How to make a Katyusha from paper. DIY military equipment models: step-by-step description. DIY paper machines

Model scale 1:25.

BM-13 "KATYUSHA" MULTI-LAUNCH REPACT SYSTEM ON CHASSIS.

“Katyusha” is an unofficial collective name for mobile rocket launchers BM-8 (82 mm) and BM-13 (132 mm). Such installations were actively used by the USSR during the Second World War.

Back in 1916 a combat rocket using smokeless powder (a prototype of a later rocket) was invented by Ivan Platonovich Grave. In 1924 he received patent No. 122 for such a missile charge. Further work on the creation of rockets using smokeless powder continued until the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War.

The development team included Sergei Korolev. In March 1941, successful field tests of BM-13 installations with the M-13 projectile were carried out, and on June 21 a decree on their mass production was signed. On the night of June 30, 1941, the first two BM-13 combat launchers were assembled at the Comintern plant in Voronezh. Initially they were mounted on the ZIS-5 chassis, but the use of such a chassis was considered unsuccessful, and it was replaced by the ZIS-6. Subsequently, the BM-13 (BM-13N) was installed only on Studebaker (Studbacker-US6). An experimental artillery battery of seven vehicles under the command of Captain I. Flerov was first used against the German army at the railway junction of the city of Orsha on July 14, 1941. The first eight regiments of 36 vehicles each were formed on August 8, 1941. An improved modification of the BM-13N was created in 1943, and until the end of World War II, about 1,800 of these guns were manufactured. Range - about 5 km.

The weapon was inaccurate, but very effective when used in large numbers. The emotional effect was also important: during the salvo, all the missiles were fired almost simultaneously - within a few seconds, the territory in the target area was literally plowed up by heavy rockets. At the same time, the deafening howl that the rockets raised during the flight literally drove us crazy. Those who did not die during the shelling were often no longer able to resist, as they were shell-shocked, stunned, and completely psychologically suppressed. The mobility of the installation made it possible to quickly change position and avoid a retaliatory strike from the enemy.

Each vehicle had a box of explosives and a fuse cord. If there was a risk of the equipment being captured by the enemy, the crew was obliged to blow it up and thereby destroy the rocket systems.

The name “Katyusha” comes from the “KAT” (Kostikova Automatic Thermite) marking on the incendiary rockets used. And since the appearance of weapons in combat units coincided with the popularity of the song “Katyusha,” this name stuck.

We propose to build a model of the BM-13 Katyusha guards mortar on a Studebaker platform (Studbacker-US6).

Specifications

Engine: 6-cylinder, in-line.

Working volume -5240 cm W.

Power -95 hp at 2500 rpm.

Load capacity -2.5 t.

Weight -4850 kg.

Speed ​​-72 km/h.

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, 7-10 seconds.

Assembly instructions

1. Frame

The frame is assembled according to the scheme from parts 1-6. The folds are marked gray. Using part 7 we glue the front bumper 9 and towing hooks 8, we assemble the rear part from parts 10-15, part 13 is rolled up into a tube. For convenience, you can insert a strip of cardboard 1 mm thick. in detail 10.

Now you can assemble the pendant. First, three gearboxes are assembled from parts 30-36. Then, axles 29, 69 and 108 are threaded through each. Then, with the help of crosses 50, cardan shafts 51,70 and 71 are glued. It is more convenient to glue crosses 50 if you first put inside a piece cut out of cardboard in the shape of a cross. The transfer case is assembled from parts 72-1 and 72-2. The gearbox is assembled from parts 72-4 and 72-8 and glued to the transfer case using crosspieces 50 and cardan 72-3. The two rear axles are glued to the frame using part 66, to part 2 and with the help of springs. The rear springs are assembled from strips 21, which are first folded in half, glued and then glued to each other. After the package of springs is assembled, they need to be given a semicircular shape in place. Instead of parts 25 and 26, you can use a toothpick.

2. Wheels

Rear wheel discs are assembled from parts 203-206. Separately cut out the nuts 90 and glue them to the disk. Then we assemble the tire from parts 209-212. After assembly, the wheels are glued to axles 29 and 69.

The front wheel rims are assembled a little differently if you want to make them swivel. Part 208 is added to the front discs. The rotation mechanism is assembled as follows: part 95 is rolled up into a ring and part 92 is inserted inside and fixed with part 94. Part 92 should rotate freely inside part 95. Then part 92 is glued to the axis 108. Part 102 is glued inside the disk and Part 99 is glued to it. After this, the tire is put on the disk. The order of further assembly is clear from the diagram.

3. Engine

It is better to start assembling the engine from housing 111. Then glue it to it optional equipment. To facilitate gluing of part 112, a piece cut out of cardboard, 1 mm thick, shaped to fit, is glued inside. The remaining parts are glued in numerical order. After the engine, we assemble the radiator from parts 137-140. After assembly, the radiator and engine are glued to the frame - the engine to part 5, and the radiator using part 141. After this, the radiator is glued to the engine using a tube glued from parts 142-146.

