Work on the creation of combat missiles began in the UK in the late 1930s. The British military leadership was focused on traditional means of destruction of targets on the battlefield (cannon artillery and aircraft) and did not perceive rockets as a serious weapon.
British combat missiles were originally intended exclusively for firing at air targets, when, shortly before the start of the war, the need to improve the air defense of Great Britain was realized. It was decided to compensate for the lack of the required number of anti-aircraft guns with simple and inexpensive rockets.
The first developed 2-inch anti-aircraft missile, when launched, dragged along a thin steel wire, which, according to the developers, was supposed to get entangled in the propellers of enemy aircraft, thus causing them to fall. There was also an option with a 250-gr. a fragmentation charge, on which there was a self-liquidator, configured for 4-5 from flight - by this time the rocket was supposed to reach an estimated height of about 1370 m. A small number of 2-inch missiles and launchers for them were fired, which were used exclusively for educational and training purposes …
The 3-inch anti-aircraft missile turned out to be more promising, the warhead of which had the same mass as the 94-mm anti-aircraft projectile. The rocket was a simple tubular structure with stabilizers, the engine used a charge of smokeless powder - SCRK brand cordite, already used in the 2-inch rocket. The rocket weighing 25 kg had a ceiling of about 6500 m.
The missiles and single-shot launcher were successfully tested in 1939. In the same year, the serial production of missiles and launchers began.
The launch of missiles from these early installations was not always reliable, and their accuracy was so low that only defensive anti-aircraft fire was possible. Soon, to increase the likelihood of hitting an air target, an installation with two guides was adopted. In the future, the effectiveness of anti-aircraft rocket launchers was increased by increasing the number of missiles on launching devices and improving the proximity fuses of missiles.
Mobile installations were created on a carriage from 3-inch anti-aircraft guns, which from 36 rail guides could fire volleys of 9 missiles.
And the most powerful was the stationary coastal defense installation, firing 4 salvoes of 20 missiles each, which entered service in 1944.
3-inch missiles proved to be much more effective as aircraft weapons. During the war, 3-inch missiles were used from aircraft to combat armored vehicles and even to sink German submarines on the surface.
Some Cromwell tanks were fitted with two 3-inch anti-aircraft missiles on rails along the sides of the tank turrets. There have also been attempts to install such launchers on armored vehicles.
Beginning in 1944, the Allies began to crowd out the Japanese in Asia. For battles in the jungle, relatively short firing distances were characteristic and often there was no opportunity to bring up artillery to destroy Japanese pillboxes.
To solve this problem, a reactive system was developed, which became known under the code designation LILO.
The launching device was transferred to the firing position by one person, and the second carried a rocket in a backpack. Upon arrival at the site, the rocket was inserted into the tube from the front, the elevation angle was adjusted by the rear support legs, and guidance was carried out through an open sight. The launch was carried out remotely using an electric igniter from a battery with a voltage of 3.5 V.
There were two modifications of this weapon: 83-mm - weighing 17, 8 kg carried 1.8 kg of explosives, and 152-mm - weighing 35 kg carried 6, 24 kg of explosives.
LILOs were able to penetrate the ground to a depth of 3 m, breaking also log flooring, which was enough to destroy any Japanese bunker.
The development of jet weapons in Great Britain was primarily focused on air defense, but on the eve of the inevitable landing of the allies on the Atlantic coast, a light weapon was required that could give a high density of fire in a short period of time.
Structurally, this was realized by connecting the rocket engine of a 3-inch aircraft missile with a 13-kg warhead of a 127-mm artillery projectile. To increase the firing accuracy, the missiles were twisted at the start from the screw guides.
Launchers were installed on landing craft for fire suppression in the landing area. The naval system received the original name "Mattress" ("Mattress").
The land-based version of such an installation was the Land Mattress. Army towed launchers had 32 barrels and an elevation angle: from 23 ° to 45 °, a maximum firing range of up to 7225 m.
Later, 24 charging lightweight installations were created. Fire control was carried out using a remote control. On the march, the installation was towed by an ordinary army truck.
The first British Land Mattresses were deployed in Sicily in 1943. These installations especially distinguished themselves during the crossing of the Scheldt River and the storming of Walcheren in 1944, after which several more artillery rocket batteries were created.
