to be installed on pedestals - the combat vehicles turned into monuments. Surely many have seen such monuments throughout the country. They are all more or less similar to each other and almost do not correspond to those vehicles that fought in the Great Patriotic War. The fact is that these monuments almost always feature a rocket launcher based on the ZiS-6 vehicle. Indeed, at the very beginning of the war, rocket launchers were installed on ZiSs, but as soon as American Studebaker trucks began to arrive in the USSR under Lend-Lease, they were turned into the most common base for Katyushas. ZiS, as well as Lend-Lease Chevrolets, were too weak to carry a heavy installation with guides for missiles off-road. It's not just the relatively low-power engine - the frames of these trucks couldn't support the weight of the unit. Actually, the Studebakers also tried not to overload with missiles - if they had to travel to a position from afar, then the missiles were loaded immediately before the salvo.
In addition to ZiSovs, Chevrolets and the most common Studebakers among Katyushas, the Red Army used T-70 tanks as chassis for rocket launchers, but they were quickly abandoned - the tank’s engine and its transmission turned out to be too weak for this purpose. so that the installation can continuously cruise along the front line. At first, the rocketeers did without a chassis at all - the M-30 launch frames were transported in the backs of trucks, unloading them directly to their positions.
From the history of Russian (Soviet) rocket science
KATYUSH MISSILES:
M-8 - caliber 82 millimeters, weight eight kilograms, damage radius 10-12 meters, firing range 5500 meters
M-13 - caliber 132 millimeters, weight 42.5 kilograms, firing range 8470 meters, damage radius 25-30 meters
M-30 - caliber 300 millimeters, weight 95 kilograms, firing range 2800 meters (after modification - 4325 meters). These shells were launched from stationary M-30 machines. They were supplied in special frame-boxes, which were launchers. Sometimes the rocket did not come out of it and flew along with the frame
M-31-UK - shells similar to the M-30, but with improved accuracy. The nozzles, installed slightly at an angle, forced the rocket to rotate along its longitudinal axis in flight, stabilizing it.
Russian and Soviet rocket science has a long and glorious history. For the first time, Peter I took missiles seriously as weapons. At the beginning of the 18th century, as noted on the Pobeda.ru website, the Russian army with its light hand Signal flares that were used during the Northern War arrived. At the same time, missile “departments” appeared in various artillery schools. IN early XIX century, the Military Scientific Committee begins to create combat missiles. For a long time Various military departments carried out testing and development in the field of rocket science. In this case, the Russian designers Kartmazov and Zasyadko showed themselves clearly, who independently developed their missile systems.
This weapon is highly appreciated Russian military leaders. The Russian army adopted incendiary and high-explosive missiles of domestic production, as well as gantry, frame, tripod and carriage-type launchers.
In the 19th century, rockets were used in many military conflicts. In August 1827, soldiers of the Caucasian Corps fired several thousand rockets at the enemy in the Battle of Ushagan, near Alagez and during the assault on the Ardavil fortress. Subsequently, it was in the Caucasus that these weapons were used most of all. Thousands of missiles were transported to the Caucasus, and thousands were used during storming of fortresses and other operations. In addition, rocket scientists took part in Russian-Turkish war as part of the artillery of the Guards Corps, actively supporting infantry and cavalry in the battles near Shumla and during the siege of the Turkish fortresses of Varna and Silistria.
In the second half of the 19th century, rockets began to be used en masse. By this time, the number of combat missiles produced by the St. Petersburg missile establishment already amounted to many thousands. They were equipped with artillery units, the navy, and even supplied to the cavalry - a rocket launcher was developed for Cossack and cavalry units weighing only a few pounds, which was used to arm individual cavalrymen instead of hand weapons or pikes. From 1851 to 1854 alone, 12,550 two-inch rockets were sent to the active army.
