The experience of Katyushas in WW2 such as the iconic BM-13 a weapons system adapted on many truck platforms, became one of the favorite alternatives to traditional artillery used by the Soviet Union. They were far easier, simpler to use, cheaper, less labour-intensive and requiring small crews compared to traditional artillery, which needed time to deploy and could only land ordnance so much in a short time. The rocket launcher, also used by the Germans almost from the start of WW2 was found as a quick and powerful solution to saturate any point of the front. By 1945, the Soviet Union had more rocket launching vehicles than any other country combined. This proven and trusted weapon system remained potent in the cold war inventory for decades and up to this day in modernized forms. Only the systems became more accurate and the rocket, longer range and more deadly, and of course, new truck platforms were introduced.

Such was the case of the BM-21 (GRAU 9K51), the sixties version of the Katyusha and by far the most recoignisable of these. As a weapon system, it was based on a Ural-375D chassis at first, and it changed while more variants were introduced along the years. Just as rugged and cost-effective as former vehicles using the 1950s ZL-151 as a base, it was however tailored to deploy a new M-21 122 mm rocket, while still capable of firing older models of the same caliber. The biggest change was its 360° tubes launcher while the truck remained static. It was produced continuously until the end of USSR with more than 8000 delivered and exported to more than 100 countries, licence-built en masse, making it the most common rocket launcher vehicle on this blue planet.

The Katyusha reloaded

The BM-21 was as usual, an attempt to replace an obsolecent system, not the WW2 vehicles, at first based on Studebaker US5, the derivated ZIL-151, reusing WW2 stock launchers and rockets, and the 140 mm BM-14 system based on various truck platforms. Introduced in 1952, BM-14 was mass produced and also found in Warsaw armies pretty much until 1990. However from 1963 onwards it started to be replaced by the BM-21.

In Brief

The BM-21 Grad is a Soviet-designed multiple rocket launcher (MRL) system that has been widely used by numerous countries around the world. The system, developed in the early 1960s, is based on a 122 mm rocket caliber and has become one of the most recognizable and widely produced artillery systems of its kind. Here's a brief overview: Thus Multiple Rocket Launcher System (MRLS) carried 40 tubes for 122 mm rockets and no reload and was capable of striking approximately 20 km (12 miles) away for the standard rockets, though extended-range variants can reach over 40 km. It was mounted typically on a Ural-375D truck or Ural-4320 truck in modern versions for high mobility. The whole salvo can be fired in 20 seconds and the crew typically comprised up to 5, one driver, the pointer, his assistant and two loaders/preppers.

The BM-21 Grad can fire a salvo of rockets quickly, providing a powerful barrage of fire against enemy targets. It is typically used for area bombardment rather than precision strikes, making it ideal for engaging infantry, artillery, and light vehicles over a large area. The BM-21 has been widely used in numerous conflicts, including wars in the Middle East, Africa, and post-Soviet conflicts. It remains in service with many countries due to its simplicity, effectiveness, and ease of use. M-21 rocket: Rate of fire 2 rps, muzzle velocity 690 m/s (2,264 ft/s), Effective range 52 km. Sights: PG-1M panoramic telescope.

Development

The development of a new multiple launch rocket system to replace 1950s trucks armed with essentially BM-12 and assimilated WW2 legacy rocket launchers was started at NII-147 (now A. N. Ganichev bureau in Tula) by an order of the State Committee on Defense Industry signed February 24, 1959. In accordance with the Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 578-236 of May 30, 1960, the new MLRS development was assigned to SKB-203. The named adopted for this system was "grad" ("hailstorm"). SKB 203 still exist under its new name, JSC NPP Start A. I. Yaskin design bureau. The same requirement also concerned a new type of rocket powered with a more stable gunpowder for solid propellant charges. This work was assigned to NII-6 bureau. The new mechanical fuses for these rockets were developed by the Scientific Research Technological Institute in Balashikha. The warheads were developed by the Scientific Research Institute of Chemical Technology. The prototype testers were the Sofrino artillery range. The guidance system in its the naval version was developed by TsNII-173.