4. Cabin

First we assemble the cabin interior. First, we assemble the instrument panel 180, which we glue to the front wall 186, and the floor 185 to it. We assemble the steering wheel 192 and the steering shaft 192-1. We fold the levers 194 in half and glue them together, and we do the same with the pedals 195. We glue the finished pedals and levers according to the diagram. Lastly, we glue the seat (198-199) and the interior of the cabin is ready. Now let's move on to the outer skin of the cabin. The cabin roof is assembled from parts 149-150. Ceiling 149-1 is glued to it from the inside. Then the back wall 148 and the side walls 160. The doors are folded and glued. Hinges are glued between the door halves. We glue the glass cut out from transparent film according to the templates on the last page and glue the windshield wipers 197. Then we assemble the hood. The front wing is glued from part 182. Part 182-1 is glued from the wrong side. We glue the side wall 181 to it. We assemble the hood cover 180 according to the diagram and glue it in place. We glue two headlights 201 and one smaller one 202, which is located on the spruce side, and glue the grille 200. At the back of the cabin we glue a gas tank 214-216.

5. Launcher

Assembly of the launcher begins with the assembly of the base 218, which is attached to the vehicle frame using parts 217. We glue control mechanisms 221-226 and 227-231 to the front part. Assembling guides for rockets. They consist of three parts. Parts 253 and 253-1 are bent to form the letter P turned on its side and glued together, then holes are cut in them, then strips 254 are glued to the top and bottom. The guides are connected to each other using parts 257 rolled up into a tube. According to the diagram, we assemble a tubular structure, with the help of which we glue the guides to the base of the launcher. The parts for gluing are pre-formed on a mandrel with a diameter of 2 mm. and glue the launcher to the frame to parts 217.

Layouts military equipment Both children and many men love to create things with their own hands. This exciting hobby can be applied in the process of collecting crafts from wartime equipment, in working with school students for or at an exhibition, dedicated to the Day Great victory.

Many children preschool age They love to play with cars and tanks, planes and armored vehicles. Also, the guys will be happy to provide all possible assistance in creating a model of military equipment with their own hands. For very young children, dads or older brothers can build equipment of such a size that the baby can fit in and play with friends in the room.

Corrugated cardboard tank

To create military equipment from waste material you need to find an old packaging cardboard box. Product from corrugated cardboard it will be tight and it will be easier to play with it. For the main part you will need a strip of cardboard 16-20 cm wide and 60 cm long. This strip is rolled into a tube, gluing the thin sides of the rectangle together. The result is a tank body. Next, create the shape of a small box and attach it to the top. This is a tank turret.

Then we begin work on the tracks. Carefully remove the top layer of paper from the cardboard so that the corrugated part remains on top. Then we cut out two strips 4 cm wide, the length corresponding to the perimeter of the body. The wavy part of the element is placed outward, and the smooth side is smeared with PVA glue and glued to the edges of the body on both sides. The caterpillar is ready.

The wheels are created from twisted strips, 3 pieces on each side. They need to be glued tightly into the middle of the track. For the layout, all that remains is to create the cannon. First we do triangular base, where the muzzle cylinder will be inserted. It can be rolled up from plain cardboard or from a thin layer of the same box from which the entire layout was made.

Another tank model

This version of the tank is also made from thick packaging cardboard. When making military equipment from paper, craftsmen often take advantage of significant cost savings. And it’s not difficult to assemble such layouts. This option The tank is made in one piece by folding and folding cardboard. The body is assembled together with the tower. To do this, take a wide strip and bend it to form the hull and turret. Then the sides are cut out along the contour, they are glued with tape or from the inside onto strips of paper. A square hole is cut from the top with a sharp knife. This is a tank hatch into which a child can put soldiers.

Caterpillars are made according to the same principle and are attached to the sides. All that remains is to roll up a triangular barrel from cardboard and, having made a hole of the same shape in the front of the turret, insert the gun barrel there. That's it, the model of military equipment is made with your own hands! You can start the game.

Big plane

Such a large combat vehicle is made for children. They can sit there and fly the plane while playing in the room. Making such a toy is easy. You need to take a large box and cut off the closing part - the lid. On the sides you need to cut out semicircular entrance places so that the child can climb into it comfortably.

On both sides there are two slots where the wings are inserted. As you can see in the photo, making them is as easy as shelling pears. A screw is attached to the front. You can attach it with a bolt, then the baby can twist it. Children love dynamic toys.

The final touch when completing the work will be the tail. For such a structure, you need to glue a rounded triangle to a strip of cardboard in the center.

