BM-21
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The BM-21 Grad or 9K51 Grad is a Soviet 122 mm multiple-launch rocket system developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for 'combat vehicle' (Russian: ), grad means 'hail'. In the West, the system was initially designated M1964.
Grad is unquestionably the world’s most widely-used rocket artillery system. Its success in local conflicts has led other countries to copy it or to develop similar systems.
Description
The BM-21 122 mm multiple rocket launcher (MRL) system entered service with the Soviet Army in 1963 to replace the aging 140 mm BM-14 system. It consists of a Ural-375D six-by-six truck chassis fitted with a bank of forty launch tubes arranged in a rectangular shape. The vehicle is powered by a V-8 180 hp gasoline engine, has a maximum road speed of 75 km/h and a range of up to 750 kilometers. In 1976, the BM-21 was mounted on the newer Ural-4320 six-by-six army truck.The crew of five men can emplace the system and have it ready to fire in three minutes. Before firing, two rear jacks are lowered to help support the vehicle and the rockets are turned away from the unprotected cab. The crew can choose to fire the rockets from the cab or from a remote initiating device at the end of a 64 m-long cable. All forty rockets can be away in as little as twenty seconds, but can also be fired individually or in small groups in several second intervals should the situation necessitate such fire. A PG-1M panoramic telescope can be used for sighting. The BM-21 can be packed up and ready to move in two minutes, which can be necessary when engaged by counter battery fire. Reloading is done manually and takes about ten minutes.
Each 2.87 meter long, 122 mm rocket is slowly spun by rifling in its tube as it exits, which along with its primary fin stabilization keeps it on course. Rockets armed with HE-Frag, incendiary, or chemical warheads can be fired out to a range of twenty kilometers. Newer HE and cargo (used to deliver AP or AT mines) rockets have a range of thirty kilometers. Warheads weigh around twenty kilograms depending on the type.
The relative accuracy of this system and the number of rockets each vehicle is able to quickly bring to bear on an enemy target make it a very effective system especially at shorter ranges. One battalion of eighteen launchers is able to deliver 720 rockets in a single volley. However, the system cannot be used in situations that call for pinpoint precision.
Used by over fifty countries, Grad is the most widely distributed MRL system in the world.
Variants
Soviet variants
- BM-21 (1963): 40-round launcher mounted on URAL-375D truck.
- BM-21 (1976): Same as above model, but mounted on Ural-4320 truck.
- BM-21V (V stands for Vozdushnodesantiy - 'Airborne', NATO designation M1975): Developed for Airborne troops. A GAZ-66B four-by-four truck chassis is fitted with a 12-round 122 mm rocket launcher. The vehicle is sturdy enough to be air-dropped. Parts of the vehicle such as the canvas cab roof can be taken off or folded down to reduce its size during transit. Like the BM-21, the BM-21V has stabilizing jacks on the rear of the vehicle for support when firing.
- BM-21B: 36-round launcher mounted on a six-by-six ZIL-131 chassis.
- 9A51 Prima: 50-round launcher on a ZIL-131 chassis.
- Grad-P: Single-round man-portable launcher, which can be reloaded and used again. The rocket itself is a 122 mm fin-stabilized rocket, armed with any of the warheads used on BM-21 rockets. The weapon is not often used by the Russian military, but is popular with paramilitary and guerrilla forces.
- Grad-M: A naval version. Has 8 containers, 20 rockets each.
Non-Soviet variants
Adaptations of the launcher were/are produced by several countries including North Korea, China, Egypt, Czechoslovakia and Romania.
- BM-11: North Korean 30-tube version. The barrels are arranged in 2 rows of 15 barrels each and can be fired in as little as 15 seconds. The basis for the BM-11 system is either a Ural-375D chassis, a Ural-4320 chassis, or in some cases a Japanese manufactured chassis.
- Type 81: The Peoples Republic of China produces the Type 81, which was copied from Russian BM-21s captured in the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War. After reverse engineering, it entered service with the PLA in 1982. Because it is a direct copy, the type 81 is extremely similar to its Russian predecessor. Its 40 tubes are mounted on a Yanan SX250 six-by-six truck, which unlike the original Russian version, has a cab protected by blast shields.
- Sakr-18: The Egyptians domestically manufacture the Sakr-18, which is very similar to the original Soviet BM-21 design. Rather than a standard HE-Frag round, the Egyptian military prefers a 23 kilogram cluster munition, which can be extremely effective against lightly armored equipment and troop concentrations.
- RM-70: In 1972 the Czechoslovakian army introduced its own version of the BM-21 designated the RM-70. It consists of a bank of 40 launch tubes arranged in 4 rows of 10 mounted on an eight-by-eight 10 ton modified Tatra 813 truck. Unlike the BM-21, the RM-70 has an armored cab and enough room behind it to allow for the storage of another 40 rockets. Having the 40 rockets in such proximity to the launcher reduces reload time from 10 minutes to 3 minutes. The vehicle was used also by East Germany.
- APR-40: Developed by Aerostar SA, Romania. "APR" stands for "Aruncator de Projectile Reactive" - jet projectile thrower. 40-round launcher is mounted on a DAC-665T six-by-six truck. Upgraded version exists, with launcher consisting of two removable modules. The system is also used by Botswana, Bosnia, Cameroon, Croatia, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria.
- APR-21: Romanian 21-round launcher mounted on a Bucegi SR-114 four-by-four chassis. No longer used by the Romanian Army.
General characteristics
- Chassis: Ural 375-D 6x6 wheeled
- Combat Weight: 13.7 t
- Length: 7.35 m
- Height: 3.09 m
- Width: 2.40 m
- Engine: ZIL 375, 180 hp water-cooled, V-8 gasoline
- Range: 450-750 km
- Speed:
- Max road 75 km/h
- Max off-road 35 km/h
Projectiles
- 9M22U: Frag-HE.
- Minimum Range 5000 m
- Maximum Range 20380 m
- Warhead Weight 18.4 kg
- Rocket Length 2.87 m
References
- Multiple Rocket Launchers, Romania - Jane's Armour and Artillery, 2003.
- Russia's Arms Catalog 2004
See also
- Katyusha, BM-13, BM-8, and BM-31 multiple rocket launchers of World War II
- BM-14 140mm multiple rocket launcher
- BM-27 220mm multiple rocket launcher
External links
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