When, at a firing range, soldiers and commanders asked a GAU representative to name the “true” name of the combat installation, he advised: “Call the installation as an ordinary 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:

1After the title of Blanter’s song, which became popular before the war, based on the words of Isakovsky< КАТЮША>.

The version is convincing, since the battery first fired on July 14, 1941 at a gathering of fascists on Bazarnaya Square in the city of Rudnya, Smolensk region. Shot from high steep mountain direct fire - 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. 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, 2010, the veteran and “godfather” of Katyusha turned 89 years old.

2By the abbreviation “KAT” - there is a version that this is what the rangers called the BM-13 - “Kostikovsky automatic thermal” (according to another source - “Cumulative artillery thermal”), after the name of the project manager, (however, given the secrecy of the project, the possibility of exchanging information between rangers and front-line soldiers is doubtful).

3Another option is 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).

4The fourth version suggests that this is what the girls from the Moscow Kompressor plant who worked on the assembly dubbed these cars.

5Another, 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.

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

7There is an assumption that the initial nickname “Katyusha” was a front-line bomber equipped with rockets - an analogue of the M-13. And this nickname jumped from an airplane to a rocket launcher through the same shells.

And further Interesting Facts about the names of BM-13:

• On the Northwestern Front, the installation was initially called “Raisa Sergeevna”, thus decoding RS - that is, a rocket.

• In the German troops, these machines were called “Stalin's organs” because external resemblance jet plant with a 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. From a distance of 100-200 meters, the guards used these shells to pierce any walls.

Since the advent of rocket artillery - RA, its units have been subordinate to the Supreme High Command. They were used to strengthen the rifle divisions defending in the first echelon, which significantly increased their firepower and increased stability in defensive battles. The requirements for the use of new weapons were massiveness and surprise.

It is also worth noting that during the Great Patriotic War“Katyusha” repeatedly fell into the hands of the enemy (the first was captured on August 22, 1941, southeast of Staraya Russa by Manstein’s 56th motorized corps, and the BM-8-24 installation, captured on the Leningrad Front, even became the prototype of the German 8 cm rocket launchers Raketen-Vielfachwerfer.

During the Battle of Moscow, due to the difficult situation at the front, the command was forced to use rocket artillery on a divisional basis. But by the end of 1941, the number of rocket artillery in the troops increased significantly and reached 5-10 divisions in the armies operating in the main direction. Controlling the fire and maneuver of a large number of divisions, as well as supplying them with ammunition and other types of food, became difficult. By decision of the Headquarters, the creation of 20 Guards mortar regiments began in January 1942. “The Guards Mortar Regiment - GMP artillery of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command of the RVG in the state consisted of three divisions of three batteries. Each battery had four combat vehicles. Thus, a salvo of only one division of 12 BM-13-16 GMP vehicles (Staff Directive No. 002490 prohibited the use of RA in numbers of less than a division) could be comparable in strength to a salvo of 12 heavy howitzer regiments of the RVGK (48 152 mm howitzers per regiment) or 18 heavy howitzer brigades of the RVGK (32 152 mm howitzers per brigade).
The emotional effect was also important: during the salvo, all the missiles were fired almost simultaneously - within a few seconds the ground in the target area was literally plowed up by rockets. The mobility of the installation made it possible to quickly change position and avoid a retaliatory strike from the enemy.

On July 17, 1942, in the area of ​​the village of Nalyuchi, a salvo of 144 launching frames equipped with 300-mm rockets was heard. This was the first use of a somewhat less famous related weapon - "Andryusha".

In July-August 42, the Katyushas (three regiments and a separate division) were the main striking force of the Mobile Mechanized Group of the Southern Front, which held back the advance of the 1st for several days tank army Germans south of Rostov. This is even reflected in the diary of General Halder: “increased Russian resistance south of Rostov”

In August 1942, in the city of Sochi, in the garage of the Caucasian Riviera sanatorium, under the leadership of the head of mobile repair workshop No. 6, military engineer of the 3rd rank A. Alferov, a portable version of the installation was created based on M-8 shells, which was later called the “mountain Katyusha”. The first “mountain Katyushas” entered service with the 20th Mountain Rifle Division and were used in battles at the Goytkh Pass. In February - March 1943, two divisions of “Mountain Katyushas” became part of the troops defending the legendary bridgehead on Malaya Zemlya near Novorossiysk. In addition, 4 installations based on railcars were created at the Sochi locomotive depot, which were used to protect the city of Sochi from the shore. The minesweeper "Skumbria" was equipped with eight installations, which covered the landing on Malaya Zemlya

In September 1943, the Katyusha maneuver along the front line made it possible to carry out a sudden flank attack on the Bryansk Front.During the artillery preparation, 6,000 were spent rockets and only 2000 barreled. As a result, the German defense was “collapsed” in the zone of the entire front - 250 kilometers.

