Matchbox car. Katyusha - a unique combat vehicle of the USSR (interesting) Characteristics of a combat vehicle

"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 them is associated with the factory mark "K" of the manufacturer of the first combat vehicles BM-13 (Voronezh Plant named after the Comintern), 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. Moscow. In 8 volumes -2004. ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)

The BM-13 received its baptism of fire on July 14, 1941, when the battery fired the first salvo from all installations at railway station Orsha, where it was concentrated a large number of manpower and military equipment of the enemy. As a result of a powerful fire strike simultaneously by 112 rockets, a fire glow rose over the station: enemy echelons were burning, ammunition was exploding. An hour and a half later, Flerov's battery fired a second salvo, this time at the crossing of the Orshitsa River, on the approaches to which a lot of German equipment and manpower had accumulated. As a result, the enemy's crossing was disrupted, and he failed to develop success in this direction.

First experience with new missile weapons showed its high combat effectiveness, which was one of the reasons for its fastest commissioning and equipping the Ground Forces with it.

The restructuring of the industry associated with the production of rocket weapons was carried out in a short time, a large number of enterprises were involved in its production (already in July-August 1941 - 214 factories), which ensured the supply of this military equipment to the troops. In August-September 1941, mass production of BM-8 combat mounts with 82-mm rockets was launched.

Simultaneously with the deployment of production, work continued on the creation of new and improvement of existing samples of rockets and launchers.

On July 30, 1941, a special design bureau (SKB) at the Moscow Kompressor plant began to work - the head design bureau for launchers, and the plant itself became the lead enterprise for their production. This SKB, under the leadership of the head and chief designer Vladimir Barmin, developed 78 models of launchers of various types during the war years, mounted on cars, tractors, tanks, railway platforms, river and sea ​​ships. Thirty-six of them were put into service, mastered by industry and used in combat.

Much attention was paid to the production of rockets, the creation of new and the improvement of existing samples. The 82-mm M-8 rocket projectile underwent modernization, powerful high-explosive rocket projectiles were created: 132-mm M-20, 300-mm M-30 and M-31; extended range - M-13 DD and improved accuracy - M-13 UK and M-31 UK.

With the beginning of the war, as part of the Armed Forces of the USSR, special troops for the combat use of rocket weapons. These were rocket troops, but during the war they were called guards mortar units (GMCH), and later - rocket artillery. The first organizational form of the HMC was separate batteries and divisions.

By the end of the war, rocket artillery had 40 separate divisions (38 M-13 and 2 M-8), 115 regiments (96 M-13 and 19 M-8), 40 separate brigades(27 M-31 and 13 M-31-12) and 7 divisions - a total of 519 divisions in which there were over 3,000 combat vehicles.

The legendary Katyushas took part in all major operations during the war.

The fate of the first separate experimental battery was cut short at the beginning of October 1941. After the baptism of fire near Orsha, the battery successfully operated in battles near Rudnya, Smolensk, Yelnya, Roslavl and Spas-Demensk. During the three months of hostilities, the Flerov battery not only inflicted considerable material damage on the Germans, it also contributed to the rise fighting spirit from 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 - having fired a volley, it immediately changed its position. A tactical technique - a volley - a change of position - was widely used by Katyusha units during the war.

In early October 1941, as part of the grouping of troops on the Western Front, the battery ended up in the rear of the Nazi troops. When 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 died, having shot all the ammunition and blowing up the combat vehicles. Only 46 soldiers managed to get out of the encirclement. The legendary battalion commander and the rest of the fighters, who fulfilled their duty with honor to the end, were considered "missing." And only when it was possible to find documents from one of the army headquarters of the Wehrmacht, 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 list of missing persons.

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

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

On July 14, 1941, in the battles near Orsha, it collapsed on the positions of the Nazis, terrifying, fiery tornado rocket projectiles. 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" went through all the roads of the war, improving, gaining more and more power and accuracy. They participated 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 tractors on wheels with wide-profile tires are able to move at a speed of 75 km / h, overcome obstacles and fords.

Artillery part of modern "Katyushas" - 40 guide tubes assembled in a package and installed on a lifting and turning device. Rockets 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, you will need thick cardboard 1 mm thick and drawing paper for work. For some details, other materials will be needed - we will talk about them separately.

