home Healthy eating When did the Katyusha first enter combat? Weapon of Victory: Katyusha multiple launch rocket system (3 photos) Katyusha rocket launcher first use.

When did the Katyusha first enter combat? Weapon of Victory: Katyusha multiple launch rocket system (3 photos) Katyusha rocket launcher first use.

Having become symbols of our country’s victory in the Great Patriotic War, a special place is occupied by guards rocket mortars, popularly nicknamed “Katyusha”. The characteristic silhouette of a truck from the 40s with an inclined structure instead of a body is the same symbol of perseverance, heroism and courage of Soviet soldiers as, say, the T-34 tank, Il-2 attack aircraft or ZiS-3 cannon.

And here’s what’s especially noteworthy: all these legendary, glorious weapons were designed very shortly or literally on the eve of the war! The T-34 was put into service at the end of December 1939, the first production IL-2s rolled off the production line in February 1941, and the ZiS-3 gun was first presented to the leadership of the USSR and the army a month after the start of hostilities, on July 22, 1941. But the most amazing coincidence happened in the fate of Katyusha. Its demonstration to the party and military authorities took place half a day before the German attack - June 21, 1941...

From heaven to earth

In fact, work on the creation of the world's first multiple launch rocket system on a self-propelled chassis began in the USSR in the mid-1930s. An employee of the Tula NPO Splav, which produces modern Russian MLRS, Sergei Gurov managed to find in the archives agreement No. 251618с dated January 26, 1935 between the Leningrad Jet Research Institute and the Automotive and Armored Directorate of the Red Army, which included a prototype rocket launcher on the BT-5 with ten missiles .

There is nothing to be surprised here, because Soviet rocket scientists created the first combat rockets even earlier: official tests took place in the late 20s - early 30s. In 1937, the RS-82 missile of 82 mm caliber was adopted for service, and a year later the RS-132 missile of 132 mm caliber was adopted, both in a version for underwing installation on aircraft. A year later, at the end of the summer of 1939, the RS-82s were used for the first time in a combat situation. During the battles at Khalkhin Gol, five I-16s used their “eres” in battle with Japanese fighters, quite surprising the enemy with their new weapons. And a little later, already during Soviet-Finnish war, six twin-engine SB bombers, already armed with RS-132, attacked Finnish ground positions.

Naturally, impressive - and they really were impressive, although to a large extent due to the unexpectedness of the application new system weapons, and not their ultra-high efficiency - the results of the use of "eres" forced the Soviet party and military leadership to rush the defense industry to create a ground-based version. Actually, the future “Katyusha” had every chance to make it to the Winter War: the main design work and tests were carried out back in 1938–1939, but the military was not satisfied with the results - they needed a more reliable, mobile and easy-to-handle weapon.

IN general outline that after one and a half will be included in the year into soldiers' folklore on both sides of the front as "Katyusha", it was ready by the beginning of 1940. In any case, author’s certificate No. 3338 for a “rocket launcher for a sudden, powerful artillery and chemical attack on the enemy using rocket shells” was issued on February 19, 1940, and among the authors were employees of the RNII (since 1938, which bore the “numbered” name Research Institute-3) Andrey Kostikov, Ivan Gvai and Vasily Aborenkov.

This installation was already seriously different from the first samples that entered field testing at the end of 1938. The missile launcher was located along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and had 16 guides, each of which carried two projectiles. And the shells themselves for this vehicle were different: aircraft RS-132s turned into longer and more powerful ground-based M-13s.

Actually, in this form, a combat vehicle with rockets came out to review new models of weapons of the Red Army, which took place on June 15–17, 1941 at a training ground in Sofrino, near Moscow. Rocket artillery was left as a “snack”: two combat vehicles demonstrated shooting on the last day, June 17, using high-explosive fragmentation rockets. The shooting was observed by People's Commissar of Defense Marshal Semyon Timoshenko, Chief of the General Staff Army General Georgy Zhukov, Head of the Main Artillery Directorate Marshal Grigory Kulik and his deputy General Nikolai Voronov, as well as People's Commissar of Armaments Dmitry Ustinov, People's Commissar of Ammunition Pyotr Goremykin and many other military personnel. One can only guess what emotions overwhelmed them as they looked at the wall of fire and the fountains of earth rising on the target field. But it is clear that the demonstration made a strong impression. Four days later, on June 21, 1941, just a few hours before the start of the war, documents were signed on the adoption and urgent deployment of mass production of M-13 rockets and a launcher, officially named BM-13 - “combat vehicle - 13” "(according to the missile index), although sometimes they appeared in documents with the index M-13. This day should be considered the birthday of “Katyusha”, which, it turns out, was born only half a day earlier than the beginning of the Great Patriotic War that made her famous. Patriotic War.