The history of BM-13 - the famous Katyushas - is a very bright and at the same time controversial page of the Great Patriotic War. We decided to talk about some of the mysteries of this legendary weapon.

The mystery of the first salvo

Officially, the 1st experimental Katyusha battery (5 out of 7 installations) under the command of Captain Flerov fired the first salvo at 15:15. July 14, 1941 at the railway junction in Orsha. The following description of what happened is often given: “A cloud of smoke and dust rose over the ravine overgrown with bushes where the battery was hidden. There was a rumbling grinding sound. Throwing tongues of bright flame from the guides launchers More than a hundred cigar-shaped shells quickly slid down. For a moment, black arrows were visible in the sky, gaining height with increasing speed. Elastic jets of ash-white gases burst out with a roar from their bottoms. And then everything disappeared together.” (...)

“And a few seconds later, in the very thick of the enemy troops, explosions thundered one after another, gradually shaking the ground. Where wagons with ammunition and tanks with fuel had just stood, huge geysers of fire and smoke shot up.”

But if you open any reference literature, you can see that the city of Orsha was abandoned Soviet troops a day later. And who was the salvo fired at? Imagine that the enemy was able to change the rut in a matter of hours railway and driving trains into the station is problematic.

It is even more unlikely that the first to enter the captured city from the Germans are trains with ammunition, for the delivery of which even captured Soviet locomotives and wagons are used.

Nowadays, the hypothesis has become widespread that Captain Flerov received an order to destroy Soviet trains at the station with property that could not be left to the enemy. Maybe so, but there is no direct confirmation of this version yet. The author of the article heard another assumption from one of the officers of the Belarusian army that several salvos were fired, and if on July 14 the target was the German troops approaching Orsha, then the attack on the station itself took place a day later.

But these are still hypotheses that make you think and compare facts, but are not yet established and confirmed by documents. At the moment, from time to time an unscientific dispute even arises: where did Flerov’s battery first enter the battle - near Orsha or near Rudnya? The distance between these cities is quite decent - more than 50 km directly, and much further along the roads.

We read in the same Wikipedia, which does not pretend to be scientific - “July 14, 1941 (the city of Rudnya) became the site of the first combat use“Katyusha”, when a battery of rocket mortars by I. A. Flerov, with direct fire, covered a concentration of Germans on the city’s Market Square. In honor of this event, there is a monument in the city - “Katyusha” on a pedestal.”

Firstly, direct fire for Katyushas is practically impossible, and secondly, weapons operating across squares will cover not only the market square with Germans and apparently city residents, but also several blocks around. What happened there is another question. One thing can be stated quite accurately - from the very beginning, the new weapon showed its best side and lived up to the hopes placed on it. A note from the chief of artillery of the Red Army N. Voronov addressed to Malenkov on August 4, 1941 noted:

“The means are strong. Production should be increased. Continuously form units, regiments and divisions. It is better to use it massively and maintain maximum surprise.”

The mystery of the death of Flerov's battery

The circumstances surrounding the death of Flerov’s battery on October 7, 1941 still remain mysterious. It is often stated that the battery, having fired a direct fire salvo, was destroyed by the crew.
Let us repeat: for Katyushas, ​​direct fire is extremely dangerous and close to suicidal - there is a very high risk that a missile that has slipped from the guides will fall next to the installation. According to the Soviet version, the battery was blown up, and out of 170 soldiers and commanders, only 46 managed to escape from the ring.

Among those killed in this battle was Ivan Andreevich Flerov. On November 11, 1963, he was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and in 1995, the brave commander was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. Fragments of rocket launchers discovered at the site of the battery's destruction have also survived to this day.

The German version claims, in turn, that German troops managed to capture three of the seven installations. Although the first installations of the BM-13, if you believe again German photographs, apparently fell into the hands of the enemy much earlier, back in August 1941.