First, transfer to the cardboard the development of the parts shown in Figure 73. Those parts that will be glued to left side models, draw yourself. Recall how this is done. Copy onto the tracing paper those details near which the letter P (right) stands, then turn the tracing paper over and transfer the resulting image from it to cardboard.

Cut out all the details along the contour. Where the letter B stands, cut holes, and where the dot is, make punctures with an awl. Bend the workpieces along the fold lines, after drawing the tip of the awl along them with pressure. Then transfer to drawing paper all the developments, except for parts 21, 50 ′ and 54 ′, the drawings of the developments of which are shown in Figures 74, 75. You need to cut and bend them in the same way as cardboard parts. Cut blanks of parts 21 from ordinary thin paper and, having smeared 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 out of the transparent film. It's better to label them like this. Put the film on the drawings of the scans, transfer the image of the parts to the film with an awl, and then cut them out.

Now prepare the parts shown in Figure 76 for assembly. Cut parts 74 and 65 from round sticks or pencils, parts 73 and 67 from spools of thread, part 46 and a cube measuring 1 X 1 X 1 cm from cork, part 72 - from tin or plexiglass, item 75 from thin rubber (for example, from an old bicycle inner tube), item 43 from a plastic or metal tube, and parts 17' and 51' from transparent film. Details 32, 48, 49, 53, 59 bend from the wire. If there is no thick wire at hand, then straighten ordinary 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 lined with paper. The frame is going like this. Glue the oil cooler 19 on the water radiator 18, and glue the frame 11 with the frame 12. Glue the radiators and frames on the base 14 in the places indicated by dashed lines.

Fasten frame 13 and radiator lining 20 on the same base, and glue part 2 on top.

Then glue parts 1, 4 and 3.

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

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

The final operation of the cab assembly is the skin sticker. First, prepare the parts for installation: glue the corners of the cover 61 of the hood and the 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 rods 59 of the radiator grill into the holes of the base 14 of the cab and part 2.

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

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

Place the launcher on the platform to be glued

from parts 26 and 27. Install a barrel on the platform: it is assembled from a sheathing 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 on the drawing, wrap this package several times with threads and fasten with bracket 23.

Glue the cradle 22 and fix the package on it. Then, from parts 24, 24' and 25, glue the base, after attaching a 1X1X1 cm cube of cork to part 24' (with glue). Pin the base with a washer under it to the platform with a nail (the nail should be inserted from the underside of the platform), glue the cradle with a package of tubes to the base. The assembled unit must rotate around the axis. If you want the bassinet to tilt, connect it to the base with a wire rod.

Rods 74 with tightly fitted drums 73 and loose washers 72 form axes. Rings 76 are glued onto the drums of the middle and rear axles, between which a belt 75 is put on.

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

The frame of the model is assembled from two spars and five transverse bars. Bend the spars 34 with the letter P and glue paper strips 38 to them from below (their length is determined locally). Insert bushings 43 into the holes of the spars and put 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 part with a part 36 with one hook. Glue parts 44 to the frame from above.

Assemble the wheels according to the scheme shown in Figure 76. It does not require special explanations. We only note that part 71 needs to be bent along the center line and give it a conical shape. It's done

So. Insert the needle of the measuring compass into the center of the cross on the scan, and push the fold line with the second needle. Now the workpiece is easy to give a conical shape. Fit the finished wheels firmly on the glue on the axle so that the ends of the latter protrude 2 mm beyond the wheel disks.

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

Fasten the microelectric motor to the base with adhesive tape or a cardboard clamp, put a small pulley on the shaft, connect it with a belt with a large pulley mounted on the middle axis (see Fig. 76 "Kinematic diagram"). Connect the engine to the control panel (RC), consisting of a battery and a three-position switch. Do a road test. The model must execute three commands: "Forward", "Back" and "Stop". If there are flaws, eliminate them and proceed to the final stage - finishing the model.

Finishing the model consists in the sticker of small details. Install handles 48 and 49, holders 53 of mirrors 51 in their places. Glue parts 51' and 17' of the film on the mirrors and headlights, having previously placed pieces of foil under them.

The model is assembled. Chassis paint the finished model with black ink, and the cockpit and launcher with green gouache or tempera. You can draw a Guards badge on the cabin doors. To make the model stronger and the paint not smear, cover it with colorless varnish or PVA glue.