Details are sketchy. The prototype seems to have been completed in 1960, and extensively tested in 1961-62 with corrections before being eventually adopted by Resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers No. 372-130 of March 28, 1963, as the "Grad field rocket system", by the Soviet Army. It was deployed gradually to frontline units, notabl in Eastern Europe until 1970. Production was assigned at first to the Perm Lenin Plant and went on uninterrupted until 1988, making for a quite long production run for any Soviet system. The latter production was mostl intended for export; once the needs of the Soviet and Warsaw Pact armies were covered. Further development and modifications such as the 2B17, 2B17-1, 2B26 or new rack sets such as the 9F37M was carried out by SKB.

In total, 6,536 combat vehicles were delivered to the Soviet Army alone, 646 more for export. By 1995 more than 2,000 BM-21 were in service in 50 countries. The rocket production was carried out by Splav A. N. Ganichev, totalling 3 million. It did not stopped as this caliber is still used as standard for other weapons systems.

A new rocket type with combined powder to start the engine and a solid-fuel cruise ramjet in four nacelles with air intakes attached independently in the tail section was developed for comparative tests, as well as one in which the solid fuel of the engine was concentrated in one central compartment between two cylinders. In case of incomplete combustion, the products flowed out through four holes in the nacelles, burned out in the air flow and providing extra thrust. The rocket was also tested with various types of rigid stabilizers and with folding stabilizer block blades. The final result was the unguided rocket M-21OF with a baseline high-explosive fragmentation warhead (FRAG-HE) including two welded grooved bushings to achieve this fragmentation. A variant was also tested with two chamber but a single charge of different sizes, from ballistic solid fuel in each chamber and a stabilizer block with folding blades.

Design

The BM-21 complex

As a "Weapons Complex", the M-21 field rocket system or Grad MLRS (GRAU index - 9K51) includes the BM-21 combat vehicle (GRAU index 2B5) essentially an Ural-375D chassis. The later BM-21-1 swapped truck chassis for the Ural-4320 (GRAU index: 2B17). The baseline rocket was the unguided M-21OF 122 mm rocket for which a whole family of payloads and other rockets of the same caliber was developed).

Outside the launcher trucks, transportation of spare tockets in boxes was provided by additional trucks but also without boxes on racks with the unified racks set (GRAU 9F37) mounted on ZIL-131 trucks and the Ural-375D. Later, the unified set of racks, modernized (GRAU 9F37M) appeared. The M-21 Grad were intended for divisional artillery which unit composition was planned and defined by NII-147 under A. N. Ganichev and related companies such as NII-6 in Moscow and SKB-203 in Sverdlovsk.

The carrier truck: Ural 375D

The Ural-375 is a general purpose 4.5 ton 6×6 truck from the Ural Automotive Plant, produced from 1961 to 1993 to replaced the 1950 ZIL-157 as standard medium Soviet Army truck. From 1979, it was replaced in turn by the Ural-4320. Both were used as a base for the BM-21 rocket system. Among variants, the 375D was the most produced with a proper all-steel cabin. The last produced until 1993 was the 375DM. The base truck was a 6x6 with optional central inflation system, a length of 7,350 mm (289.4 in) for a width of 2,960 mm (116.5 in) and an height of 2,980 mm (117.3 in) with tap mounted. Of course the 375D/BM-21 was bit taller with the mount maintained at 90%, and far taller when erected at max elevation. The basic 375D curb weight was 8,400 kg (18,519 lb), while the BM-21 was 13.71 tonnes (30,225 lb) when fully loaded.

The 375D had a metal cabin with a split windshield, two doors with steps, a driver and enough room for two more seats. The original cargo capacity was 4,800 kg (10,580 lb), but the BM-21 launcher when loaded is heavier at 13.71 tonnes (30,225 lb). The 40 rockets alone counts for 2.8t. However the 375D was tested up to 13,200 kg (29,100 lb) as max. permissible mass. 13,200 kg (29,100 lb).