DIY paper machines

Schemes of various machines, including military equipment, can be found on sale - in stationery and toy stores. There are a number of magazines that publish ready-made diagrams that are bought by both children and military equipment collectors.

The purchased version is enough to cut out with scissors and glue together, spreading white corners with PVA glue. If you don’t have such a diagram, you can use the drawing of a combat vehicle presented in the article and, after redrawing it, assemble a finished layout.

On July 14, 1941, in the battles near Orsha, it fell on the fascist positions, causing horror. fire tornado rockets. This was fought by an experimental battery under the command of Ivan Vasilyevich Flerov. Thus began the life of the world’s first combat vehicles of field rocket artillery - “Katyushas”, as our soldiers affectionately called them. The legendary Katyushas traveled all the roads of war, improving, gaining more and more power and accuracy. They took part in many military operations, including the capture of the Reichstag in Berlin.

Today, the Katyushas have been replaced by new combat vehicles - modern heavy rocket launchers. Powerful tractor-trailer vehicles on wheels with wide-profile tires are capable of moving at a speed of 75 km/h and overcoming obstacles and fords.

The artillery part of modern Katyushas is 40 guide tubes assembled in a package and installed on a lifting and rotating device. The missiles are capable of hitting the enemy at a distance of up to 20 km.

We invite you to build a model of a modern rocket artillery combat vehicle (Fig. 72). Basically, the work will require thick cardboard 1 mm thick and drawing paper. For some parts you will need other materials - we will talk about them specifically.

First, transfer the developments of the parts shown in Figure 73 onto cardboard. Those parts that will be glued to left side models, draw them yourself. Let us remind you how this is done. Copy onto the tracing paper those details next to which the letter P (right) is located, then turn the tracing paper over and transfer the resulting image onto the cardboard.

Cut out all the details along the contour. Where the letter B is, cut holes, and where the dot is, make punctures with an awl. Bend the workpieces along the fold lines, after first running the tip of the awl along them with pressure. Then transfer all the developments onto drawing paper, except for parts 21, 50′ and 54′, the development drawings of which are shown in Figures 74, 75. You need to cut and bend them in the same way as cardboard parts. Cut the blanks of parts 21 from ordinary thin paper and, having greased them with glue, screw them onto a rod with a diameter of 4 mm - you will get tubes 10 cm long.

Reamers 50′ and 54′ need to be cut from transparent film. It's better to mark them like this. Place the film on the drawings of the developments, use an awl to transfer the image of the parts onto the film, and then cut them out.

Now prepare for assembly the parts shown in Figure 76. Cut out parts 74 and 65 from round sticks or pencils, parts 73 and 67 from thread spools, part 46 and a cube measuring 1 X 1 X 1 cm from cork, part 72 - made of tin or plexiglass, part 75 - from thin rubber (for example, from an old bicycle inner tube), part 43 - from a plastic or metal tube, and parts 17′ and 51' - from transparent film. Bend parts 32, 48, 49, 53, 59 from wire. If you don’t have thick wire at hand, straighten regular paper clips.

So, the parts are prepared, you can start assembling. The assembly diagram of the cabin, launcher and frame is shown in Figure 72, wheels and axles - in Figure 76.

The cabin is a cardboard frame covered with paper. The frame is assembled like this. Glue the oil radiator 19 onto the water radiator 18, and glue the frame 11 to the frame 12. Glue the radiators and frames to the base 14 in the places indicated by dashed lines.

On the same base, fasten frame 13 and radiator trim 20, and stick part 2 on top.

Then glue parts 1, 4 and 3.

Install frame 9 in the rear part of the cabin frame. Place part 6 on it and frame 12, and glue frame 7 to it.

Glue parts 8 and 10 to the back of the frame.

The final operation of assembling the cabin is gluing the trim. First prepare the parts for installation: glue the corners of the hood cover 61 and roof 64, to inside parts 50 and 54, glue parts 50′ and 54′, make notches in the hood 56 and bend the valves inward. Insert the radiator grille bars 59 into the holes in the base 14 of the cabin and parts 2.

Then, in order, stick on parts 50, 63, 54, 5, 64, 61, 56, 58, 60,

62. Attach parts 15, 16, 17, 55, 52, 57 to the fender liners, footrest and headlight, respectively.

Place the launcher on the platform that needs to be glued together

from parts 26 and 27. Place a barrel on the platform: it is assembled from skin 30 glued into a ring and bottoms 28. The hoops are imitated with two pieces of twine glued in the places indicated in the figure. Glue the prepared tubes 21 into a bag consisting of four rows - ten tubes in each. In the places indicated in the drawing, wrap this bag several times with threads and fasten with staple 23.