At the same time, their design, application tactics, chemical composition of the filler, and launching machines were improved. It was at that time that the shortcomings of missiles were identified - insufficient accuracy and power - and tactics were developed that made it possible to neutralize the shortcomings. “Successful operation of a missile from a machine depends largely on completely calm and attentive observation of its entire flight; but since it is currently impossible to fulfill such a condition, when using missiles against the enemy, one should primarily operate with several missiles suddenly, in rapid fire or in a salvo. Thus “In this way, if not by the accuracy of the strike of each individual rocket, then by the combined action of a larger number of them, it is possible to achieve the desired goal,” wrote the Artillery Journal in 1863. Note that the tactics described in the military publication became the basis for the creation of Katyushas. At first, their shells were also not particularly accurate, but this deficiency was compensated by the number of missiles fired.
The development of missile weapons received a new impetus in the 20th century. Russian scientists Tsiolkovsky, Kibalchich, Meshchersky, Zhukovsky, Nezhdanovsky, Tsander and others developed theoretical basis rocketry and astronautics, created the scientific prerequisites for the theory of rocket engine design, predetermining the appearance of the Katyusha.
The development of rocket artillery began in the Soviet Union even before the war, in the thirties. A whole group of design scientists led by Vladimir Andreevich Artemyev worked on them. The first experimental rocket launchers began to be tested at the end of 1938, and immediately in a mobile version - on the ZiS-6 chassis (stationary launchers appeared during the war due to the lack of a sufficient number of cars). Before the war, in the summer of 1941, the first unit was formed - a division of rocket launchers.
KATYUSH VOLLOSE. Photo from the archives of the Russian Ministry of Defense
The first battle involving these installations took place on July 14, 1941. This is one of the most famous episodes of the Great Patriotic War. On that day, several German trains with fuel, soldiers and ammunition arrived at the Belarusian Orsha station - a more than tempting goal. Captain Flerov's battery approached the station and at 15:15 fired only one salvo. Within a few seconds the station was literally mixed with the ground. In the report, the captain later wrote: “The results are excellent. A continuous sea of fire.”
The fate of Captain Ivan Andreevich Flerov, like the fate of hundreds of thousands of Soviet military personnel in 1941, turned out to be tragic. For several months he managed to operate quite successfully, escaping enemy fire. Several times the battery found itself surrounded, but always returned to its own, maintaining military equipment. She fought her last battle on October 30 near Smolensk. Once surrounded, the fighters were forced to blow up the launchers (each vehicle had a box of explosives and a fire cord - under no circumstances were the launchers supposed to fall into the hands of the enemy). Then, breaking out of the “cauldron”, most of them, including Captain Flerov, died. Only 46 battery artillerymen reached the front line.
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However, by that time new batteries were already operating at the front guards mortars, throwing down on the heads of the enemy the same “sea of fire” that Flerov wrote about in the first report from near Orsha. Then this sea will accompany the Germans along their entire sad path - from Moscow through Stalingrad, Kursk, Orel, Belgorod and so on, all the way to Berlin. Already in 1941, those who survived that terrible shelling at the Belarusian junction station probably thought hard about whether it was worth starting a war with a country that could turn several trains into ashes in a few seconds. However, they had no choice - these were ordinary soldiers and officers, and those who ordered them to go to Orsha learned about how the Stalinist organs sing less than four years later - in May 1945, when this music sounded in sky
The history of BM-13 - the famous Katyushas - is a very bright and at the same time controversial page of the Great Patriotic War. We decided to talk about some of the mysteries of this legendary weapon.
The mystery of the first salvo
Officially, the 1st experimental Katyusha battery (5 out of 7 installations) under the command of Captain Flerov fired the first salvo at 15:15. July 14, 1941 at the railway junction in Orsha. The following description of what happened is often given: “A cloud of smoke and dust rose over the ravine overgrown with bushes where the battery was hidden. There was a rumbling grinding sound. Throwing tongues of bright flame, more than a hundred cigar-shaped projectiles quickly slid from the guide launchers. For a moment, black arrows were visible in the sky, gaining altitude with increasing speed. Elastic jets of ash-white gases burst out with a roar from their bottoms. And then everything disappeared together.” (...)