Installations in significant quantities entered the troops only at the beginning of November 1944, so they no longer had a serious impact on the course of hostilities. Attempts to use "Land Mattress" in Burma were not very successful due to low mobility. Required installations on a self-propelled chassis, but the developed launchers on a jeep chassis were late for the war.
Missiles from the Hedgehog naval anti-submarine bomb, which was developed in Great Britain and installed on many British and American warships, were used against ground targets.
bomb "Hedgehog"
The 178-mm projectile with an increased firing range, modernized for firing along the coast, contained up to 16 kg of Torpex, which guaranteed the destruction of any field fortification or anti-amphibious obstacle in case of a hit. There was also an incendiary version, which, upon explosion, covered everything within a radius of 25 meters with burning white phosphorus.
Bomb launchers with modernized rockets were used both from landing ships to "clean up" the coast, and were installed on Matilda tanks.
The Matilda Hedgehog, armed with an anti-submarine bomb, is on display at the Australian Museum in Puckapunyal. A Hedgehog bomb is installed at the rear of the vehicle.
The Americans began developing their own rockets almost simultaneously with the British, however, the result was much better. During the war, several different types of 4.5-inch (114 mm) rockets were developed and put into production. The most widespread was the M8 rocket projectile with a mass of 17.6 kg, developed for arming attack aircraft and produced since 1943, it had a length of 911 mm and a caliber of 114 mm.
Rocket M8
In addition to the US assault aircraft, ground troops also actively used M8 shells, mounting multi-barrel launchers on tanks, trucks, jeeps and armored personnel carriers, and in the navy - on ships. Despite the "air orientation" of the M8 missiles, the ground forces and the navy used up these rockets several times more, using them from multiple launch rocket launchers.
In 1943, the T27 Xylophone was adopted by the US Army. Plants located in one row were mounted on modified 2.5 t chassis of GMC CCKW-353 6x6 or Studebaker trucks. In terms of accuracy, firing range and salvo power, they were inferior to the Soviet BM-13.
American MLRS T27 Xylophone
Lighter installations have also been developed in the USA. As a base, modified chassis of off-road vehicles such as Willys or Dodge "three-quarters" WC51 were used.
Installation of T23
At the rear of the car, pipes were installed in two rows for 28 unguided rockets.
The most famous American MLRS was the T34 CALLIOPE.
The base for the reactive system was the M4 Sherman medium tank. A package of 60 tubular guides for M8 missiles of 4.5 inches (114 mm) was mounted on its turret. The weight of the salvo was 960 kg, the maximum firing range was 3800 m, the salvo time was 15-20 seconds.
The horizontal guidance of the rocket launcher to the target was carried out by the crew commander by turning the turret. Vertical aiming was carried out by raising or lowering the barrel of the gun, to which a package of guides was connected by means of a rigid thrust. The total weight of the installation was about 1 ton.
Recharging the system on the battlefield was very problematic, and therefore it was simply dropped from the tank immediately after the volley. For this, only one electrical connector was disconnected and three bolts were knocked out with a sledgehammer. Subsequently, the installation was modernized and it became possible to get rid of it without the crew leaving the tank.
The usual tactic was a massive shelling of enemy positions, with the aim of suppressing anti-tank weapons from the MLRS attached to the top of the tank turret. After that, the crew quickly got rid of the launcher and went on the attack along with conventional linear vehicles. Taking into account the usually "one-time" use of the launcher, later plastic and cardboard guides for missiles were adopted.
There were several variants of these installations, which were popular among the troops and were actively used in battles.
Faced with numerous, often very sophisticated Japanese fortifications and firing points during the battles for the atolls, the Americans hastily created and adopted the M12 single-shot launcher for 114-mm M8 rockets, similar to the British LILO. Used as plastic, disposable launchers, and reusable magnesium alloy. However, the weight of the warhead of the 114-mm M8 projectile did not exceed 2 kg, and the effectiveness of the installation against protected targets was often not sufficient.
The most "multi-barreled" were the T44 launchers with 120 "pipes", on the cargo area of the DUKW amphibious truck or the LVT amphibious vehicle and the Scorpion launcher with 144 barrels, based on the DUKW amphibious vehicle.
The American Navy and the Marines actively used 114-mm shells of the type 4, 5 BBR - (BBR - Beach Barrage Rocket - a missile for the destruction of coastal structures).