Glue the cradle 22 and secure the bag on it. Then glue the base from parts 24, 24′ and 25, after first attaching a cube of cork measuring 1X1X1 cm (with glue) to part 24′. Nail the base with the washer placed under it to the platform (the nail should be inserted from the underside of the platform), and glue the cradle with a package of tubes to the base. The assembled unit must rotate around its axis. If you want the cradle to change its angle, connect it to the base using a wire rod.

Rods 74 with tightly fitted drums 73 and loose washers 72 form the axles. Another rings 76 are glued to the drums of the middle and rear axles, between which a bead 75 is put on.

A large pulley is mounted on the middle axis, consisting of a drum 67 with a paper strip 38 screwed onto it and two disks 68. It can be installed only after the frame has been assembled.

The frame of the model is assembled from two spars and five cross beams. Bend the spars 34 into the letter P and glue paper strips 38 to them from below (their length is determined by location). Insert bushings 43 into the holes of the side members and place the finished parts on the axles. Make a beam 33, four beams 35 and glue them between the side members 34. Reinforce the front part of the frame with a bumper 31 with two hooks 32, and the rear with part 36 with one hook. Glue parts 44 to the frame on top.

Assemble the wheels according to the diagram shown in Figure 76. It does not require any special explanation. We only note that part 71 needs to be bent along the center line and given a conical shape. This is done

So. Insert the needle of the measuring compass into the center of the cross on the development, and use the second needle to press the fold line. Now it’s easy to give the workpiece a conical shape. Place the finished wheels firmly on the axles with glue so that the ends of the axles protrude 2 mm beyond the wheel rims.

Glue the finished cabin and platform with the launcher to the frame. On the left side of the platform, attach a gas tank glued together from skin 40 and frames 39. Roll up part 41 into a tube - it imitates the neck of the tank - and glue it into the hole of the tank from above. Glue a cover consisting of two parts 42 onto the neck. On the right side, glue a spare parts box (part 47) to the platform and make a step, glue aprons 45 on the back, and on top - a base for the DP-10 electric motor (part 46). For a micromotor of another type, you will have to design the base yourself.

Secure the microelectric motor to the base with adhesive tape or a cardboard clamp, place a small pulley on the shaft, connect it with a large pulley mounted on the middle axis (see Fig. 76 “Kinematic diagram”). Connect the engine to the control panel (CP), consisting of a battery and a three-position switch. Carry out sea trials. The model must perform three commands: “Forward”, “Backward” and “Stop”. If there are any shortcomings, eliminate them and move on to the final stage - finishing the model.

Finishing the model consists of sticking small parts. Reinstall handles 48 and 49, mirror holders 53 51. Glue film parts 51′ and 17′ onto the mirrors and headlights, after placing pieces of foil under them.

The model is assembled. Paint the chassis of the finished model with black ink, and the cockpit and launcher with green gouache or tempera. You can paint a guards badge on the cabin doors. To make the model stronger and to prevent the paint from smearing, cover it with clear varnish or PVA glue.

But our toy army also needs equipment to transport infantrymen and support the offensive with armored vehicles. We will now begin to fill this gap. Today we have to learn how to make cars from matchboxes.

To work, we will need several empty matchboxes, cardboard, an awl, a knife, PVA glue, scissors, a ruler, a compass and a simple pencil.

We will also need empty pen refills and insulated aluminum wire to make ours.

Well, let's get to work. Take and remove the box from it. In the box itself, make side cuts according to the dimensions indicated in Figure 1a. and bend it up at a slight angle. The part that is shaded must be trimmed. We put the box back into the box. We got the future car cabin.

Now take another box and cut its lid in half. Cut the removed one according to the dimensions indicated in the figure (Fig. 1b). Insert both parts of the cut box into the half box on both sides. Glue the resulting part to the cabin (Fig. 1c). Cut out two benches from the second half of the box (Fig. 1d) and secure them in the body with glue.

Next we will do chassis car. and with a compass draw twelve circles with a diameter of twenty millimeters on it (Fig. 1e). The circles should be cut out and glued together in four pieces (Fig. 1e). Cover the resulting wheels with prepared colored paper, as shown in the figure (Fig. 1g, H.).

Now take the pen rods and make two wheel pair axles out of them (Fig. 1k). Pierce all the wheels with an awl in the center and place them on the resulting axles. To prevent the wheels from flying off the axle, secure them with pieces of insulation from aluminum wire, carefully pulling it off with a knife.

Now we need to make bearings so that the wheelsets rotate freely and our homemade car can drive. We make bearings from cardboard (Fig. 1i). Bend the part along the dash-dot lines in the form of a triangle (Fig. 1k), insert the wheels there and glue them to the bottom of the car. That's it, our matchbox car is ready to transport soldiers. You can make any number of such cars, as long as there are enough boxes.

To make an armored personnel carrier from matchboxes, you need to carefully consider Figure 2. Its structure differs from a car only in that those boxes that are intended for making the hood (Fig. 2a, b) and making the turret (Fig. 2d, e) are cut diagonally And .