"Katyushas" and "donkeys"

Rocket artillery was not new to German troops. In the Red Army, German rocket launchers were often called “donkeys” for the characteristic sound they made when firing. Contrary to popular belief, both installations and missiles still fell into the hands of the enemy, but direct copying, as was the case with samples of Soviet small arms and artillery weapons, did not occur.

And the development of German rocket artillery took a slightly different path. For the first time during the Great Patriotic War, German troops used 150 mm rocket-propelled mortars in the battles for the Brest Fortress; their use was noted during the assault on Mogilev and in a number of other events. Soviet BM-13 rocket launchers were superior to German systems in terms of firing range, while at the same time being inferior in accuracy. The number of Soviet tanks, guns, aircraft, small arms, released during the war, but there are no figures yet regarding the number of Soviet rocket launchers, as well as the number of Katyushas lost during the war.

It is clear that this was a massive weapon and played a big role in all the key military events of the Great Patriotic War.

The famous phrase: “I don’t know with what weapons the third world war will be fought, but the fourth will be fought with sticks and stones” belongs to Albert Einstein. Perhaps everyone understands what the great scientist meant.

The process of development and improvement of weapons, going hand in hand with the achievements of science and technology, ultimately leads to the mass destruction of people. The father of the “theory of relativity” aphoristically explained what the outcome could be. What is there to argue about...?

But here's the paradox. Understanding that any weapon is intended to destroy a person (the nonsense about lethal and non-lethal is not worth repeating), people respectfully preserve the memory of its individual types.

“Weapon of victory”: T-34 tank or Katyusha rocket launcher.

Who hasn't heard of the Mosin three-line gun or the famous Maxim machine gun? Don’t the T-34 tank or the Katyusha rocket launcher deservedly bear the title “Weapon of Victory”. It's like that. And as long as the “doves of peace” give way to the “hawks,” weapons will continue to be produced.

How the weapon of Victory was created

Missiles, the principle of operation of which is based on powder rockets, have been tried to be used in many armies e back in the 19th century. Moreover, by the end of the century before last, they were even abandoned as ineffective. This was justified as follows:

• there was a danger of injury to one's own personnel in the unauthorized explosion of such shells;
• large dispersion and insufficient shooting accuracy;
• short flight range, practically no different from this indicator for cannon artillery.

The cause of the shortcomings was the use of low-quality rocket fuel. Black powder (black powder) was not suitable, and there was no other option. And for almost half a century they forgot about rockets. But as it turned out, not forever.

In the Soviet Union, work on creating new shells began in the early 20s. This process was led by engineers N.I. Tikhomirov and V.A. Artemyev.

by the end of the year, after numerous tests, 82 and 132 mm air-to-ground projectiles were created for aviation

The test results showed good results. The flight range was 5 and 6 km, respectively. But the large dispersion negated the effect of the shot.

As in other areas of the country’s life, many engineers and designers - the authors of new types of weapons - experienced the “delights” of repression. Nevertheless, in 1937-38. RS-82 and RS-132 missiles were developed and put into service for bomber aviation

At the same time, work was underway to create similar ammunition, but for artillery. The most successful option turned out to be a modified RS-132, which became known as the M-13.

After regular tests carried out on June 21, 1945, the new M-13 projectile was sent into mass production. Accordingly, BM-13 launchers, the Katyusha weapon of victory, also began to be produced.

Military vehicle Katyusha BM-13 with launcher

The first unit equipped with the new systems to arrive at the front was a battery consisting of 7 launchers based on ZiS-6 trucks. The unit was commanded by Captain Flerov.

Katyusha fired her first salvo on July 16, 1941 at the railway junction of Orsha station, where a large number of enemy troops were located. The effect was impressive. Explosions and flames destroyed everything. After delivering the first crushing blow, Katyusha became the main weapon of the Second World War.

The successful results of using rocket mortars (following Captain Flerov’s unit, 7 more batteries were formed) contributed to increasing the pace of production of new weapons.

By the fall of 1941, the defense industry was able to deliver about 600 BM-13s to the front, which made it possible to form 45 divisions. Each battery contains three batteries with four launchers. These units were equipped with military equipment and personnel first and 100%.

Later, the reorganization of rocket artillery began, uniting individual divisions into regiments. The regiments had four divisional composition (in addition to three jets there was one anti-aircraft division). The regiment was armed with 36 Katyushas and 12 anti-aircraft guns (37 mm caliber).

The regiment was armed with 36 Katyushas and 12 anti-aircraft guns.