July 14, 1941 at one of the defense sectors 20 th army, in the forest to the east Orsha, flames shot up to the sky, accompanied by an unusual rumble, not at all like artillery shots. Clouds of black smoke rose from the trees, and barely noticeable 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, fled in panic. It took the enemy a long time to gather their demoralized units. So for the first time in history they declared themselves "Katyusha".

The first combat use of powder rockets of a new type by the Red Army refers to the battles at Khalkhin Gol. On May 28, 1939, the Japanese troops that occupied Manchuria, in the region of the Khalkhin Gol River, went on the 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 Nikolay Zvonarev first used RS-82 missiles.

The Japanese at first thought that their planes were attacked by a well-camouflaged anti-aircraft gun. 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 combat position

Experts flew in from Tokyo, examined the wrecked planes, and agreed that only a projectile with a diameter of at least 76 mm could cause such destruction. But after all, calculations showed that an aircraft capable of withstanding the recoil of a gun of such a caliber simply could not exist! Only on experimental fighters 20 mm caliber guns were tested. To find out the secret, a real hunt was announced for the planes of Captain Zvonarev and his comrade-in-arms 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 (on September 15, a truce was signed), the pilots of the Zvonarev group made 85 sorties and in 14 dogfights shot down 13 enemy planes!

rockets, which proved to be so successful on the battlefield, were developed from the beginning of the 1930s at the Reactive Research Institute (RNII), which, after the repressions of 1937-1938, was led by a chemist Boris Slonimer. Directly worked 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 the multiply charged installation, which later turned into the Katyusha. In NII-3 of the People's Commissariat of Ammunition, as RNII was called before the war, this work was led by Andrey Kostikov, Modern historians speak rather disrespectfully about Kostikov. And this is true, because his denunciations about colleagues (for the same Pobedonostsev) were found in the archives.

The first version of the future "Katyusha" was charging 132 -mm shells similar to those fired at Khalkhin Gol by Captain Zvonarev. The entire installation with 24 rails 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 ground tests near Moscow, carried out in early 1939, revealed many shortcomings.

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

Field tests of the second option were carried out in the presence of the marshal Klima Voroshilova. Thanks to his favorable assessment, the development team received support commanders. At the same time, the 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, a group led by Leonid Schwartz designed and tested samples of new 132-mm rockets. In the autumn of 1939, another series of tests was carried out at the Leningrad artillery range. This time, the launchers and projectiles for them were approved. From that moment on, the rocket launcher became officially known as BM-13 which meant " fighting machine”, and 13 is an abbreviation for the caliber of a 132-mm rocket projectile.

The BM-13 combat vehicle was a chassis of a three-axle ZIS-6 vehicle, on which a rotary truss was installed with a package of guides and a guidance mechanism. For aiming, a swivel and lifting mechanism and an artillery sight were provided. At the rear of the combat vehicle were two jacks, which ensured its greater stability when firing. The launch of rockets was carried out by a handle electric coil connected to the battery and contacts on the rails. When the handle was turned, the contacts closed in turn, and in the next of the shells the starting squib was fired.

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

On the morning of June 22, 1941, the employees of NII-3 gathered within the walls of their institute. It was clear that the new weapons would no longer undergo any military tests - now it is important to collect 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 for the Western Front under her own power.

The first battery consisted of a control platoon, a sighting platoon, three fire platoons, a combat power platoon, an economic department, a fuel and lubricants department, and a sanitary unit. In addition to seven BM-13 launchers and a 122-mm howitzer of the 1930 model, which served for sighting, the battery had 44 trucks for transporting 600 M-13 rocket projectiles, 100 shells for howitzers, entrenching tools, three refueling fuels and lubricants, seven daily norms of food and other property.

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

The command staff of the battery was staffed mainly by students of the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy, who had just completed the first course of the command faculty. Capt. was appointed battery commander Ivan Flerov- an artillery officer who had experience behind him Soviet-Finnish war. Neither the officers nor the numbers of the combat crews of the first battery had any special training; only three classes were held during the formation period.