After you assemble the hood (Fig. 26), the body of the armored personnel carrier (Fig. 2c), and the turret (Fig. 2e), you need to cut out several round side and top rectangular hatches for the turret (Fig. 2g). We will also make motorized blinds (Fig. 2h).

The machine gun barrel can be carefully rounded off with a knife (Fig. 2e). Make a thickening by wrapping a thin copper wire around the base of the trunk and cover it with a strip of colored paper. Now take the metal tip of the rod and first pierce a hole in the thickening of the machine gun with an awl, attach it to the turret by inserting it into the turret hole pierced with the same awl.

Figures 3 and 4 show how to make a Katyusha and rocket launcher. The principle of their manufacture is the same as that of the machines described above. They are similar to trucks, only instead of a body they are equipped with special platforms (Fig. 3e and 4d), consisting of two parts. One part is made from the box lid (bottom part).

For Katyusha it is made rotary. It rotates using a round piece, which can be made from a piece of paper or folded paper. One end of the tube is fixed motionless at the bottom of the platform (Fig. 3e), its other end is inserted into the hole “o” of the second platform, which remains motionless (Fig. 3h).

Glue the next part (e) to the inclined part of the platform (d), as shown in the figure (Fig. 3f).

We make six Katyusha barrels using a pencil, wrapping glued paper strips around it. Now you need to attach the trunks, three in a row, to the part (d.) (Fig. 4)

The platform, or rather its upper part (in) of the rocket launcher, is made a little differently. A longitudinal cut is made in the middle of the box, which bends inward and is secured with a clerical clip. Then the top honor is glued to the bottom of the platform (Fig. 4d).

Glue the entire platform assembly to the back of the Katyusha. For the rocket launcher we do the same.

For a rocket launcher. Make its body as follows: wrap a paper strip around a pencil (Fig. 4b) and glue its edge. Make the warhead and stabilizers as shown in the figure (Fig. 4e, f). All that remains is to glue them to the rocket body and secure it in the recess of the rocket platform.

All models of military equipment we make can be painted or covered with colored paper.

Our army was replenished with powerful armored vehicles, which we made with our own hands from ordinary matchboxes.

July 14, 1941 at one of the defense sites 20 1st Army, in the forest to the east Orshi, tongues of flame shot up to the sky, accompanied by an unusual roar, not at all similar to the shots of artillery guns. Clouds of black smoke rose above the trees, and barely visible arrows hissed in the sky towards the German positions.

Soon the entire area of ​​the local station, captured by the Nazis, was engulfed in furious fire. The Germans, stunned, ran in panic. It took the enemy a long time to rally his demoralized units. Thus, for the first time in history, they declared themselves "Katyusha".

The first combat use of a new type of powder rockets by the Red Army dates back to the battles at Khalkhin Gol. On May 28, 1939, Japanese troops that occupied Manchuria, in the area of ​​the Khalkhin Gol River, launched an offensive against Mongolia, with which the USSR was bound by a mutual assistance treaty. A local, but no less bloody war began. And here in August 1939 a group of fighters I-16 under the command of a test pilot Nikolai Zvonarev first used RS-82 missiles.

The Japanese at first decided that their planes were attacked by a well-camouflaged anti-aircraft installation. Only a few days later, one of the officers who took part in the air battle reported: “Under the wings of Russian aircraft, I saw bright flashes of flame!”

"Katyusha" in a combat position

Experts flew in from Tokyo, examined the damaged aircraft and agreed that such destruction could only be caused by a shell with a diameter of at least 76 mm. But calculations showed that an aircraft capable of withstanding the recoil of a gun of this caliber simply could not exist! Only experimental fighters tested 20 mm guns. To find out the secret, a real hunt was announced for the planes of Captain Zvonarev and his comrades, pilots Pimenov, Fedorov, Mikhailenko and Tkachenko. But the Japanese failed to shoot down or land at least one car.

The results of the first use of missiles launched from aircraft exceeded all expectations. In less than a month of fighting (a truce was signed on September 15), the pilots of Zvonarev’s group flew 85 combat missions and 14 air battles shot down 13 enemy planes!

Rockets, which showed themselves so successfully on the battlefield, were developed from the beginning of the 1930s at the Jet Research Institute (RNII), which after the repressions of 1937-1938 was headed by a chemist Boris Slonimer. He worked directly on rockets Yuri Pobedonostsev, to whom now belongs the honor of being called their author.

The success of the new weapon spurred work on the first version of a multi-charge unit, which later turned into the Katyusha. At NII-3 of the People's Commissariat of Ammunition, as the RNII was called before the war, he led this work as chief engineer Andrey Kostikov, Modern historians speak rather disrespectfully of Kostikov. And this is fair, because the archives revealed his denunciations against his colleagues (the same as Pobedonostsev).

