Combat nations used it to save hostages by "justice from heaven". Who is this rocket launcher in the fifty-year-old
Not long ago, during an artillery training by the Russian army, a cannon appeared on the camera attracted people's attention. This type of cannon is a "veteran" in the fifty-year-old . Most of the weapons of his age have retreated to the second line. So, who is this "old cannon" that has served for more than half a century in combat? This is the Soviet/Russian BM-21 rocket launcher. .
BM-21 rocket launcher in exercise
For Soviet/Russian rocket launcher, the most familiar thing people are the BM-13 rocket launcher during World War II. This type of rocket launcher has a name more familiar to the public - "Katyusha". Therefore, when mentioning BM-13, perhaps many military fans will naturally hear Katyusha's melody in their minds, and they will also remind them of the scene when the Soviet army rocket launches were launched during World War II. The fiery flames flew out from the slide rails, bringing a great shock to the German armored cluster known for its blitz. It also made the military community at that time realize the significance of rocket launchers, a "terrifying" weapon, to future wars.
During World War II, the Soviet army's "Katyusha" rocket launcher
was amazed at the amazing performance of "Katyusha" in the war and the subsequent demand for "large-depth" operations. After the end of World War II, the Soviet Union realized that it was necessary to develop a rocket launcher with a range of about 20 kilometers and a partitioned reaction volley.
The 203rd Professional Design Bureau led by Yakins developed a rifled multi-barrel rocket launcher launch and loading device with a caliber of 122 mm; and the vehicle that installed hail rocket launcher was the best Ural-375 heavy-load truck in the Soviet Union at that time. Since 1960, the rocket of the hail rocket launcher system has entered the factory test stage, mainly testing the performance of the bullet engine. All work was carried out in an orderly manner, and by 1961, the first hail rocket launcher was manufactured.
On March 1, 1962, the BM-21 rocket launcher at the Leningrad shooting range was tested. During the test, the "hail" rocket launcher fired more than 663 shells, and the total driving distance of the launcher reached 10,000 kilometers. Designers have made improvements to the BM-21 based on some of the issues exposed during launch. By 1964, hail rocket launchers officially entered the mass production stage. However, the formal equipment was formally equipped in 1965, because the production of Ural -375D trucks did not keep up with the progress.
This rocket launcher, which represents the most advanced level at that time, is equipped with 40 launch tubes with a diameter of 122 mm, arranged in 4 layers of 10 each layer, and the layout is very simple. Under different combat environments, the BM-21 can launch different types of rockets, including high-explosive warheads, anti-tank (Blue) warheads, and even anti-submarine deepwater (bomb) warheads. The most typical one is the 9M22 killer and blasting rocket, with a length of 2870 mm and a weight of 66 kilograms. The warhead weighs 18.4 kilograms, including 6.4 kilograms of charge, 20.45 kilograms of solid fuel, a maximum flight speed of 690 meters/sec, a maximum range of 20.75 kilometers, and a minimum range of 5 kilometers. The 9M22U improved fragment explosion rocket developed later is also quite famous. Later, there were various types of bombs such as incendiary bombs, mother bullets, smoke bombs, flares, mine-branch bombs, and radio interference bombs, forming a huge ammunition family.
BM-21 ammunition structure diagram
In combat environment, the BM-21 hail rocket launcher can emit all 40 rounds of ammunition within 20 seconds. In an emergency, the hail rocket launcher can also perform sports shooting, and combat deployment is very convenient.
As the saying goes, "A famous general is equipped with a good horse." In order to be able to control these 40 122mm launch tubes, the BM-21 uses the Ural-375D (6X6) truck chassis. The maximum speed is 75 kilometers per hour, the total combat weight is 11.5 tons, the climbing slope is 31 degrees, the width of the trench is 875 mm, the wading depth is more than 1 meter, and it has strong off-road capabilities.
Currently, the Russian Motorized Infantry Division and Tank Division Artillery Regiment are all organized with a BM-21 rocket launcher battalion, each battalion is equipped with 24 (the other is 18) BM-21 rocket launcher. In the Soviets' vision that year, once a "nuclear war" broke out, the BM-21 would mainly be used to destroy the enemy's tactical nuclear weapons and bombard the enemy's artillery.
BM-21
was lucky. The above scene did not happen in reality, but this did not make BM-21 use its place.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, separatist forces rebelled and Russia attacked Chechnya with force. In the war, the armored cluster that was once arrogant and made NATO unable to sleep or eat was left with the vast continental plain and trapped in the ruins of Grozny , and had to bear the "greetings" of the Chechen rebels shot from all directions. The steel torrents naturally thought of "artillery fire support" when they had no choice.
BM-21
At this time, BM-21 naturally became an important force in the Russian army's firepower assault. In 1999, when the Russian army regrouped and returned to Grozny, the BM-21 "hail" rocket launcher ruthlessly reaped the lives of the rebels with terrifying flames, clearing a large number of obstacles for the Russian tanks and infantry.
If you think BM-21 can only act as a fire assault role in conventional combat, it means that your understanding is not comprehensive enough. The BM-21 rocket launcher has another outstanding performance in Chechnya. This time it plays a hostage savior who is "justice from heaven".
Speaking of saving hostages, people often think of special forces in their minds, holding guns of different shapes in their hands, and taking action is a "one-hit kill". Few people can associate such actions with rocket launchers that fight without distinguishing between enemies and us, and fight with a large number of rocket launchers. So what's going on?
On January 9, 1996, Chechen bandits attacked two hospitals in Kizliar City, the Republic of Dagestan, and took thousands of hostages. After negotiations, most of the hostages were released, but they still held 165 hostages and retreated into May Day Town. This was the May Day Town incident that shocked the world at that time. The Russian Federal Government Force organized a commando to attack May 1st Town and tried to rescue the hostages, but the poor coordination between Bu and Tan also suffered heavy losses. The Russian army had no choice but to transfer three BM-21 "hail" rocket artillery to attack the bandits who were entrenched in the town. The Chechen bandits could not withstand the negotiations in just one volley. In the end, 82 hostages were rescued, 153 militants were shot dead, and 28 were captured.
Although the result of this operation was not perfect, the raindrops of BM-21 did give the militants huge damage and a considerable psychological shock, which played a significant role in the Russian army's final breakthrough of the defense line and invading the town.
Today, although the Russian army is not as powerful as the Soviet Union, the sentiment of "artilleryism first" is still lingering. As rocket launcher equipment develops in the direction of modularity, if the BM-21 needs to perform reloading operations, it will take 10 minutes to complete the full loading of 40 tubes, which has lagged behind the new far-fire system that uses box-type modular loading.
BM-21 reloading close-up
However, BM-21 is economical and has a good killing effect in the range of 10 to 20 kilometers, which makes it difficult for the Russian army to abandon the tightening of money. It is reported that the Russian army upgraded and transformed the BM-21 to increase its maximum range to 45 kilometers. I believe that in the future, the figure of this old cannon will still appear in hot spots and continue to write the Russian legend like "Katyusha".
(This article is original in China.com military, author Fu Xin. Please indicate the source and author when reprinting)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-