They were led by the developers of rocket weapons, design engineer Popov and military engineer 2nd rank Shitov. Just before the end of classes, Popov pointed to a large wooden box mounted on the footboard of a combat vehicle. “When you are sent to the front,” he said, “we will fill this box with heavy bombs and put a squib so that at the slightest threat of the enemy seizing a rocket weapon, both the installation and the shells can be blown up.” Two days after the march from 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. A lot of German echelons with troops, equipment, ammunition and fuel accumulated at the Orsha station. Flerov ordered to deploy the battery five kilometers from the station, behind the 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. High-explosive incendiary shells, but of unusual action. The troops fired upon by the Russians testify: the fire raid is like a hurricane. The projectiles explode at the same time. The loss of life is significant." The morale effect of the use of rocket-propelled mortars was overwhelming. 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 over the Orshitsa River, where a lot of manpower and equipment of the Nazis had also accumulated. In the following days, the battery was used in various directions of operations of the 20th Army as a fire reserve for the chief of artillery of the army. Several successful volleys were fired at the enemy in the areas of Rudnya, Smolensk, Yartsevo, Dukhovshina. The effect exceeded all expectations.

The German command tried to get samples of the Russian miracle weapon. For the battery of Captain Flerov, as once for Zvonarev's fighters, the hunt began. On October 7, 1941, near the village of Bogatyr in the Vyazemsky district of the 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 calculations fought desperately, Flerov used up the last of his ammunition and then blew up the launchers.

Leading people to a breakthrough, he died heroically. 40 people out of 180 survived, and everyone who survived after the death of the battery in October 41 was declared missing, although they fought until the very victory. Only 50 years after the first salvo of the BM-13, the field near the village of Bogatyr revealed its secret. The remains of Captain Flerov and 17 other rocket men who died with him were finally found there. In 1995, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Ivan Flerov was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Russia.

Flerov's battery died, but the weapon existed and continued to inflict damage on the advancing enemy. In the first days of the war, the manufacture of new installations began at the Moscow Kompressor plant. Designers also did not have to be customized. In a matter of days, they completed the development of a new combat vehicle for 82-millimeter shells - BM-8. It began to be produced in two versions: one - on the chassis of the ZIS-6 car with 6 guides, the other - on the chassis of the STZ tractor or T-40 and T-60 tanks with 24 guides.

Obvious successes at the front and in production allowed Stavka Supreme High Command already in August 1941, to decide on the formation of eight regiments of rocket artillery, which, even before participation in the battles, were given the name "Guards mortar regiments of artillery of the reserve of the Supreme High Command." 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 each.

Guides were developed and manufactured for the 82 mm caliber rocket, which were later installed on the chassis of the ZIS-6 car (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 rockets were made 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-millimeter rocket M-30 weighing 72 kg and with a firing range of 2.8 km. Among the people they received the nickname "Andryusha". They were launched from a launching machine (“frame”) made of wood. The launch was carried out with the help of a sapper blasting machine. For the first time, "andryushas" were used in Stalingrad. The new weapons were easy to make, but they took a long time to set up and aim at. In addition, the short range of M-30 rockets made them dangerous for their own calculations. Subsequently, combat experience showed that the M-30 is a powerful offensive weapon capable of destroy bunkers, trenches with canopies, stone buildings and other fortifications. There was even an idea to create a mobile phone based on Katyushas. anti-aircraft missile system to destroy enemy aircraft, however, the prototype was never brought to a production standard.

On the effectiveness of the combat use of "Katyushas" in the course of an attack on the enemy’s fortified center, an example can serve as an example of the defeat of the Tolkachev defensive center during our counteroffensive near Kursk in July 1943. Village Tolkachevo was turned by the Germans into a heavily fortified center of resistance with a large number of dugouts and bunkers in 5-12 runs, with a developed network of trenches and communications. The approaches to the village were heavily mined and covered with barbed wire. A significant part of the bunkers was destroyed by volleys of rocket artillery, the trenches, together with the enemy infantry in them, were filled up, fire system completely suppressed. Of the entire garrison of the knot, which numbered 450-500 people, only 28 survived. The Tolkachev knot 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 the widespread use of Katyushas was held back due to a lack of ammunition. There was no industrial base for the manufacture of high-quality gunpowder for projectile engines. Ordinary gunpowder in this case could not be used - special grades were required with the desired surface and configuration, time, character and combustion temperature. The deficit was limited only by the beginning of 1942, when the factories transferred from west to east began to gain the required production rates. During the entire period of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet industry produced more than ten thousand rocket artillery combat vehicles.

Origin of the name Katyusha

It is known why the 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 soldiers and commanders asked the representative of the GAU to name the “genuine” name of the combat installation at the firing range, he advised: “Call the installation as an ordinary artillery piece. It's important to maintain secrecy."