First hit

The production of new weapons took place at two enterprises at once: the Voronezh plant named after the Comintern and the Moscow plant "Compressor", and the capital plant named after Vladimir Ilyich became the main enterprise for the production of M-13 shells. The first combat-ready unit - a special reactive battery under the command of Captain Ivan Flerov - went to the front on the night of July 1-2, 1941.

Commander of the first Katyusha rocket artillery battery, captain Ivan Andreevich Flerov. Photo: RIA Novosti

But here's what's remarkable. The first documents on the formation of divisions and batteries armed with rocket mortars appeared even before the famous shootings near Moscow! For example, the General Staff directive on the formation of five divisions armed with new equipment was issued a week before the start of the war - June 15, 1941. But reality, as always, made its own adjustments: in fact, the formation of the first units of field rocket artillery began on June 28, 1941. It was from this moment that, as determined by the directive of the commander of the Moscow Military District, three days were allotted for the formation of the first special battery under the command of Captain Flerov.

According to the preliminary staffing schedule, which was determined even before the Sofrino shootings, the rocket artillery battery was supposed to have nine rocket launchers. But the manufacturing plants could not cope with the plan, and Flerov did not have time to receive two of the nine vehicles - he went to the front on the night of July 2 with a battery of seven rocket launchers. But don’t think that just seven ZIS-6s with guides for launching the M-13 went towards the front. According to the list - there was not and could not be an approved staffing table for a special, that is, essentially an experimental battery - the battery included 198 people, 1 passenger car, 44 trucks and 7 special vehicles, 7 BM-13 (for some reason they appeared in the column “210 mm guns”) and one 152 mm howitzer, which served as a sighting gun.

It was with this composition that the Flerov battery went down in history as the first in the Great Patriotic War and the world’s first combat unit of rocket artillery to participate in hostilities. Flerov and his artillerymen fought their first battle, which later became legendary, on July 14, 1941. At 15:15, as follows from archival documents, seven BM-13s from the battery opened fire at the Orsha railway station: it was necessary to destroy the trains with Soviet military equipment and ammunition that had accumulated there, which did not have time to reach the front and got stuck, having fallen into the hands of enemy. In addition, reinforcements for the advancing Wehrmacht units also accumulated in Orsha, so that an extremely attractive opportunity for the command arose to solve several strategic problems at once with one blow.

And so it happened. By personal order of the deputy chief of artillery of the Western Front, General George Cariophylli, the battery launched the first blow. In just a few seconds, the full ammunition load of the battery was fired at the target - 112 rockets, each of which carried a combat charge weighing almost 5 kg - and all hell broke loose at the station. With the second blow, Flerov's battery destroyed the Nazis' pontoon crossing across the Orshitsa River - with the same success.

A few days later, two more batteries arrived at the front - Lieutenant Alexander Kun and Lieutenant Nikolai Denisenko. Both batteries launched their first attacks on the enemy in the last days of July in the difficult year of 1941. And from the beginning of August, the Red Army began to form not individual batteries, but entire regiments of rocket artillery.

Guard of the first months of the war

The first document on the formation of such a regiment was issued on August 4: a decree of the USSR State Committee for Defense ordered the formation of one guards mortar regiment armed with M-13 launchers. This regiment was named after the People's Commissar of General Mechanical Engineering Pyotr Parshin - the man who, in fact, approached the State Defense Committee with the idea of forming such a regiment. And from the very beginning he offered to give him the rank of Guards - a month and a half before the first Guards Rifle Units appeared in the Red Army, and then all the others.