The first version of the future Katyusha was charging 132 -mm shells similar to those that Captain Zvonarev fired at Khalkhin Gol. The entire installation with 24 guides was mounted on a ZIS-5 truck. Here the authorship belongs to Ivan Gvai, who had previously made the “Flute” - an installation for rockets on I-15 and I-16 fighters. The first field tests near Moscow, carried out at the beginning of 1939, revealed many shortcomings.

Military experts who approached the assessment rocket artillery from the position of cannon artillery, they saw these strange machines as a technical curiosity. But, despite the ridicule of the artillerymen, the institute’s staff continued to work hard on the second version of the launcher. It was installed on a more powerful ZIS-6 truck. However, 24 guides, mounted across the vehicle, as in the first version, did not ensure stability of the vehicle when firing.

Field tests of the second option were carried out in the presence of a marshal Klima Voroshilova. Thanks to his favorable assessment, the development team received support command staff. At the same time, designer Galkovsky proposed a completely new option: leave 16 guides and mount them longitudinally on the machine. In August 1939, the pilot plant was manufactured.

By that time the group led Leonid Schwartz designed and tested samples of new 132 mm rockets. In the fall of 1939, another series of tests was carried out at the Leningrad artillery range. This time, the launchers and their shells were approved. From that moment on, the rocket launcher began to be officially called BM-13, which meant " fighting machine", and 13 is an abbreviation for the caliber of the 132 mm rocket.

The BM-13 combat vehicle was a chassis of a three-axle ZIS-6 vehicle, on which a rotary truss with a package of guides and a guidance mechanism was installed. For aiming, a rotating and lifting mechanism and an artillery sight were provided. At the rear of the combat vehicle there were two jacks, which ensured its greater stability when firing. The missiles were launched using 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.

At the end of 1939, the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army gave an order to NII-3 for the production of six BM-13s. By November 1940, this order was completed. On June 17, 1941, the vehicles were demonstrated at a review of Red Army weapons that took place near Moscow. BM-13 was inspected by the marshal Tymoshenko, People's Commissar of Armaments Ustinov, People's Commissar of Ammunition Vannikov and Chief of the General Staff Zhukov. On June 21, following the review, the command decided to launch missile production M-13 and BM-13 installations.

On the morning of June 22, 1941, employees of NII-3 gathered within the walls of their institute. It was clear: the new weapon would no longer undergo any military tests - now it was important to assemble all the installations and send them into battle. Seven BM-13 vehicles formed the backbone of the first rocket artillery battery, the decision to form which was made on June 28, 1941. And already on the night of July 2, she left under her own power for the Western Front.

The first battery consisted of a control platoon, a sighting platoon, three fire platoons, a combat supply platoon, a utility department, a fuel and lubricants department, and a medical unit. Except seven launchers BM-13 and a 122-mm howitzer of the 1930 model, which served for sighting, the battery had 44 trucks for transporting 600 M-13 rockets, 100 shells for a howitzer, an entrenching tool, three refills of fuel and lubricants, seven daily food allowances and other property.

Captain Ivan Andreevich Flerov - first commander of the experimental Katyusha battery

The command staff of the battery was staffed mainly by students of the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy, who had just graduated from the first year of the command department. Captain was appointed battery commander Ivan Flerov- an artillery officer with experience Soviet-Finnish war. No special training Neither the officers nor the numbers of the combat crews of the first battery had; during the period of formation, only three training sessions were possible.

They were led by the developers missile weapons design engineer Popov and military engineer 2nd rank Shitov. Just before the end of class, Popov pointed to a large wooden box mounted on the running board of a combat vehicle. “When we send you to the front,” he said, “we will fill this box with sabers and put a squib cartridge so that at the slightest threat of the enemy’s seizure of the rocket weapons, we can blow up both the installation and the shells.” Two days after leaving Moscow, the battery became part of the 20th Army of the Western Front, which fought for Smolensk.

On the night of July 12-13, she was alerted and sent to Orsha. At the Orsha station, many German trains with troops, equipment, ammunition and fuel accumulated. Flerov ordered the battery to be deployed five kilometers from the station, behind a hill. The engines of the vehicles were not turned off in order to immediately leave the position after the salvo. At 15:15 on July 14, 1941, Captain Flerov gave the command to open fire.

Here is the text of the report in German General base: “The Russians used a battery with an unprecedented number of guns. The shells are high-explosive incendiary, but have an unusual effect. 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." The morale effect of the use of rocket mortars was stunning. The enemy lost more than an infantry battalion and a huge amount of military equipment and weapons at the Orsha station.