There is no single version of why BM-13s began to be called "Katyushas". There are several assumptions:
1. By the name of Blanter's song, which became popular before the war, to the words of Isakovsky "Katyusha". The version is convincing, since for the first time the battery fired on July 14, 1941 (on the 23rd day of the war) at the concentration of Nazis on the Market Square of the city of Rudnya, Smolensk Region. She shot from a high steep mountain - the association with a 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 rifle division of the 20th army, Andrei Sapronov, is now alive, now a military historian who gave her this name. The Red Army soldier Kashirin, having arrived with him after the shelling of Rudny on the battery, exclaimed in surprise: “This is a song!” “Katyusha,” Andrey Sapronov answered (from the memoirs of A. Sapronov in the newspaper Rossiya No. 23 of June 21-27, 2001 and in Parliamentary Newspaper No. 80 of May 5, 2005). Through the communication center of the headquarters company, the news about the miracle weapon named "Katyusha" within a day became the property of the entire 20th Army, and through its command - of the whole 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, the Comintern plant). And the front-line soldiers liked to give nicknames to weapons. For example, the M-30 howitzer was nicknamed "Mother", the ML-20 howitzer gun - "Emelka". Yes, and BM-13 at first was 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 at the assembly, dubbed these cars.
Another exotic version. The guides on which the shells 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 exactly lay on the guides, he also informed the holders that the projectile had risen, rolled, rolled onto the guides. It was supposedly that they called him “Katyusha” (the role of those who held the projectile and rolled up was constantly changing, since the calculation of the BM-13, unlike barrel artillery, was not explicitly divided into loader, pointer, etc.)

4. It should also be noted that the installations were so secret that it was even forbidden to use the commands “plee”, “fire”, “volley”, instead of them they sounded “sing” or “play” (to start it was necessary to turn the handle of the electric coil very quickly) , which, perhaps, was also associated with the song "Katyusha". And for our infantry, the volley of Katyushas was the most pleasant music.

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

In the German troops, these machines were called "Stalin's organs" because of the external similarity of the rocket launcher with the pipe system of this musical instrument and the powerful staggering roar that was produced when the rockets were launched.

During the battles for Poznan and Berlin, the M-30 and M-31 single launchers 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 guardsmen broke through any walls.

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

Here are excerpts from the directive to the troops of the Nazi high military command: “The Russians have an automatic multi-barreled 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 specifications a new Soviet weapon - a rocket-propelled mortar.

A striking example of the effectiveness of the Guards mortar units, and their basis was the "Katyusha", can serve as a line from the memoirs of Marshal Zhukov: "Rockets by their actions produced complete devastation. I looked at the areas where the shelling was carried out, and saw the complete destruction of the defensive structures ... "

The Germans developed a special plan to capture new Soviet weapons and ammunition. In the late autumn of 1941, they managed to do this. The "captured" mortar was really "multi-barreled" and fired 16 rocket mines. His firepower several times more effective than the mortar, which was in service with the fascist army. Hitler's command decided to create an equivalent weapon.

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

We must pay tribute to its creators - scientists, engineers, technicians and workers of the Moscow Reactive Research Institute (RNII) and related enterprises: V. Aborenkov, V. Artemiev, 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 an unusually bold and unexpected concept: mortars could reliably hit all targets of a given square with relatively inaccurate rocket-propelled mines. This was achieved precisely due to the salvo nature of the fire, since each point of the shelled area 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 began when trying to design, develop and establish mass production of similar rockets. It turned out that German gunpowder cannot burn in the chamber of a rocket engine as stably and steadily as Soviet ones. Analogues designed by the Germans Soviet ammunition behaved unpredictably: either they sluggishly descended from the guides to immediately fall to the ground, or they started flying at breakneck speed and exploded in the air from an excessive increase in pressure inside the chamber. Only a few units made it to 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 no higher than 40 conventional units, and the smaller the spread, the more stable the powder burns. Similar German gunpowder had a spread of this parameter even in one batch above 100 units. This led to unstable operation of rocket engines.

The Germans did not know that ammunition for the Katyusha was the fruit of more than a decade of activity of the RNII and several large Soviet research teams, which included the best Soviet powder 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 recipes for rocket powders, but also found simple and effective ways their mass, continuous and cheap production.