"Katyusha" on the march. 2nd Baltic Front, January 1945. Photo: Vasily Savransky / RIA Novosti

Four days later, on August 8, it was approved staffing table Guards regiment of rocket launchers: each regiment consisted of three or four divisions, and each division consisted of three batteries of four combat vehicles. The same directive provided for the formation of the first eight regiments of rocket artillery. The ninth was the regiment named after People's Commissar Parshin. It is noteworthy that already on November 26, the People's Commissariat of General Engineering was renamed into the People's Commissariat of Mortar Weapons: the only one in the USSR that dealt with one single type of weapon (existed until February 17, 1946)! Isn't this evidence of the great importance the country's leadership attached to rocket mortars?

Another evidence of this special attitude was the resolution of the State Defense Committee, issued a month later - on September 8, 1941. This document actually turned rocket mortar artillery into a special, privileged type of armed forces. Guards mortar units were withdrawn from the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army and turned into guards mortar units and formations with their own command. It was directly subordinate to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, and included the headquarters, the weapons department of the M-8 and M-13 mortar units and operational groups in the main directions.

The first commander of the guards mortar units and formations was military engineer 1st rank Vasily Aborenkov, a man whose name appeared in the author’s certificate for a “rocket launcher for a sudden, powerful artillery and chemical attack on the enemy using rocket shells.” It was Aborenkov, as first the head of the department and then the deputy head of the Main Artillery Directorate, who did everything to ensure that the Red Army received new, unprecedented weapons.

After this, the process of forming new artillery units went into full swing. The main tactical unit was the regiment of guards mortar units. It consisted of three divisions of M-8 or M-13 rocket launchers, an anti-aircraft division, and service units. In total, the regiment consisted of 1,414 people, 36 BM-13 or BM-8 combat vehicles, and 12 other weapons anti-aircraft guns 37 mm caliber, 9 DShK anti-aircraft machine guns and 18 light machine guns, not counting the light machine gun small arms personnel. A salvo of one regiment of M-13 rocket launchers consisted of 576 rockets - 16 “eres” in a salvo of each vehicle, and a regiment of M-8 rocket launchers consisted of 1296 rockets, since one vehicle fired 36 projectiles at once.

"Katyusha", "Andryusha" and other members of the jet family

By the end of the Great Patriotic War, the guards mortar units and formations of the Red Army became a formidable striking force that had a significant impact on the course of hostilities. In total, by May 1945, Soviet rocket artillery consisted of 40 separate divisions, 115 regiments, 40 separate brigades and 7 divisions - a total of 519 divisions.

These units were armed with three types of combat vehicles. First of all, these were, of course, the Katyushas themselves - BM-13 combat vehicles with 132-mm rockets. They became the most popular in Soviet rocket artillery during the Great Patriotic War: from July 1941 to December 1944, 6844 such vehicles were produced. Until Studebaker Lend-Lease trucks began to arrive in the USSR, the launchers were mounted on the ZIS-6 chassis, and then American six-axle heavy trucks became the main carriers. In addition, there were modifications to the launchers to accommodate the M-13 on other Lend-Lease trucks.

The 82mm Katyusha BM-8 had much more modifications. Firstly, only these installations, due to their small dimensions and weight, could be mounted on the chassis of light tanks T-40 and T-60. Such self-propelled jets artillery installations received the name BM-8-24. Secondly, installations of the same caliber were mounted on railway platforms, armored boats and torpedo boats, and even on railcars. And on the Caucasian front they were converted to fire from the ground, without a self-propelled chassis, which would not have been able to turn around in the mountains. But the main modification was the launcher for M-8 missiles on a vehicle chassis: by the end of 1944, 2,086 of them were produced. These were mainly BM-8-48, launched into production in 1942: these vehicles had 24 beams, on which 48 M-8 rockets were installed, and they were produced on the chassis of the Forme Marmont-Herrington truck. Until a foreign chassis appeared, BM-8-36 units were produced on the basis of the GAZ-AAA truck.