“And a few seconds later, in the very thick of the enemy troops, explosions thundered one after another, gradually shaking the ground. Where wagons with ammunition and tanks with fuel had just stood, huge geysers of fire and smoke shot up.”
But if you open any reference literature, you can see that the city of Orsha was abandoned by Soviet troops a day later. And who was the salvo fired at? Imagine that the enemy was able to change the rut in a matter of hours railway and driving trains into the station is problematic.
It is even more unlikely that the first to enter the captured city from the Germans are trains with ammunition, for the delivery of which even captured Soviet locomotives and wagons are used.
Nowadays, the hypothesis has become widespread that Captain Flerov received an order to destroy Soviet trains at the station with property that could not be left to the enemy. Maybe so, but there is no direct confirmation of this version yet. Another assumption the author of the article heard from one of the officers of the Belarusian army was that several salvos were fired, and if on July 14 the target was the German troops approaching Orsha, then the attack on the station itself took place a day later.
But these are still hypotheses that make you think and compare facts, but are not yet established and confirmed by documents. At the moment, an unscientific debate even arises from time to time: where did Flerov’s battery first enter the battle - near Orsha or near Rudnya? The distance between these cities is quite decent - more than 50 km directly, and much further along the roads.
We read in the same Wikipedia, which does not pretend to be scientific - “On July 14, 1941 (the city of Rudnya) became the place of the first combat use“Katyusha”, when a battery of rocket mortars by I. A. Flerov, with direct fire, covered a concentration of Germans on the city’s Market Square. In honor of this event, there is a monument in the city - “Katyusha” on a pedestal.”
Firstly, direct fire for Katyushas is practically impossible, and secondly, weapons operating across squares will cover not only the market square with Germans and apparently city residents, but also several blocks around. What happened there is another question. One thing can be stated quite accurately - from the very beginning, the new weapon proved itself to be the best side and lived up to the expectations placed on it. A note from the chief of artillery of the Red Army N. Voronov addressed to Malenkov on August 4, 1941 noted:
“The means are strong. Production should be increased. Continuously form units, regiments and divisions. It is better to use it massively and maintain maximum surprise.”
The mystery of the death of Flerov's battery
The circumstances surrounding the death of Flerov’s battery on October 7, 1941 still remain mysterious. It is often stated that the battery, having fired a direct fire salvo, was destroyed by the crew.
Let us repeat: for Katyushas, direct fire is extremely dangerous and close to suicidal - there is a very high risk that a missile that has slipped from the guides will fall next to the installation. According to the Soviet version, the battery was blown up, and out of 170 soldiers and commanders, only 46 managed to escape from the ring.
Among those killed in this battle was Ivan Andreevich Flerov. On November 11, 1963, he was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and in 1995, the brave commander was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. Fragments of rocket launchers discovered at the site of the battery's destruction have also survived to this day.
The German version claims, in turn, that German troops managed to capture three of the seven installations. Although the first installations of the BM-13, if you believe again German photographs, apparently fell into the hands of the enemy much earlier, back in August 1941.
"Katyushas" and "donkeys"
Rocket artillery was not new to German troops. In the Red Army, German rocket launchers were often called “donkeys” for the characteristic sound they made when firing. Contrary to popular belief, both installations and missiles still fell into the hands of the enemy, but direct copying, as was the case with samples of Soviet small arms and artillery weapons, did not occur.
And the development of German rocket artillery took a slightly different path. For the first time during the Great Patriotic War, German troops used 150 mm rocket launchers in battles for Brest Fortress, their use was noted during the assault on Mogilev and in a number of other events. Soviet BM-13 rocket launchers were superior to German systems in terms of firing range, while at the same time being inferior in accuracy. Known number Soviet tanks, guns, aircraft, small arms, produced during the war years, but there are no figures yet regarding the number of Soviet rocket launchers, as well as the number of Katyushas lost during the war.
It is clear that this was a massive weapon and played a big role in all the key military events of the Great Patriotic War.