The Ural 375D is powered by a 130 kW (180 hp) ZIL-375Ya 7.0-litre V8 petrol with carburetor, pushrod engine coupled with a 5×2-speed gearbox for a top speed fully laoded of 75 km/h (47 mph). It had Pneumatic drum brakes, tires 360–510 mm (14–20 in) with a pressure of 49–314 kPa (0.5–3.2 kgf/cm2). Track width is 2000 mm (78.7 in), turning circle is 22,000 mm (866 in) and ground clearance is 400 mm (15.7 in) for a fording depth of 1500 mm (59 in). The vehicle has a fuel tank with a capacity of 300 + 60 L (79 + 16 US gal), for a fuel economy of 50–45 L/100 km (4.7–5.2 mpg/US) and range of 405 km (251 mi). It can also ford up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) deep water without prep.

Armament: The M-21 122 mm Rockets

Adopted in 1963 this set of forty 122 mm unguided rockets had a maximum and minimum range and destruction area on the point of impact, depending on the projectile used, with the greatest range being 42 km. The multi-tubes, 4 stage, 10-tube superimposed rows as an artillery unit was mounted on a rotatable mount with a 60° angle and 360° traverse, placed at the rear of a flatbed from the Ural-375 or Ural-4320 capable of 75-90 kmh depending on the terrain. The rockets are launched through the "Vivarium" automated fire control system.



9M22U (M-21OF): Frag-HE RA 20,380m L2.87(9 ft 5 in) Wgt 66.6kgs (147 Ibs) WHd 18.4 kgs (41 Ibs)
9M18: POM-2 submunitions
9M28F: Frag-HE. 15,000m, L2.27m (7 ft 5 in), Wgt 56.5 kgs (125 Ibs), WHd: 21 kgs (46.3 Ibs).
9M28K: AT Mines. 13,400m, L3.04m (10 ft), 57.7 kgs (127 Ibs), WHd 22.8 kgs (50 Ibs)
9M43: Smoke. 20,000 m, L2.95 m (9 ft 8 in) WHd 66 kgs (146 Ibs), WHd 20.2 kgs (45 Ibs).
9M217: AT submunitions: 30,000m, L3.04m (10 ft), 70 kgs (150 Ibs), Whd 25 Kgs (55 Ibs).
9M218: HEAT submunitions: 30,000m, 3.04m (10 ft), 70 kgs (150 Ibs), Whd 25 kgs (55 Ibs).
9M519: RF jammer: 18,500m, 3.04 m (10 ft), 66 kgs (146 Ibs), Whd 18.4 kgs (41 Ibs).
9M521: Frag-HE: 40,000m L2.87m (9 ft 5 in), 66 Kgs (146 Ibs), Whd 21 kgs (46 Ibs).
9M522: Frag-HE: 37,500m L3.04m (10 ft), 70 kgs (150 Ibs), Whd 25 kgs (55 Ibs).
PRC-60: Underwater charge for BM-21PD: 5,000m, L2.75 m (9 ft), 75.3 Kgs (166 Ibs), Whd 20 Kgs (44 Ibs).
Type 90A (China) Frag-HE; 32,700 m, L2.75 (9 ft), Whd 18.3 kgs (40 Ibs)
M21-OF-FP (Romania) Frag-HE: 20,400m, L2.87m (9 ft 5 in), Wgt 65.4kgs (144 Ibs), Whd 6.35K gs (14 Ibs).
M21-OF-S (Romania) Frag-HE: 12,700m, L1.927m (6 ft 3.9 in), Wgt 46.6 Kgs (103 Ibs), Whd 6.35kgs (14 Ibs)
Edepro G2000/52 (Serbia) Frag-HE: 40,200m, L2.862m (9 ft 4.7 in), 64.4 Kgs (142 Ibs); Whd 19 Kgs (41.9 Ibs).
Sakr-45A (Egypt): AT/AP submunitions: 42,000m, L3.31m (10 ft 10 in), Wgt 67.5 kgs (149 Ibs), Whd 24.5 Kgs (54 Ibs)
Sakr-45B (Egypt): Frag-HE: 45,000m, L2.9 (9 ft 6 in), Wgt 63.5 kgs (140 Ibs), Whd 20.5 kgs (45 Ibs)
9M22S: Incendiary. 19,890m, L2.97 (9 ft 9 in), Wgt 66 kgs (146 Ibs), Whd 17.8 Kgs (39 Ibs)
9M28S: Incendiary. 15,070m, L2.318 (7 ft 7.3 in), Wgt 53 Kgs (117 Ibs), Whd 17.8 Kgs (39 Ibs)