Harbin. Parade of Red Army troops in honor of the victory over Japan. Photo: TASS Photo Chronicle

The latest and most powerful modification of the Katyusha was the BM-31-12 guards mortars. Their story began in 1942, when it was possible to design a new M-30 missile, which was the already familiar M-13 with a new 300 mm caliber warhead. Since they did not change the rocket part of the projectile, the result was a kind of “tadpole” - its resemblance to a boy, apparently, served as the basis for the nickname “Andryusha”. Initially, the new type of projectiles were launched exclusively from a ground position, directly from a frame-like machine on which the projectiles stood in wooden packages. A year later, in 1943, the M-30 was replaced by the M-31 rocket with a heavier warhead. It was for this new ammunition that by April 1944 the BM-31-12 launcher was designed on the chassis of a three-axle Studebaker.

These combat vehicles were distributed among the units of guards mortar units and formations as follows. Of the 40 separate rocket artillery battalions, 38 were armed with BM-13 installations, and only two with BM-8. The same ratio was in 115 regiments guards mortars: 96 of them were armed with Katyushas in the BM-13 variant, and the remaining 19 were armed with 82-mm BM-8. Guards mortar brigades were generally not armed with rocket launchers of a caliber smaller than 310 mm. 27 brigades were armed with frame launchers M-30, and then M-31, and 13 with self-propelled M-31-12 on a vehicle chassis.

She who started rocket artillery

During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet rocket artillery had no equal on the other side of the front. Despite the fact that the infamous German Nebelwerfer rocket mortar, carried by Soviet soldiers nicknamed “Ishak” and “Vanyusha”, had comparable efficiency to the “Katyusha”, it was significantly less mobile and had one and a half times less firing range. The achievements of the USSR's allies in the anti-Hitler coalition in the field of rocket artillery were even more modest.

It was only in 1943 that the American Army adopted 114-mm M8 rockets, for which three types of launchers were developed. Installations of the T27 type were most reminiscent of the Soviet Katyushas: they were mounted on off-road trucks and consisted of two packages of eight guides each, installed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. It is noteworthy that in the USA they repeated the original Katyusha scheme, from which soviet engineers refused: the transverse arrangement of the launchers led to strong rocking of the vehicle at the moment of the salvo, which catastrophically reduced the accuracy of fire. There was also a T23 option: the same package of eight guides was installed on the Willis chassis. And the most powerful in terms of salvo force was the T34 installation option: 60 (!) guides that were installed on the hull of the Sherman tank, directly above the turret, which is why guidance in the horizontal plane was carried out by turning the entire tank.

In addition to them, the US Army during World War II also used an improved M16 rocket with a T66 launcher and a T40 launcher on the chassis of medium M4 tanks for 182-mm rockets. And in Great Britain, since 1941, the five-inch 5”UP rocket was in service; for salvo firing of such projectiles, 20-tube ship launchers or 30-tube towed wheeled launchers were used. But all these systems were, in fact, only a semblance of Soviet rocket artillery: they failed to catch up or surpass the Katyusha either in terms of prevalence, or in combat effectiveness, or in scale of production, or in popularity. It is no coincidence that the word “Katyusha” to this day serves as a synonym for the word “rocket artillery”, and the BM-13 itself became the ancestor of all modern multiple launch rocket systems.

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BM-13 "Katyusha" Multiple Launch Rocket System -Soviet rocket artillery combat vehicle of the Great Patriotic War, the most popular and famous Soviet vehicle of this class.
Has a modification BM-13N

Modification of Guards rocket-propelled mortars of the "Katyusha" type. Index "N" - normalized. Produced since 1943. It was distinguished by the fact that American Studebaker US6 trucks, supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease, were used as the chassis.

Characteristics of the BM-13 combat vehicle

Chassis ZiS-6
Number of guides 16
Weight in stowed position without shells, kg 7200
Time to transfer from traveling to combat position, min 2-3
[Charging time, min 5-8
Full salvo time, s 8-10

History of creation

Back in 1921, employees of the Gas Dynamics Laboratory N.I. Tikhomirov and V.A. Artemyev began developing rockets for aircraft.