Rocket 4, 5 BBR
Rocket 4, 5 BBR had a caliber of 114, 3 mm, its length was 760 mm, weight - 13 kg. Powder propellant charge weighing 6, 5 kg provided a maximum projectile speed of 233 m / s, the firing range was about 1 km. part contained 2, 9 kg of trinitrotoluene, in its action the projectile was comparable to a 105-mm howitzer high-explosive fragmentation projectile.
Shipboard launchers of 4, 5 BBR projectiles were packs of honeycomb guides mounted on the deck of assault support ships at an angle of 45 ° to the horizon. Each of these ships could fire several hundred rockets in a matter of seconds, ensuring the destruction of defensive structures and living enemy forces on the shore In 1942, ship launchers were used during the landing of allied forces in Casablanca, and from 1943 they were widely used in amphibious operations on the Pacific islands.
Improvised missile launcher 4.5 BBR
The first ground-based 4, 5 BBR missile launchers were improvised grooved wooden guides that the US Marines used to harass Japanese positions.
US Rocket Launchers 4, 5 BBR Truck Division
Also, the simplest launchers were mounted on light all-terrain vehicles, targeting was carried out by means of a corresponding rotation of the vehicle. Shooting control was carried out using a remote control.
Absolutely all launchers of 4, 5 "BBR rockets had a large dispersion when firing and could only be used for striking areas. shells 4, 5 "BBR.
Despite the fairly widespread use, the available jet ammunition did not satisfy the American military in terms of accuracy and power of action at the target. In this regard, the Americans switched to the principle of stabilizing missiles by rotation.
The 4.5-inch M16 rocket had a length of 787 mm and a mass of 19.3 kg, including 2, 16 kg of rocket fuel and 2, 36 kg of high-explosive explosives. Its initial speed was 253 m / s, the maximum flight range was 4805 m. Its stabilization in flight by rotation around the longitudinal axis is provided by a turbine screwed into the bottom of the powder engine, which has 8 gas nozzles inclined to the axis of the projectile. The M16 missiles no longer entered service with the American aviation, being purely ground-based for multiple launch rocket systems.
Towed launcher T66
The T66 towed launcher was specially developed for this missile. It consists of 24 aluminum tubular guides, combined in a package, mounted on a two-wheeled carriage with sliding beds.
In the vertical plane, aiming is provided in the range of angles from 0 ° to + 45 °, in the horizontal plane - within 20 °. The launcher was loaded from the muzzle. The weight of the launcher without shells is 556 kg. This made it possible to use Willys-type all-terrain vehicles for transportation. Shooting from the installation was carried out using a remote control.
The dispersion of the shells was relatively small. It took about 90 seconds to fully equip the T66 with missiles.
The T66 launcher, in terms of its characteristics, was the most advanced American MLRS used in World War II, but it was used only in the final stage of hostilities, and in very small quantities.
In 1943, the US adopted the 182 mm (7.2 in) Ml7 unguided missile, designed primarily to destroy long-term defensive structures. The length of the Ml7 projectile was 880 mm, the total weight was 27.5 kg. During the engine operation, the projectile accelerated to a speed of 210 m / s, the firing range was approximately 3.2 km.
There was also an improved version of this projectile - the M25. It had a warhead of a different design, the length of the projectile was increased to 1250 mm, and the weight was 26 kg. Compared to 114-mm rockets, the new projectiles had a shorter range and a more powerful high-explosive fragmentation warhead.
The T40 launcher for twenty M17 rockets was also mounted on the Sherman by analogy with the T34 CALLIOPE MLRS.
The installation consisted of 20 honeycomb-type guides. The package of guides itself had armor protection, and in its front part the protection was made in the form of armored flaps folding up and down.
T40 launchers were first used in 1944 during the landing of the Anglo-American troops in Normandy, and they were also used in battles in Northern Italy.
In assessing the Anglo-American MLRS, it is worth noting that, unlike the USSR and Germany, they were never considered in the Allied armies as an important means of engaging the enemy with fire. This can be explained by the overwhelming superiority over the German troops in classical means: barrel artillery and aviation.
In terms of their combat characteristics, American, and especially British, rockets were significantly inferior to those used by Soviet and German artillerymen. This was reflected in the tactics of their use: British and American MLRS rarely fired at the enemy's rear, usually limiting themselves to providing direct fire support to their advancing subunits.
P. S. The review was compiled at the personal request of Vladimir Glazunov, a resident of Crimea, an officer of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, known on "VO" under the nickname badger1974.