Specs. BM-21 Ural 375D
Dimensions:	7.35 x 2.4 x 3.09m (24 ft 1 in x 7 ft 10 in x 10 ft 2 in)
Total weight, battle ready:	13.71 tonnes (30,225 lb)
Tires:	6×6 wheeled
Crew:	3: Driver, Commander, Operator
Propulsion:	Engine V8 gasoline ZiL-375 180 hp (130 kW)
Speed:	75 km/h (47 mph)
Range (road/off road):	405 km (251 mi)
Payload:	40 Barrels 122 mm M-21 RL
Production:	c8500+

Variants

122 mm BM-21B Grad-1 (9P138) mod 1976 oviet multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) 9K55, lighter 36-round version, mounted on a 6x6 ZIL-131 chassis. BM-21-1:Modernized version on a Ural-4320 chassis.
BM-21V:: A lighter version for airborne troops, mounted on a GAZ-66 truck.
Grad-P:: A single-tube portable version of the system.

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BM-21 (1963)

Original version known as the BM-21, was mounted on a modified Ural-375D truck chassis.

BM-21-1 (1976):

Same, mounted on the Ural-4320 truck chassis. There was a second variant, GRAU index 2B17 (also BM-21-1) presented as an upgrade in 2003, developed by Motovilikha Plants, Perm: GPS, automated fire control system ASUNO, Automatic laying system, New generation of rockets with 40 km (25 mi) range, and Ural-43201 as chassis.

9P138 "Grad-1":

Lighter 36-round version (3 rows x 9 tubes) mounted on a 6x6 ZIL-131 chassis. The whole unit comes with spare rockets, a transporter 9T450 and resupply truck 9F380 as complex 9K55 (GRAU index). The 9P138 only uses lighter "short-range" rockets (15 km/9.3 mi) and in the West it was known as the BM-21b or M1976.

BM-21V "Grad-V"

"Vozdushnodesantniy" stands for "airborne", NATO designation M1975, GRAU 9P125: Developed in 1969 based on a light 4x4 GAZ-66B truck chassis using a 12-round 122 mm rocket launcher on its flatbed. The chassis is sturdy enough to be airdropped with extra parts such as the canvas cab roof taken off or folded down. The BM-21V has stabilizing jacks at the rear.

9А51 "Prima":

50-round launcher on an Ural-4320 5t chassis, goes with fire control equipment, the ammunition transporter TZM 9T232M and new rocket 9M53F (GRAU complex 9K59) only made in small numbers before the collapse of USSR.

Grad-P:

The "Grad-P Light portable rocket system" (GRAU 9P132) is a single-round, man-portable launcher furing the same 9M22M 122mm rockets, which can be reloaded. There is an associated fire control panel and tripod to stabilize the tube. It was developed c1965 for Soviet special units and Vietnamese as DKZ-B. Not accepted for regular service it was still popular with paramilitary and guerrilla forces and was also used in the Donbass War in 2014–2022.

BM-21PD "Damba"

40-round launcher mounted on Ural-375D or 43201 truck chassis for protection of naval bases against infiltrations with the PRS-60 (Protivodiversionnyi Reaktivnyi Snaryad) underwater rockets. Together with its ammunition supplier it is known as the complex DP-62 "Damba". The A-215 "Grad-M" is 20-round naval version which entered service in 1978.

9K51M "Tornado-G":

This is an advanced version of the BM-21 with state of the art fire control system, GPS, automatic target aiming.