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 (82 mm caliber rocket) were installed on I-15, I-16, I-153 fighters, during the war - on Il-2 attack aircraft, with the development of the RS-132 - on SB bombers and Il-attack aircraft 2.
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, employees of the RNII I. I. Gvai, V. N. Galkovsky, A. P. Pavlenko, A. S. Popov and others created a multi-charge launcher, mounted on truck.
In March 1941, field tests of BM-13 installations (a combat vehicle with 132 mm caliber shells) were successfully carried out.

The famous “Katyusha” left its unforgettable mark on the history of the Great Patriotic War ever since on July 14, 1941, this secret weapon under the command of Captain I. A. Flerov literally wiped off the face of the earth the station in the city of Orsha along with the German trains on it with troops and equipment. The first samples of rockets launched from a mobile carrier (vehicles based on the ZIS-5 truck) were tested at Soviet test sites from the end of 1938.
On June 21, 1941, they were demonstrated to the leaders of the Soviet government, and literally a few hours before the start of the Great Patriotic War, a decision was made to urgently launch mass production of rockets and a launcher, officially named “BM-13.”

It was truly a weapon of unprecedented power - the projectile’s flight range reached eight and a half kilometers, and the temperature at the epicenter of the explosion was one and a half thousand degrees. The Germans repeatedly tried to capture a sample of the Russian miracle technology, but the Katyusha crews strictly adhered to the rule - they could not fall into the hands of the enemy. In case of emergency, the vehicles were equipped with a self-destruct mechanism. Essentially, the entire history of Russian rocketry stems from those legendary installations. And rockets for Katyushas were developed by Vladimir Andreevich Artemyev.

The fate of the developers

On November 2, 1937, as a result of the “war of denunciations” within the institute, the director of RNII-3 I. T. Kleymenov and the chief engineer G. E. Langemak were arrested. On January 10 and 11, 1938, respectively, they were shot at the NKVD Kommunarka training ground.
Rehabilitated in 1955.
By decree of the President of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev dated June 21, 1991, I. T. Kleimenov, G. E. Langemak, V. N. Luzhin, B. S. Petropavlovsky, B. M. Slonimer and N. I. Tikhomirov were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

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.
Due to secrecy, 30 kg of explosives were installed on each car.
The crew (calculation) consisted of 5 - 7 people,
Gun commander - 1.
Gunner - 1.
Driver - 1.
Loader - 2 - 4.
The crew swore an oath to destroy the car, even at the cost of their lives, but not to give the car to the enemy.

The BM-13 "Katyusha" includes the following combat weapons:
Combat vehicle (BM) MU-2 (MU-1) ;
Missiles .

Katyusha rockets

Unguided surface-to-surface missile - the simplest rocket equipped with an engine, a warhead with a fuse and an aerodynamic stabilizer (tail). Aiming is accomplished by setting the initial launch angle, usually using a guide beam or pipe, and sometimes by setting the engine run time.

Let's look at the most common M-13 projectile

Characteristics of the M-13 missile

Caliber, mm 132
Stabilizer blade span, mm 300
Length, mm 1465
Weight, kg:
finally equipped projectile 42,36
equipped warhead 21,3
bursting charge 4,9
loaded jet engine 20,8
Projectile speed, m/s:
muzzle (when leaving the guide) 70
maximum 355
Length of the active trajectory section, m 125
Maximum firing range, m 8470

origin of name

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 the battery fired for the first time on July 14, 1941 (on the 23rd day of the war). On July 14 at 15.15, on the direct order of the deputy chief of artillery of the Western Front, General G.S. Cariophylli, Flerov’s battery fired a salvo at the Orsha railway junction. This was the first combat use of Katyushas. She was 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). 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, 2011, the veteran and “godfather” of Katyusha turned 90 years old.

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 what the girls from the Moscow Kompressor plant who worked on the assembly dubbed these cars.

Germans about Katyusha
In the German troops, these vehicles were called “Stalin’s organs” due to their external similarity rocket launcher with the pipe system of this musical instrument and the powerful, stunning roar that was produced when the missiles were launched.

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.