Each regiment had 1,414 personnel on staff. The formed regiments were immediately awarded the rank of Guards and were officially called Guards Mortar Regiments.

During the war, for the creators of rocket artillery, despite the results achieved, the combat missions remained unchanged: to increase the firing range, increase the power of the missile warhead, and increase the accuracy and accuracy of fire.

To solve them, work was simultaneously carried out to improve the missile charge and to increase the combat capabilities of the missile projectile as a whole. Along with the shells that were put into service even before the war, the M-31 version was developed and began to be mass-produced.

BM-13 on Studebaker

Characteristics of rockets

Options	M-13	M-8	M-31
Body weight rocket engine, kg	14	4,1	29
Inner diameter of the case, mm	123,5	73	128
Case wall thickness, mm	4	3,5	5
Diameter of the critical section of the nozzle α cr, mm	37,5	19	45
Diameter of the nozzle bell α a, mm	75	43	76,5
Ratio α a /α cr	2	2,26	1,7
Pobedonostsev criterion	170	100	160
Charge density, g/cm 3	1,15	1,0	1,0
Engine mass perfection coefficient α	1,95	3,5	2,6
Engine intensity indicator β, kgf.s/kg	95	55	70

The Germans were terribly afraid of these deadly weapons of ours, calling them “Stalin’s organs.” Rocket shells were most often used to suppress an advancing enemy. Usually after application missile strike infantry and tanks stopped moving forward and were not active for a long time on this section of the front.

Therefore, the rapid development of rocket artillery during the war does not need explanation.

launchers and 12 million missile shells were produced by the country's defense industry in the period from 1941-1945

The bulk of the installations were based first on ZiS-6 vehicles, and after deliveries under Lend-Lease to American cars"Studebakers". Others have also been used vehicles: motorcycles, snowmobiles, armored boats, railway platforms and even certain types of tanks. But BM-13, "Katyusha" was the most effective installation.

The secret behind the name of the BM-13 rocket launcher is “Katyusha”

The practice of assigning official and unofficial names to certain types of weapons has been known for a long time. It exists in many countries of the world.

In the Red Army, some tank models were named statesmen(KV - Kliment Voroshilov, IS - Joseph Stalin), the aircraft were named after the names of their creators (La-Lavochkin, Pe-Petlyakov).

But to the factory abbreviations artillery systems, taking into account their characteristics, proper names were added by the soldier’s invention (For example, the M-30 howitzer was called “Mother”).

There are several versions about why artillery installation“Katyusha” received exactly this name:

1. The name of the rocket launcher is associated with the popular song “Katyusha” by M. Isakovsky and M. Blanter. The first salvo of the rocket battery was fired from a hill. So an association arose with a line from the song...
2. On the body of the mortar there was the letter “K”, denoting the plant named after. Comintern. It is possible that the first letter of the name was the reason for assigning it to the rocket launcher.
3. There is another version. In the battles at Khalkhin Gol, bomber aircraft used M-132 shells, the ground analogue of which was the M-13 Katyusha ammunition. And these planes were sometimes called “Katyushas”.

In any case, the most widespread, well-known and deserving of the title “weapon of Victory” rocket-propelled mortar (and during the war it was not the only one) was the “Katyusha”.

Modifications of military equipment Katyusha

Even during the war years, German specialists tried to obtain a description, characteristics, diagrams, technical details, associated with formidable Soviet weapons. Was dedicated to one of the episodes of the war associated with the increased secrecy surrounding the BM-13 Feature Film"Special forces team".

As already noted, several modifications of rocket launchers were created during the war. Among them it is worth highlighting:

A feature of this installation is the presence of spiral guides. This innovation contributed to increased shot accuracy.

Military equipment Katyusha BM-13-SN (photo)

BM-8-48

Here the relationship between quantity and quality was tested. A less powerful M-8 projectile was used and at the same time the number of guides was increased to 48.

The numbers show that the more powerful 310mm M-31 ammunition was used for this installation.

But, apparently, the developers of new variants, trying to improve the BM-13, came to the banal conclusion that the best is the enemy of the good. The characteristics presented in the table emphasize the main advantage of the Guards mortar - its simplicity.

