75 years ago, on June 21, 1941, a day before the start of the Great Patriotic War, the BM-13 rocket artillery combat vehicle ("combat vehicle 13") was adopted by the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA), which later received the name "Katyusha ".
BM-13 became one of the world's first modern multiple launch rocket systems. It was intended to destroy enemy manpower and equipment over a large area with massive volleys.
In August 1941, the BM-13 installation received the popular nickname "Katyusha" - after the name of the song of the same name by Matvey Blanter to the words of Mikhail Isakovsky.
But there are other versions of the origin of the unofficial name:
One by one - this is the name BM-13 was given by the soldiers of Flerov's battery in response to the admiration "This is a song!" one of the witnesses of the missile launch.
According to other versions, the name was given by the index "K" (from the "Comintern" plant).
In the German army, Katyushas were usually called "Stalin's organs" because of the characteristic howling of shells that resembled organ sound.
The birth of "Katyusha"
Nikolai Tikhomirov began work on the creation of artillery rocket shells in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century. In 1921, on his initiative, the Gas-Dynamic Laboratory was founded in Moscow, which was engaged in the development of military missiles. In 1927 the laboratory was relocated to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).
After the death of Nikolai Tikhomirov in 1930, the development of rocket weapons in the USSR was headed by Boris Petropavlovsky, Vladimir Artemyev, Georgy Langemak (shot in 1938), Boris Slonimer, Ivan Kleimenov (shot in 1938), Ivan Gwai, and others.
In 1933, the Gas Dynamic Laboratory became part of the newly formed Reactive Research Institute (RNII or NII-3, Moscow). Initially, the institute specialized in the production of aircraft-based jet missiles.
In 1937-1938. the design of a multiple-charge ground-based salvo missile launch system began. For use on it, unguided high-explosive fragmentation ammunition RS-132 ("rocket projectile with a caliber of 132 mm"), developed at the RNII under the leadership of engineer Leonid Schwartz, was chosen.
By March 1941, the first samples of the new rocket launcher were assembled, which in June were mounted on the basis of a six-wheeled ZIS-6 truck. The design bureau of the Compressor plant (Moscow) took part in the revision of the system, which was originally named MU-2 ("mechanized installation 2").
After successful tests, the BM-13 was put into service on June 21, 1941, and the formation of the first batteries began.
The composition of "Katyusha"
The BM-13 launcher consisted of eight open guide rails connected by tubular spars.
On each of the rails, two RS-132 rockets were installed in pairs from above and below.
The launcher rails were mounted along the vehicle, which released jacks for stability before firing. When aiming at a target, it was possible to change the elevation angle (up to 45 degrees) and the azimuth of the lifting boom with the guide.
The volley was made from the cab of the car or using a remote control.
Initially, BM-13 systems were installed on the ZIS-6 truck. But subsequently, for this purpose, the all-wheel drive three-axle American Studebaker US6 ("Studebaker") car, supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease, and the Soviet ZIS-151 truck (after the war) were most often used.
Characteristics of the "Katyusha"
The BM-13 system made it possible to carry out a salvo with the entire charge (16 missiles) in 7-10 seconds. There were modifications with an increased number of guides and other versions of missiles.
Range - 8 thousand 470 m.
Warhead weight (for RS-132) - 5.5 kg of TNT.
Reload time - 3-5 minutes.
The weight of the combat vehicle with the launcher (on the ZIS-6 chassis) is 6, 2 tons.
Combat crew - 5-7 people.
Combat use and its features
The first combat use of BM-13 took place on July 14, 1941 during the Great Patriotic War near the railway station in Orsha (now Belarus). The battery under the command of Captain Ivan Flerov with volley fire destroyed the accumulation of German military equipment at the Orsha railway junction.
Unlike conventional regimental and divisional artillery, multiple launch rocket systems had less accuracy, and they also took much longer to reload.
At the same time, the massiveness of the salvo (usually there were from 4 to 9 vehicles in the battery) made it possible to hit enemy manpower and equipment over a large area. After the missiles were fired, the battery could take off within a minute, which made it difficult to return fire.
Due to its high efficiency of use and simplicity in production, already by the fall of 1941, the BM-13 was widely used at the front, the systems had a significant impact on the course of hostilities. During the war, about 4 thousand produced BM-13s were lost.
In addition to World War II, BM-13s were used during the conflicts in Korea (1950-1953) and Afghanistan (1979-1989).
Other similar systems
BM-13 was only one of the types of rocket artillery combat vehicles produced by the Soviet industry during the Great Patriotic War.
"Katyushas" were the BM-8-24 systems based on self-propelled installations of light tanks T-40 and T-60 (produced since August 1941, they used missiles with a caliber of 82 mm) and BM-31 using more powerful projectiles with a caliber of 300 mm (produced since 1944).
BM-13 systems were produced at the factories "Compressor" (Moscow), "Uralelectromashina" (the village of Maly Istok, Sverdlovsk region, now - "Uralelektrotyazhmash", Yekaterinburg) and "Comintern" (Voronezh). Discontinued in October 1946; in total, about 7 thousand units of this type were manufactured.
On June 21, 1991, by decree of the President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev, Nikolai Tikhomirov, Ivan Kleimenov, Georgy Langemak, Vasily Luzhin, Boris Petropavlovsky and Boris Slonimer were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor for their merits in the creation of jet weapons.