Foreign "analogues"

Germany

"Nebelwerfer" - German towed rocket mortar from the Second World War. For the characteristic sound made by the shells, he received the nickname “donkey” from Soviet soldiers.
Maximum range, m: 6 km

Under the command of Captain I.A. Flerov, the station in the city of Orsha, along with the German trains with troops and equipment located on it, was literally wiped off the face of the earth. The first samples of missiles launched from a mobile carrier (vehicles based on the ZIS-5 truck) were tested at Soviet test sites from the end of 1938. On June 21, 1941, they were demonstrated to the leaders of the Soviet government, and literally a few hours before the start of the Great Patriotic War War, a decision was made to urgently launch mass production of rockets and a launcher, officially named “BM-13”.

He was born in 1885 in St. Petersburg in the family of a military man, graduated from the St. Petersburg gymnasium and volunteered for Russo-Japanese War. For courage and courage he was promoted to junior non-commissioned officer and awarded the St. George Cross, then graduated from the Alekseevsky Junker School. At the beginning of 1920, Artemyev met N.I. Tikhomirov and became his closest assistant, but in 1922, in the wake of general suspicion towards former officers The tsarist army was imprisoned in a concentration camp. Returning from Solovki, he continued to improve rockets, work on which he began back in the twenties and was interrupted due to his arrest. During the Great Patriotic War he made many valuable inventions in the field military equipment.

After the war, V. A. Artemyev, being the chief designer of a number of research and design institutes, created new models of missile shells, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the Red Star, and was a laureate of the Stalin Prizes. Died on September 11, 1962 in Moscow. His name is on the map of the Moon: one of the craters on its surface is named in memory of the creator of the Katyusha.

“Katyusha” is the unofficial collective name for the BM-8 (82 mm), BM-13 (132 mm) and BM-31 (310 mm) rocket artillery combat vehicles. Such installations were actively used by the USSR during the Second World War.

After the adoption of 82-mm air-to-air missiles RS-82 (1937) and 132-mm air-to-ground missiles RS-132 (1938), the Main Artillery Directorate set the projectile developer - Reactive Research Institute - the task of creating a multiple launch rocket system based on RS-132 projectiles. 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 a significantly more powerful warhead. 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 Naval Ordnance Department 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 the launcher, which received 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.

The BM-13 "Katyusha" includes the following combat weapons:

Combat vehicle (BM) MU-2 (MU-1);
Missiles.

M-13 rocket:

The M-13 projectile (see diagram) consists of a warhead and a powder jet engine. The warhead in its design resembles a high-explosive artillery shell and is loaded with a charge explosive, to detonate which a contact fuse and an additional detonator are used. 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 of 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 the range deviation was 257 m.

In 1943, a modernized version of the rocket was developed, designated M-13-UK (improved accuracy). To increase the accuracy of fire of the M-13-UK projectile, 12 tangentially located holes are made 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 installed 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 (see diagram) 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.

Launcher BM-13 "Katyusha" on a Studebaker chassis (6x4)

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 the powerful American Studebaker US 6x6 truck, supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease, was used as a base for the launcher. 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.

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, living force and Combat vehicles the enemy was 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.

On July 14, 1941, the Red Army used the Soviet BM-13 (Katyusha) rocket artillery vehicle for the first time in combat conditions.

History of creation

In 1921, a Gas Dynamics Laboratory was created in Moscow under the leadership of N. I. Tikhomirov and V. A. Artemyev, which was entrusted with the task of designing and creating rockets for military aviation. In 1929-1933, such shells were created and tested. Subsequently, the Jet Research Institute was created on the basis of the laboratory, which continued this work. In 1937-1938, rockets were already in service with the Red Army. And in the summer of 1939, practical combat tests took place at. Just before the Great Patriotic War, engineers found a new use for aircraft missiles. They created a multi-charge launcher mounted on a truck and designated BM-13.