At a time when the production of Guards rocket launchers and projectiles for them was unfolding at an unprecedented pace at Soviet factories according to ready-made drawings and literally daily increased, the Germans only had to conduct research and design work according to MLRS. But history didn't give them time for that.

The article is based on the materials of the book Nepomniachtchi N.N. "100 great secrets of World War II", M., "Veche", 2010, p. 152-157.

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

many children preschool age like to play with cars and tanks, planes and armored cars. 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 appliances of such a size that the baby can fit in there and play with friends in the room.

Corrugated Carton Tank

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

Then we start working on the tracks. Carefully remove from cardboard upper layer paper so that the corrugated part remains on top. Then we cut out two strips 4 cm wide, the length corresponds to the perimeter of the case. The wavy part of the element is located outward, and the smooth side is smeared with PVA glue and glued to the edges of the case 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 in the middle of the caterpillar. For the layout, it remains only to create a gun. First we do triangular base where the muzzle cylinder will be inserted. It can be rolled from simple 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 of thick packaging cardboard. In the manufacture of military equipment from paper and craftsmen often enjoy significant cost savings. And it’s easy to assemble such layouts. This option the tank is made whole by folding and folding cardboard. The hull is assembled together with the tower. To do this, take a wide strip and bend to form the hull and tower. Then the sides are cut out along the contour, they are glued to the adhesive tape or from the inside to the strips of paper. A square hole is cut from the top with a sharp knife. This is a tank hatch in which a child can put soldiers.

Caterpillars are made according to the same principle and attached to the sides. It remains to roll a triangular barrel out of cardboard and, having made a hole of the same shape in front of the tower, insert the gun barrel there. That's it, the do-it-yourself model of military equipment is made! You can start the game.

big plane

Such a large combat vehicle is made for kids. They can sit there and fly the plane while playing in the room. Making this 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 it is convenient for the child to climb there.

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

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

DIY paper machines

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

The purchase option is enough to cut it with scissors and glue it together, smearing the white corners with PVA glue. If you do not have such a scheme, you can use the drawing of the combat vehicle presented in the article, and, having redrawn it, assemble the finished layout.

The Soviet multiple launch rocket system "Katyusha" is one of the most recognizable characters Great Patriotic War . In terms of popularity, the legendary Katyusha is not much inferior to the T-34 or PPSh assault rifle. Until now, it is not known for certain where this name came from (there are numerous versions), the Germans called these installations "Stalin's organs" and were terribly afraid of them.

"Katyusha" is the collective name of several rocket launchers times of the Great Patriotic War. Soviet propaganda presented them as exclusively domestic "know-how", which was not true. Work in this direction was carried out in many countries and the famous German six-barreled mortars are also MLRS, however, of a slightly different design. Rocket artillery was also used by the Americans and the British.

Nevertheless, the Katyusha became the most efficient and most mass-produced vehicle of its kind in World War II. BM-13 is a real weapon of Victory. She took part in all significant battles on the Eastern Front, clearing the way for infantry formations. The first volley of Katyushas was fired in the summer of 1941, and four years later, BM-13 installations were already shelling besieged Berlin.

A bit of history of the BM-13 "Katyusha"

Several reasons contributed to the revival of interest in rocket weapons: firstly, more perfect species gunpowder, which made it possible to significantly increase the range of rockets; secondly, rockets were perfect as weapons for combat aircraft; and thirdly, rockets could be used to deliver poisonous substances.

The last reason was the most important: based on the experience of the First World War, the military had little doubt that the next conflict would definitely not do without war gases.

In the USSR, the creation of rocket weapons began with the experiments of two enthusiasts - Artemiev and Tikhomirov. In 1927, smokeless pyroxylin-TNT gunpowder was created, and in 1928, the first rocket was developed that managed to fly 1300 meters. At the same time, the targeted development of missile weapons for aviation began.

In 1933, experimental samples of aviation rockets of two calibers appeared: RS-82 and RS-132. The main drawback of the new weapon, which did not suit the military at all, was their low accuracy. The shells had a small tail, which did not go beyond its caliber, and a pipe was used as guides, which was very convenient. However, to improve the accuracy of the missiles, their plumage had to be increased and new guides had to be developed.

In addition, pyroxylin-TNT gunpowder was not very well suited for mass production of this type of weapon, so it was decided to use tubular nitroglycerin gunpowder.