Performance characteristics of BM-13

CharacteristicBM-13 launcher		Characteristic rocket M-13
Chassis	ZiS-6	Caliber (mm)	132
Number of guides	16	Stabilizer blade span (mm)	300
Guide length	5	Length (mm)	1465
Elevation angle (deg)	+4/+ 45	Weight, kg)
Horizontal aiming angle (deg)	-10/+10	loaded ammunition	42,36
Length in stowed position (m)	6,7	equipped warhead	21,3
Width (m)	2,3	bursting charge	4,9
Height in stowed position (m)	2,8	loaded jet engine	20,8
Weight without shells (kg)	7200	Projectile speed (m/sec)
Engine power (hp)	73	when leaving the guide	70
Speed ​​(km/h)	50	maximum	355
Crew (persons)	7	Length of active trajectory section (m)	1125
Transition from traveling position. in combat (min)	2-3	Maximum firing range (m)	8470
Installation charging time (min)	5-10
Full salvo time - 7-10 minutes

Advantages and disadvantages

The simple design of the Katyusha and its launcher is the main trump card in evaluating the BM-13 batteries. The artillery unit consists of eight five-meter I-beam guides, a frame, a rotating mechanism and starting electrical equipment.

During technical improvements, a lifting mechanism and an aiming device appeared on the installation.

The crew consisted of 5-7 people.

The Katyusha rocket consisted of two parts: a combat one, similar to a high-explosive fragmentation artillery round, and a rocket propellant projectile.

The ammunition was also quite simple and inexpensive. In a word, along with the effectiveness of combat use, the simplicity and low cost of the system can easily be attributed to the advantages of the Katyusha.

For the sake of objectivity, it is necessary to point out the shortcomings of the BM-13:

• low accuracy and dispersion of projectiles when firing a salvo. With the advent of spiral guides, this problem was partially solved. By the way, modern MLRS still have these shortcomings to some extent;
• short, compared to cannon artillery, range of combat use;
• the heavy smoke that appeared during the shooting unmasked the unit’s combat position;
• the high-explosive fragmentation effect of the rocket did not pose a particular danger to those in long-term shelters or armored vehicles;
• The tactics of the BM-13 divisions provided for their rapid movement from one to another firing positions. The increased center of gravity of cars often led to their overturning while on the move.

Post-war history of the multiple launch rocket system

After the victory, the story of the creation of Katyusha continued. Work to improve the multiple rocket launcher has not stopped. They continued in Peaceful time. The main model was the BM-13-SN rocket system, which was improved and tested with to varying degrees success continued for several years.

It is interesting that the Katyusha multiple launch rocket system, almost unchanged (only the chassis changed), remained in demand until 1991. The USSR sold MLRS to almost all socialist and some developing countries. And Iran, China, Czechoslovakia and North Korea produced them.

If we abstract from complex technical innovations, then all the post-war MLRS, known under the names: BM-24, BM-21 “Grad”, 220 mm “Hurricane”, “Smerch”, can undoubtedly consider the world-famous “ Katyusha."

Subsequently, by analogy with “Katyusha”, the nickname “Andryusha” was given by Soviet soldiers to another rocket artillery installation BM-31-12, but this nickname did not become so widespread and popular.

History of the creation of weapons

M-13 shell

Memorial Complex"Katyusha" in Orsha, not far from the site of one of its first combat uses. The BM-13 mock-up was assembled using original parts from a guards mortar and a real ZiS-6 truck.

Memorial complex in the village of Pishchalovo, Orsha district. Place of first use of the BM-13 "KATYUSHA" installation

Back in 1920, employees of the Riga VEF plant, under the leadership of Alexander Tipainis, developed an experimental prototype of the Oscars experimental rocket launcher. Despite the success of the prototype, no funds were allocated for further production and the project never reached the mass production stage. In January 1921, drawings and other important documentation fell into the hands of Soviet agents. In 1921, employees of the Gas Dynamics Laboratory N.I. Tikhomirov and V.A. Artemyev began developing rockets for aircraft.

In 1938-1941 at Research Institute No. 3 NKB (since 1938, former RNII) under the leadership of chief designer A. V. Kostikov, engineers: I. I. Gvai, V. N. Galkovsky, A. P. Pavlenko, R. I. Popov, N . I. Tikhomirov, V. A. Artemyev, K. A. Kerimov and others created a multi-charge launcher mounted on a truck.