On the same day, Flerov’s battery fired at the crossing of the Orshitsa River, where a lot of Nazi manpower and equipment had also accumulated. In the following days, the battery was used in various directions of the 20th Army's operations as a fire reserve for the chief of artillery of the army. Several successful salvoes were fired at the enemy in the areas of Rudnya, Smolensk, Yartsevo, and Dukhovshina. The effect exceeded all expectations.

The German command tried to get samples of the Russian wonder weapons. The hunt began for Captain Flerov's battery, as once for Zvonarev's fighters. On October 7, 1941, near the village of Bogatyr, Vyazemsky district, Smolensk region, the Germans managed to surround the battery. The enemy attacked her suddenly, on the march, firing from different sides. The forces were unequal, but the crews fought desperately, Flerov used up the last of his ammunition and then blew up the launchers.

Having led people to a breakthrough, he died heroically. 40 out of 180 people survived, and everyone who survived the death of the battery in October 1941 was declared missing, although they fought until the victory. Only 50 years after the first salvo of the BM-13, the field near the village of Bogatyr revealed its secret. There, the remains of Captain Flerov and 17 other rocket men who died with him were finally found. In 1995, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Ivan Flerov was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Russia.

Flerov's battery was destroyed, but the weapon existed and continued to inflict damage on the advancing enemy. In the first days of the war, the production of new installations began at the Moscow Kompressor plant. There was no need to customize the designers either. In a matter of days, they completed the development of a new combat vehicle for 82-mm projectiles - the BM-8. It began to be produced in two versions: one - on the chassis of a ZIS-6 car with 6 guides, the other - on the chassis of an STZ tractor or T-40 and T-60 tanks with 24 guides.

Obvious successes at the front and in production allowed Headquarters Supreme High Command already in August 1941, decide to form eight regiments of rocket artillery, which, even before participating in battles, were given the name “Guards Mortar Regiments of the Supreme High Command Reserve Artillery.” This emphasized the special importance attached to the new type of weapons. The regiment consisted of three divisions, the division - of three batteries, four BM-8 or BM-13 in each.

For the 82 mm caliber rocket, guides were developed and manufactured, which were later installed on the chassis of the ZIS-6 vehicle (36 guides) and on the chassis of the T-40 and T-60 light tanks (24 guides). Special launchers for 82 mm and 132 mm caliber missiles were manufactured for their subsequent installation on warships - torpedo boats and armored boats.

The production of BM-8 and BM-13 was continuously growing, and the designers were developing a new 300-mm M-30 rocket weighing 72 kg and with a firing range of 2.8 km. They received the nickname “Andryusha” among the people. They were launched from a launching machine (“frame”) made of wood. The launch was carried out using a sapper blasting machine. “Andryushas” were first used in Stalingrad. The new weapons were easy to manufacture, but installing them in position and aiming at the target required a lot of time. In addition, the short range of M-30 missiles made them dangerous for their own crews. Subsequently, combat experience showed that the M-30 - powerful weapon offensive, capable destroy bunkers, trenches with canopies, stone buildings and other fortifications. There was even an idea to create a mobile based on Katyushas anti-aircraft missile system to destroy enemy aircraft, but the experimental installation was never brought to production.

About efficiency combat use"Katyusha" During an attack on an enemy fortified unit, an example can be given of the defeat of the Tolkachev defensive unit during our counteroffensive near Kursk in July 1943. Village Tolkachevo was turned by the Germans into a heavily fortified resistance center with a large number of dugouts and bunkers of 5-12 roll-ups, with a developed network of trenches and communication passages. The approaches to the village were heavily mined and covered with wire fences. Salvos of rocket artillery destroyed a significant part of the bunkers, the trenches, along with the enemy infantry located in them, were filled up, fire system completely depressed. Of the entire garrison of the node, numbering 450-500 people, only 28 survived. The Tolkachevsky node was taken by our units without any resistance.

By the beginning of 1945, 38 separate divisions, 114 regiments, 11 brigades and 7 divisions armed with rocket artillery were operating on the battlefields. But there were also problems. Mass production of launchers was quickly established, but widespread use of Katyushas was held back due to a lack of ammunition. There was no industrial base for the production of high-quality gunpowders for projectile engines. Ordinary gunpowder could not be used in this case - special grades with the required surface and configuration, time, character and combustion temperature were required. The deficit was limited only by the beginning of 1942, when factories transferred from west to east began to pick up the required production rates. During the entire Great Patriotic War, Soviet industry produced more than ten thousand rocket artillery combat vehicles.

Origin of the name Katyusha

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:
1. Based on the name of Blanter’s song, which became popular before the war, based on the words of Isakovsky “Katyusha”. The version is convincing, since the battery first fired on July 14, 1941 (on the 23rd day of the war) at a concentration of fascists on Bazarnaya Square in the city of Rudnya, Smolensk region. She was shooting from a high, steep mountain - the association with the high, steep bank in the song immediately arose among the fighters. Finally, the former sergeant of the headquarters company of the 217th separate communications battalion of the 144th Infantry Division of the 20th Army, Andrei Sapronov, is alive, 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.