In 1937, they tested new missiles with increased plumage and new open rail-type guides. Innovations significantly improved the accuracy of fire and increased the range of the rocket. In 1938, the RS-82 and RS-132 rockets were put into service and began to be mass-produced.

In the same year, designers were given new task: create a reactive system for ground forces, taking as a basis a 132 mm caliber rocket.

In 1939, the 132-mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile M-13 was ready, it had a more powerful warhead and an increased flight range. It was possible to achieve such results by lengthening the ammunition.

In the same year, the first MU-1 rocket launcher was also manufactured. Eight short guides were installed across the truck, sixteen rockets were attached to them in pairs. This design turned out to be very unsuccessful, during the volley the car swayed strongly, which led to a significant decrease in the accuracy of the battle.

In September 1939, tests began on a new rocket launcher, the MU-2. The three-axle truck ZiS-6 served as the basis for it, this machine provided combat complex high maneuverability, allowed to quickly change positions after each volley. Now guides for missiles were located along the car. In one salvo (about 10 seconds), the MU-2 fired sixteen shells, the weight of the installation with ammunition was 8.33 tons, and the firing range exceeded eight kilometers.

With this design of the guides, the rocking of the car during the salvo became minimal, in addition, two jacks were installed in the rear of the car.

In 1940, state tests of the MU-2 were carried out, and it was accepted into service under the designation "BM-13 rocket launcher".

The day before the start of the war (June 21, 1941), the government of the USSR decided to mass-produce BM-13 combat systems, ammunition for them, and form special units for their use.

The very first experience of using the BM-13 at the front showed their high efficiency and contributed to the active production of this type of weapon. During the war, Katyusha was produced by several factories, and mass production of ammunition for them was launched.

Artillery units armed with BM-13 installations were considered elite, immediately after the formation they received the name of the guards. The reactive systems BM-8, BM-13 and others were officially called "guards mortars".

The use of BM-13 "Katyusha"

The first combat use of rocket launchers took place in mid-July 1941. Orsha, a large junction station in Belarus, was occupied by the Germans. It accumulated a large amount of military equipment and manpower of the enemy. It was for this purpose that the battery of rocket launchers (seven units) of Captain Flerov fired two volleys.

As a result of the actions of the artillerymen, the railway junction was practically wiped off the face of the earth, the Nazis suffered severe losses in people and equipment.

"Katyusha" was used in other sectors of the front. New soviet weapons was a very unpleasant surprise for the German command. Especially strong psychological impact the pyrotechnic effect of the use of shells on the Wehrmacht military personnel: after the Katyusha salvo, literally everything that could burn was burned. This effect was achieved through the use of TNT checkers in the shells, which, during the explosion, formed thousands of burning fragments.

Rocket artillery was actively used in the battle near Moscow, Katyushas destroyed the enemy near Stalingrad, they were tried to be used as anti-tank weapons on the Kursk salient. To do this, special recesses were made under the front wheels of the car, so the Katyusha could fire direct fire. However, the use of the BM-13 against tanks was less effective, since the M-13 rocket was high-explosive fragmentation, and not armor-piercing. In addition, "Katyusha" has never been distinguished by high accuracy of fire. But if her projectile hit the tank, all the attachments of the vehicle were destroyed, the turret often jammed, and the crew received a severe shell shock.

Rocket launchers were used with great success until the Victory itself, they took part in the storming of Berlin and other operations of the final stage of the war.

In addition to the famous BM-13 MLRS, there was also the BM-8 rocket launcher, which used 82 mm caliber rockets, and over time, heavy jet systems that launched 310 mm rockets.

During the Berlin operation soviet soldiers actively used the experience of street fighting, which they received during the capture of Poznan and Königsberg. It consisted in firing single heavy rockets M-31, M-13 and M-20 direct fire. Special assault groups were created, which included an electrical engineer. The rocket was launched from machine guns, wooden caps, or simply from any flat surface. The hit of such a projectile could well destroy the house or guaranteed to suppress the enemy's firing point.

During the war years, about 1400 BM-8 installations, 3400 BM-13 and 100 BM-31 installations were lost.

However, the history of the BM-13 did not end there: in the early 60s, the USSR supplied these installations to Afghanistan, where they were actively used by government troops.

