The legendary Katyusha’s first salvo

On July 14, 1941, the legendary BM-13 Katyusha rocket artillery combat vehicle was first used in battle near the railway station in Orsha. Back then, a battery under the command of Captain Ivan Flerov destroyed a concentration of German military equipment with salvo fire.

On July 24, a report from the frontline was delivered to the German command: “The Russians used a battery with an unusual number of guns. The troops fired upon by the Russians said that the fire assault is like a hurricane. The loss of life is significant.”

The new weapon did not only yield a strong practical result, but also came as a moral shock to the German soldiers. There were many cases when Wehrmacht soldiers went mad after shelling by our rocket launchers.

The development of 82 mm rockets began in the Soviet Union in 1930. By November 1939, experts had created a multiple launch rocket system, which received the designation Combat Vehicle 13 (BM-13). The new weapon was commissioned on the eve of the Great Patriotic War: on June 21, 1941.

The BM-13 became one of the first and most effective multiple launch rocket systems in the world, successfully hitting concentrations of manpower, equipment and fortified enemy defence lines. After a massive shelling, the battery could move within a minute, which made it difficult to return fire.

The rocket artillery was used in the most important areas of the Soviet-German front, becoming the Red Army’s most powerful weapon. It had a significant impact on the course of the war and the defeat of Nazi Germany and its satellites.

By the end of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet rocket artillery included 7 divisions, 11 separate brigades, 114 separate regiments and 38 separate battalions. In July 1941 - December 1944, Soviet industry produced over 10,000 Katyusha combat vehicles and over 12 million rockets for them.

After the victory over the Nazis in 1945, Katyushas played a prominent role in the Soviet army. The BM-13 was used as a foundation to develop new salvo fire systems. Today, the BM-13 is rightfully considered one of the main symbols of the Victory and regularly takes part in the Victory parades in Moscow and other cities of Russia.

#InterestingFact: There are several versions of how the BM-13 got the name Katyusha. According to one of them, the name comes from the popular song of the same name by Matvey Blanter with lyrics by Mikhail Isakovsky. According to another, the name  reflects their marking with the letter K (for the Komintern plant).