Salvo of the BM-13-16 division during the Battle of Stalingrad

Battle path

On June 21, 1941, the new development was approved and put into operation. Three weeks later, the first battery of seven installations appeared in the Red Army. The commander was captain Ivan Andreevich Flerov. On July 14, 1941, the installations fired only two salvos at the Orsha station, but the German troops and equipment that had accumulated there were completely destroyed. The Red Army soldiers affectionately nicknamed the formidable weapon “Katyusha”. Unfortunately, there is no reliable information about how this name appeared. Some believe that it is connected with the song “Katyusha” by M. Blanter, popular during the war years, to the words of M. Isakovsky, others - that it appeared because of the letter “K” stamped on the frame of the installation. This is how the Comintern plant labeled its products. There is another, lyrical version: the name of his beloved girl was written on the BM-13 by a fighter. The production of Katyushas was under the special control of the Supreme High Command, and in the fall of 1941 the troops already had 59 divisions, 33 of which were concentrated near Moscow. Documents of the Supreme High Command noted that the army received a new powerful weapon, which not only gives a high practical result, but also causes moral shock German soldiers. The enemy was not ready for the appearance of Katyushas. The Germans started a real hunt for new weapons, a large reward was announced for it, and even the main German saboteur Otto Skorzeny joined this hunt, but for a long time this did not bring success. The range of application of the BM-8 (modification) and BM-13 installations was very wide. They were used not only against infantry and military equipment, but also to destroy fortified defense lines, with the help of which the Germans tried to contain Soviet troops. During the war, rocket artillery became the most powerful weapon Red Army. Not a single significant battle took place without the combat use of Katyushas.

The story doesn't end

By May 1945, the army included 40 separate divisions, 115 regiments, 40 separate brigades and 7 divisions. Three types of combat vehicles traveled the roads of war, but the main and most popular remained the BM-13 with 132-mm rockets. After the victory over the Nazis in 1945, Katyushas took one of the most important places in Soviet army. New multiple launch rocket systems began to be developed on the basis of the BM-13. In 1963, the Grad systems were adopted, followed by the Uragan MLRS with improved characteristics. In 1987, the Smerch MLRS was adopted for service, and in 2017, a bi-caliber version of the Uragan, Uragan-1M, appeared. According to IISS, at the beginning of 2017 in Russian army 550 Grads, 200 Uragans and 100 Smerchs are on combat duty.

"Katyusha" at the Victory Parade

"Katyusha"- the popular name for rocket artillery combat vehicles BM-8 (with 82 mm shells), BM-13 (132 mm) and BM-31 (310 mm) during the Great Patriotic War. There are several versions of the origin of this name, the most likely of which is associated with the factory mark “K” of the manufacturer of the first BM-13 combat vehicles (Voronezh Comintern Plant), as well as with the popular song of the same name at that time (music by Matvey Blanter, lyrics by Mikhail Isakovsky).
(Military encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S.B. Ivanov. Military Publishing House. Moscow. in 8 volumes -2004 ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)

The fate of the first separate experimental battery was cut short at the beginning of October 1941. After a baptism of fire near Orsha, the battery successfully operated in battles near Rudnya, Smolensk, Yelnya, Roslavl and Spas-Demensk. During three months of hostilities, Flerov’s battery not only inflicted considerable material damage on the Germans, it also contributed to the rise morale among our soldiers and officers, exhausted by continuous retreats.

The Nazis staged a real hunt for new weapons. But the battery did not stay long in one place - after firing a salvo, it immediately changed position. The tactical technique - salvo - change of position - was widely used by Katyusha units during the war.

At the beginning of October 1941, as part of a group of troops on the Western Front, the battery found itself in the rear of the Nazi troops. While moving to the front line from the rear on the night of October 7, she was ambushed by the enemy near the village of Bogatyr, Smolensk region. Most of the battery personnel and Ivan Flerov were killed, having shot all the ammunition and blown up the combat vehicles. Only 46 soldiers managed to escape from the encirclement. The legendary battalion commander and the rest of the soldiers, who had fulfilled their duty to the end with honor, were considered “missing in action.” And only when it was possible to discover documents from one of the Wehrmacht army headquarters, which reported what actually happened on the night of October 6-7, 1941 near the Smolensk village of Bogatyr, Captain Flerov was excluded from the lists of missing persons.

For heroism, Ivan Flerov was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, in 1963, and in 1995 he was awarded the title of Hero Russian Federation posthumously.

In honor of the battery’s feat, a monument was built in the city of Orsha and an obelisk near the city of Rudnya.

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When did the Katyusha first enter combat? Weapon of Victory: Katyusha multiple launch rocket system (3 photos) Katyusha rocket launcher first use.