Device BM-13 "Katyusha"

The main advantage of the BM-13 rocket launcher is its extreme simplicity both in production and in use. The artillery part of the installation consists of eight guides, a frame on which they are located, swivel and lifting mechanisms, sights and electrical equipment.

The guides were a five-meter I-beam with special overlays. In the breech of each of the guides, a locking device and an electric fuse were installed, with which a shot was fired.

The guides were mounted on a swivel frame, which, with the help of the simplest lifting and turning mechanisms, provided vertical and horizontal aiming.

Each Katyusha was equipped with an artillery sight.

The crew of the car (BM-13) consisted of 5-7 people.

The M-13 rocket projectile consisted of two parts: a combat and a jet powder engine. Warhead, in which there was an explosive and a contact fuse, is very reminiscent of the warhead of a conventional high-explosive fragmentation projectile.

The powder engine of the M-13 projectile consisted of a chamber with a powder charge, a nozzle, a special grid, stabilizers and a fuse.

The main problem faced by the developers missile systems(and not only in the USSR), the accuracy of the accuracy of the accuracy of rockets became low. To stabilize their flight, the designers went in two ways. German rockets of six-barreled mortars rotated in flight due to obliquely located nozzles, and flat stabilizers were installed on Soviet PCs. To give the projectile greater accuracy, it was necessary to increase its initial speed; for this, the guides on the BM-13 received a greater length.

The German method of stabilization made it possible to reduce the dimensions of both the projectile itself and the weapon from which it was fired. However, this significantly reduced the firing range. Although, it should be said that the German six-barreled mortars were more accurate than the Katyushas.

The Soviet system was simpler and allowed firing at considerable distances. Later, the installations began to use spiral guides, which further increased the accuracy.

Modifications of "Katyusha"

During the war years, numerous modifications of both rocket launchers and ammunition for them were created. Here are just a few of them:

BM-13-SN - this installation had spiral guides that gave the projectile a rotational motion, which significantly increased its accuracy.

BM-8-48 - this rocket launcher used 82 mm caliber shells and had 48 guides.

BM-31-12 - this rocket launcher used 310 mm caliber projectiles for firing.

310 mm caliber rockets were originally used for firing from the ground, only then did a self-propelled gun appear.

The first systems were created on the basis of the ZiS-6 car, then they were most often installed on cars received under Lend-Lease. It must be said that with the beginning of Lend-Lease, only foreign vehicles were used to create rocket launchers.

In addition, rocket launchers (from M-8 shells) were installed on motorcycles, snowmobiles, and armored boats. Guides were installed on railway platforms, tanks T-40, T-60, KV-1.

To understand how mass weapons there were Katyushas, ​​it is enough to give two figures: from 1941 to the end of 1944, Soviet industry manufactured 30 thousand launchers of various types and 12 million shells for them.

During the war years, several types of 132 mm caliber rockets were developed. The main areas of modernization were to increase the accuracy of fire, increase the range of the projectile and its power.

Advantages and disadvantages of the BM-13 Katyusha rocket launcher

The main advantage of rocket launchers was the large number of shells they fired in one salvo. If several MLRS were working on the same area at once, then the destructive effect increased due to the interference of shock waves.

Easy to use. "Katyushas" were distinguished by their extremely simple design, they were also simple sights this installation.

Low cost and ease of manufacture. During the war, the production of rocket launchers was established at dozens of factories. The production of ammunition for these complexes did not present any particular difficulties. Particularly eloquent is the comparison of the cost of the BM-13 and the usual artillery piece similar caliber.

Installation mobility. The time of one BM-13 volley is approximately 10 seconds, after the volley the vehicle left the firing line, without being exposed to enemy return fire.

However, this weapon also had disadvantages, the main one was the low accuracy of fire due to the large dispersion of shells. This problem was partially solved by the BM-13SN, but it has not been finally solved for modern MLRS either.

Insufficient high-explosive action of M-13 shells. "Katyusha" was not very effective against long-term defensive fortifications and armored vehicles.

Short firing range compared to cannon artillery.

Large consumption of gunpowder in the manufacture of rockets.

Strong smoke during the salvo, which served as an unmasking factor.

The high center of gravity of the BM-13 installations led to frequent rollovers of the vehicle during the march.

Specifications "Katyusha"

Characteristics of the combat vehicle

Characteristics of the M-13 rocket

Video about MLRS "Katyusha"

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