BM-13-16 "Katyusha"
 

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<TABLE width="90%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>The BM-13-16 was more commonly known as the "Katyusha" and to the Germans it was nick-named "Stalin's Organ" because of the distinctive sound made when the rockets were launched. The launch system, named M-13, could carry sixteen 132mm rockets on eight I-section steel rails arranged eight on top and eight underneath held on studs fixed to the rocket bodies. The rockets were fired electrically two at a time, or in "ripple" where all rockets would be fired in 7 seconds. An armored roof protected the truck's cab.
The 132mm M-13 rocket launcher was mass-produced by the Soviet Union and appeared on a number of chassis throughout the war, including tanks and ships. The designation BM-13-16 breaks down to "combat vehicle for M-13 launcher with 16 rails". Only 40 units had been produced before war broke out with Germany, and they were such a closely guarded secret that the initial units equiped were under NKVD direction.
The first battery went into action near Orsha railway station on 7th July 1941 and proved an immediate success. The GAU was duly impressed, and ordered production to begin on a crash basis. The rocket launchers were still so highly classified that they received a variety of bogus names such as Kostikov guns, etc. Eventually they were officially designated Guards Mortars, but the name which stuck was the popular nickname, Katyusha, the diminutive form of the name Katerina, after the Isakovskiy tune of the same name. The scream of the rockets led the Germans to call them Stalin's Organs. The main attraction of the Katyusha launcher was that it was cheap to manufacture and could be turned out by small factories without the elaborate machine tools needed for conventional tubed artillery. A BM-13 salvo dropped 4.35 tons of rocket and high explosive into a 10-acre area in a terrifying 7-10 second strike. Although not so accurate as conventional artillery, the Katyusha was much more feared by German soldiers than conventional artillery. By the end of the war, about 10,000 Katyusha launchers had been manufactured, mostly for the Army, but some for the Navy's river flotillas as well. The majority of launchers were self-propelled.
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<HR><TABLE width="100%" border=0 font face="Arial" size="2"><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Country :</TD><TD width="50%">Russia</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Role :</TD><TD width="50%">Self-Propelled Artillery</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">In-Service Date :</TD><TD width="50%">May 1941</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Manufacturer :</TD><TD width="50%">State Industries</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Number Produced :</TD><TD width="50%"></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Crew :</TD><TD width="50%">3</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Rado :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Road Speed :</TD><TD width="50%">50 Kilometers per Hour</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Rough Speed :</TD><TD width="50%">19 Kilometers per Hour</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Road Range:</TD><TD width="50%">180 Kilometers</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Off-Road Range:</TD><TD width="50%">75 Kilometers</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Engine Name:</TD><TD width="50%">ZiS 5</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Coolant :</TD><TD width="50%"></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Cylinders:</TD><TD width="50%"></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Capacity:</TD><TD width="50%">Liters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Horsepower :</TD><TD width="50%"></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Power / Weight Ratio :</TD><TD width="50%">hp per tonne</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Transmission :</TD><TD width="50%">Unknown</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Gears :</TD><TD width="50%">4 Forward / 2 Reverse</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Suspenion :</TD><TD width="50%">Leaf Springs</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Fuel Type :</TD><TD width="50%">Gasoline</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Fuel Capacity:</TD><TD width="50%">73 Liters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Road Consumption:</TD><TD width="50%">0.41 Liters per Kilometer</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Off-Road Consumption:</TD><TD width="50%">0.97 Liters per Kilometer</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Length :</TD><TD width="50%">6.06 meters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Height :</TD><TD width="50%">2.16 meters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Width :</TD><TD width="50%">2.235 meters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Weight :</TD><TD width="50%">5730 kilograms</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Ground Clearance :</TD><TD width="50%">25 centimeters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Ground Pressure :</TD><TD width="50%">Unknown kg/cm²</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Track Links :</TD><TD width="50%">None per track</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Track Width :</TD><TD width="50%">None centimeters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Track Ground Contact :</TD><TD width="50%">None centimeters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Gradiant :</TD><TD width="50%">45°</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Vertical Obsticle :</TD><TD width="50%">0.23 meters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Fording Depth :</TD><TD width="50%">1.016 meters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Trench Crossing :</TD><TD width="50%">1.24 meters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Turning Radius :</TD><TD width="50%">10.4 meters</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Main Gun :</TD><TD width="50%">132mm M-13 "Katyusha"</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Gunsight :</TD><TD width="50%">MP-41</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Traverse :</TD><TD width="50%">20°</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Elevation :</TD><TD width="50%">+45° / +35°</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Main Gun Ammo :</TD><TD width="50%">16</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Secondary Weapons :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Hull Front (Upper) :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Hull Front (Lower) :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Hull Sides (Upper) :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Hull Sides (Lower) :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Hull Rear :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Hull Top :</TD><TD width="50%">45mm</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Hull Bottom :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Turret Front :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Turret Mantlet :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Turret Sides :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Turret Rear :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">Turret Top :</TD><TD width="50%">None</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>