In March 1941, field tests of the installations, designated BM-13 (combat vehicle with 132 mm caliber shells), were successfully carried out. The 132 mm M-13 rocket and the launcher based on the ZIS-6 BM-13 truck were put into service on June 21, 1941; It was this type of combat vehicle that first received the nickname “Katyusha”. The BM-13 installations were first tested in combat conditions at 10 a.m. on July 14, 1941. The battery of Captain Flerov, who took part in the creation of the BM-13, fired at enemy troops and equipment at the railway junction of the city of Orsha. Since the spring of 1942, the rocket mortar was installed mainly on English and American all-wheel drive chassis imported under Lend-Lease. The most famous among them was the Studebaker US6. During the Great Patriotic War, a significant number of variants of RS shells and launchers for them were created; In total, Soviet industry produced approximately 10,000 rocket artillery combat vehicles during the war years.

Origin of the nickname

There is no single version of why the BM-13 began to be called “Katyusha”. There are several assumptions. The most common and well-founded are two versions of the origin of the nickname, which are not mutually exclusive:

• Based on the title of Blanter’s song, which became popular before the war, based on the words of Isakovsky “Katyusha”. The version is convincing, since Captain Flerov’s battery fired at the enemy, firing a salvo at the Market Square of the city of Rudnya. This was one of the first combat uses of Katyushas, ​​confirmed in historical literature. The installations were shooting from a high, steep mountain - the association with the high, steep bank in the song immediately arose among the fighters. Finally, until recently, Andrei Sapronov, a former sergeant of the headquarters company of the 217th separate communications battalion of the 144th Infantry Division of the 20th Army, was alive until recently, later 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 dated June 21-27, 2001 and in the Parliamentary newspaper No. 80 dated 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, 2012, the veteran and “godfather” of Katyusha turned 91, and on February 26, 2013 he passed away. He left his on the desk last job- a chapter about the first Katyusha salvo for the upcoming multi-volume history of the Great Patriotic War.
• The name may be associated with the “K” index on the mortar body - the installations were produced 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).

In addition to the two main ones, there are also many other, less well-known versions of the origin of the nickname - from very realistic to those of a purely legendary nature:

Similar nicknames

In addition to the popular nickname “Katyusha”, which became widely known throughout the world, in relation to Soviet rocket artillery combat vehicles during the Great Patriotic War, there were also a number of its analogues, less known.

There is an opinion, stated in English-language sources, that the BM-31-12 combat vehicle, by analogy with the Katyusha, received the nickname “Andryusha” from Soviet soldiers, although, perhaps, “Andryusha” was called the M-30. Also very popular, it, however, did not receive such significant distribution and fame as the Katyusha, and did not spread to other models of launchers; even the BM-31-12s themselves were often called “Katyushas” rather than by their own nickname. Following "Katyusha" with a Russian name Soviet fighters They also dubbed a German weapon of a similar type - the 15 cm Nb.W 41 (Nebelwerfer) towed rocket mortar, nicknamed "Vanyusha". In addition, the M-30 high-explosive rocket, used from the simplest portable frame-type multiple rocket launchers, subsequently also received several humorous nicknames of a similar type: “Ivan Dolbay”, associated with high destructive force shell, and "Luka" - on behalf of the character Luka Mudishchev from a pornographic poem of the 19th century, in connection with characteristic shape projectile head; Due to the obvious obscene subtext of the joke, the nickname “Luka,” which had a certain popularity among soldiers, was practically not reflected in the Soviet press and literature and remained little known in general.

Mortar launchers were called “Marusya” (derived from MARS - mortar artillery rockets), and on the Volkhov Front they were called “guitar”.

While in the Soviet troops the BM-13 combat vehicles and analogues received the stable nickname “Katyusha”, in the German troops these vehicles were nicknamed “Stalin’s organs” (German: Stalinorgel) - because of the association appearance package of rocket launcher guides with the pipe system of this musical instrument and because of the characteristic sound made when launching rockets. Soviet installations of this type became known under this nickname, in addition to Germany, also in a number of other countries - Denmark (Danish: Stalinorgel), Finland (Finnish: Stalinin urut), France (French: Orgues de Staline), Norway (Norwegian: Stalinorgel), The Netherlands (Dutch: Stalinorgel), Hungary (Hungarian: Sztálinorgona) and Sweden (Swedish: Stalins orgel).

It should be noted that the Soviet nickname “Katyusha” also spread among German soldiers - Katjuscha. From the memoirs of intelligence officer N.P. Rusanov, we know about the inadequate reaction of some German soldiers to this word:

When they brought him (the sergeant major) to his team, there was a Katyusha at the headquarters. As soon as the German heard this word “Katyusha”, he immediately shook all over, rushed to the side, so that the spruce was held back. How much laughter we boys had! .