2. 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).

3. The third version suggests that this is how the girls from the Moscow Kompressor plant who worked on the assembly dubbed these cars.
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.)

4. 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 sounded “sing” or “play” (to start it was necessary to turn the handle of the electric coil very quickly) , which may also have been related to the song “Katyusha”. And for our infantry, a salvo of Katyusha rockets was the most pleasant music.

5. There is an assumption that initially the nickname “Katyusha” was a front-line bomber equipped with rockets - an analogue of the M-13. And the nickname jumped from an airplane to a rocket launcher through shells.

In the German troops, these machines were called “Stalin’s organs” due to the external resemblance of the rocket launcher to 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.

If Hitler's oracles had looked more closely at the signs of fate, then surely July 14, 1941 would have become a landmark day for them. It was then in the area of ​​​​the Orsha railway junction and the crossing of the Orshitsa River Soviet troops For the first time, BM-13 combat vehicles were used, which received the affectionate name “Katyusha” among the army. The result of two salvos at the accumulation of enemy forces was stunning for the enemy. German losses fell under the “unacceptable” heading.

Here are excerpts from a directive to the troops of Hitler's high military command: “The Russians have an automatic multi-barrel flamethrower cannon... The shot is fired by electricity... During the shot, smoke is generated...” The obvious helplessness of the wording testified to the complete ignorance of the German generals regarding the device and technical characteristics new Soviet weapons— rocket mortar.

A striking example of the effectiveness of the Guards mortar units, and their basis was “Katyushas,” can be seen in the lines from the memoirs of Marshal Zhukov: “The rockets, by their actions, caused complete devastation. I looked at the areas where shelling was carried out and saw the complete destruction of defensive structures ... "

The Germans developed a special plan to seize new Soviet weapons and ammunition. In the late autumn of 1941 they managed to do this. The “captive” mortar was truly “multi-barreled” and fired 16 rocket mines. His firepower was several times more effective than the mortar used by the fascist army. Hitler's command decided to create equivalent weapons.

The Germans did not immediately realize that the Soviet mortar they had captured was a truly unique phenomenon, revealing new page in the development of artillery, era jet systems volley fire(MLRS).

We must pay tribute to its creators - scientists, engineers, technicians and workers of the Moscow Jet Research Institute (RNII) and related enterprises: V. Aborenkov, V. Artemyev, V. Bessonov, V. Galkovsky, I. Gvai, I. Kleimenov, A. Kostikov, G. Langemak, V. Luzhin, A. Tikhomirov, L. Schwartz, D. Shitov.

The main difference between the BM-13 and similar German weapons was its unusually bold and unexpected concept: mortarmen could reliably hit all targets in a given square with relatively inaccurate rocket-propelled mines. This was achieved precisely due to the salvo nature of the fire, since every point of the area under fire necessarily fell into the affected area of ​​one of the shells. German designers, realizing the brilliant “know-how” of Soviet engineers, decided to reproduce, if not in the form of a copy, then using the main technical ideas.

It was in principle possible to copy the Katyusha as a combat vehicle. Insurmountable difficulties arose when trying to design, test and establish mass production of similar missiles. It turned out that German gunpowder cannot burn in the chamber of a rocket engine as stably and steadily as Soviet ones. German-designed analogues Soviet ammunition behaved unpredictably: either sluggishly left the guides only to immediately fall to the ground, or began flying at breakneck speed and exploded in the air from an excessive increase in pressure inside the chamber. Only a few successfully reached the target.

The point turned out to be that for effective nitroglycerin powders, which were used in Katyusha shells, our chemists achieved a spread in the values ​​of the so-called heat of explosive transformation of no more than 40 conventional units, and the smaller the spread, the more stable the gunpowder burns. Similar German gunpowder had a spread of this parameter, even in one batch, above 100 units. This led to unstable operation of the rocket engines.

The Germans did not know that ammunition for the Katyusha was the fruit of more than ten years of activity by the RNII and several large Soviet research teams, which included the best Soviet gunpowder factories, outstanding Soviet chemists A. Bakaev, D. Galperin, V. Karkina, G. Konovalova, B Pashkov, A. Sporius, B. Fomin, F. Khritinin and many others. They not only developed the most complex formulations of rocket powders, but also found simple and effective ways their mass, continuous and cheap production.

At a time when at Soviet factories, according to ready-made drawings, the production of guards rocket mortars and shells for them was expanding at an unprecedented pace and literally daily increasing, the Germans had yet to conduct research and design work by MLRS. But history has not given them time for this.

The article was written based on materials from the book Nepomnyashchiy N.N. “100 great secrets of the Second World War”, M., “Veche”, 2010, p. 152-157.