Notes

1. Luknitsky P. N. Through the entire blockade. - L.: Lenizdat, 1988. - P. 193.
2. Gordon L. Rottman.// FUBAR (F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition): Soldier Slang of World War II. - Osprey, 2007. - P. 278-279. - 296 p. - ISBN 1-84603-175-3.
3. Katyusha- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
4. Steven J. Zaloga, James Grandsen. Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two. - London: Arms and Armor Press, 1984. - P. 153. - 240 p. - ISBN 0-85368-606-8.
5. “Luka” and “Katyusha” against “Vanyusha”. “Equipment and weapons” No. 1 1995
6. AKIMOV V.N., KOROTEEV A.S., GAFAROV A.A. and others. Weapon of victory - “Katyusha”. Weapon of Victory - “Katyusha” // Research Center named after M. V. Keldysh. 
7. 1933-2003: 70 years at the cutting edge of rocket and space technology. - M: "Mechanical Engineering", 2003. - P. 92-101. - 439 p. Pervushin A. I. "Red space. Starships Soviet Empire
8. " 2007. Moscow. "Yauza", "Eksmo". ISBN 5-699-19622-6
9. MILITARY LITERATURE - [Military History]- Fugate B., Operation Barbarossa Andronikov N. G., Galitsan A. S., Kiryan M. M. et al.
10. The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945: Dictionary-reference book / Under. ed. M. M. Kiryana. - M.: Politizdat, 1985. - P. 204. - 527 p. - 200,000 copies. "K-22" - Battle cruiser / [under general. ed. N. V. Ogarkova
11. ]. - M.: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, 1979. - P. 124. - (Soviet Military Encyclopedia: [in 8 volumes]; 1976-1980, vol. 4). “Luka” and “Katyusha” against “Vanyusha”. Multiple launch rocket systems in the Great Patriotic War (undefined)
12. . Independent Military Review (March 5, 2010). Retrieved November 29, 2011. Archived February 8, 2012. Warbot J. J.
13. "Etymology // Russian language. Encyclopedia. - 2nd ed., revised and supplemented. - M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia; Bustard, 1997. - P. 643-647. Lazarev L. L. The legend of the first "Katyusha"
14. // Touching the sky. - M.: Profizdat, 1984.
15. http://www.moscow-faq.ru/articles/other/2010/January/5070 http://operation-barbarossa.narod.ru/katuscha/m-31.htm Ivan Dolbay
16. Luknitsky P. N.// Large dictionary of Russian sayings / V. M. Mokienko, T. G. Nikitina. - M.: Olma Media Group.
17. Gordon L. Rottman. Through the entire blockade. - L.: Lenizdat, 1988. P. 193.

Stalinorgel // FUBAR (F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition): Soldier Slang of World War II. - Osprey, 2007. - P. 290. - 296 p. - ISBN 1-84603-175-3. 20 July 14, 1941 at one of the defense sites 1st Army, in the forest to the east Orsha

, 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.

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 declared 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 from the 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 "combat vehicle", and 13 was 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, and a fuels and lubricants, 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 the transportation of 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 who had experience of the Soviet-Finnish war behind him. 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, so that at the slightest threat of capture rocket weapons the enemy could have blown 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 the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command to decide already in August 1941 to form eight regiments of rocket artillery, which, even before participating in battles, were given the name “guards mortar regiments of the reserve artillery 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 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.

On the effectiveness of combat use of Katyushas 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 center of resistance with big amount dugouts and bunkers of 5-12 rolls, 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. But there were also problems. Mass production of launchers was established quickly, however wide application"Katyusha" was held back due to 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 a firing range, soldiers and commanders asked a GAU representative to name the “true” name of the combat installation, he advised: “Call the installation as an ordinary 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 that in the area of ​​​​the Orsha railway junction and the crossing of the Orshitsa River, Soviet troops first used BM-13 combat vehicles, 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 design and technical characteristics of the 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. Late autumn In 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 understand that the Soviet mortar they captured was a truly unique phenomenon, opening a new page in the development of artillery, the era of multiple launch rocket systems (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.

Copy "Katyusha" as combat vehicle was in principle possible. 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. The analogues of Soviet ammunition designed by the Germans behaved unpredictably: they either sluggishly left the guides only to immediately fall to the ground, or they began to fly 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 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 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.