Users (past and present, as of 2019 or later)

Afghanistan: c100 all retired
Algeria: 48.
Angola: 58
Armenia: 47
Azerbaijan: 43.
Ba'athist Syria: "some"
Belarus: 128
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 5 in 2012
Bulgaria: 24
Burundi: 12
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria: Some captured 1993-1995
Cambodia: 8
Cameroon: 20
Chad: 6
Croatia: 21
Cuba: A dozen estimated
Cyprus: 4
East Germany: 72 1968-1971, retired 1990.
Egypt: 60
Ecuador: 18
Eritrea: 35
Ethiopia: 50
Finland: 94 delivered, retired.
Georgia: 13
Guinea: 18, retired
India: About 150 BM-21/LRAR
Iran: 100
Iraq: c20 remaining
Iraqi Kurdistan: Some captured extant 2016
ISIS: "some" captired still around 2016
Ivory Coast:6
Hezbollah: "some" in 2016
Hungary: 62+ in storage by 2007
Israel: 58 captured BM-21 in storage
Kenya: 11 in 2010, retired
Kazakhstan: 100 (+ 100 in storage).
Kyrgyzstan: 15
Laos: A dozen as shown in parade January 2019
Lebanon: 11
Libya: some*
Mali: Over 30
Morocco: 35
Mozambique: 12
Mongolia: 130
Moldova: 14 delivered
Myanmar: Reported "some"
Namibia: 5
Nigeria: 10
Nicaragua: 18 + 100 BM-21P
North Korea: c100
North Macedonia: 6
North Yemen: 70 delivered 1980-1981, retired
Peru: 22
Poland: 27 as well as 29 RM-70, 75 WR-40
Qatar: 3 BM-21 in 2013
Republic of Abkhazia: 14
Rep. Dem. Congo: 24
Republic of the Congo: 10
Russia: Ground Forces: 400, 1,500 storage, Airborne 18, Marines 26
Romania: 134 APR-40/36 LAROM
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: 10 in the 2000s
Senegal: 6
Seychelles: 2, retired
Somalia: "some"
South Sudan: "some"
South Ossetia: 2 in 2010
South Yemen: 54 between 1973-1975.
Sudan: 120
Tajikistan: 3
Tanzania: 58
Turkmenistan: 70
Turkey: 35
Ukraine: 100 9K51M, 4 APR-40, 8 RM-70
Uganda: 6
Uzbekistan: 36
USSR 6000+ passed on to successor states
USA: 75 delivered 1992-2010 for tests, 63 from Romania, 12 from Ukraine
Venezuela: 24 BM-21 units, Delivered 2011
Vietnam: 350.
Yemen: 280, 150 combat-ready 2012
Zambia: 12 out of 30 combat-ready

Combat Records

Vietnamese BM-21s firing against Chinese Forces in 1979.

Since it's introduction in 1963, so now 62 years and counting, the BM-21 saw almost all conflicts and civil war during and aft the cold war. The list of engagements comprises the Sino-Soviet border conflict, Vietnam War, Lebanese Civil War, Western Sahara War, Angolan Civil War, Ogaden War, South African Border War, Uganda–Tanzania War, Cambodian–Vietnamese War, Sino-Vietnamese War, Iran–Iraq War, Soviet–Afghan War, Afghan Civil War (1989–1992), Second Sudanese Civil War, Gulf War, First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Yugoslav Wars, War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), First Chechen War, 1995 Cenepa War, Second Chechen War, Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, Russo-Georgian War, Cambodian–Thai border dispute, Bombardment of Yeonpyeong, First Libyan Civil War, Syrian civil war, Northern Mali conflict, War in Donbas, 2014 Gaza War, Yemeni Civil War (2014–present), Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Tigray War, Western Saharan clashes (2020–present), Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2023 Las Anod conflict, and Israel–Hamas war.

The first use was in the Border conflict on Damansky Island by Soviet troops with China in 1969. In the Afghan War (1979-1989) it was also used by Soviet troops and appreciated to saturate Afghan-held fortified positions. It was used in the Karabakh conflict by both sides in the 1990s, and the wars of 2016 and 2020. The most famous episode was the battle for the Omar Pass, decisive in the capture of Kelbajar. On February 18, 1994, Armenian Grads covered the 130th Brigade escaping through the pass to the north, waiping out 1,500 pursuing enemy soldiers.

In the first Chechen War it was used by Russian troops with sixteen BM-21 and about 1,000 rockets being captured by Chechen insurgents, used back against Russian troops, notably in the battle for Dolinskoye, killing 6 Russian soldiers, but losing 3 Grad to counter-battery fire. It was used on both sides in War in Georgia (2008) ad well as in Donbass War, with Pro-Russian separatists using 9M22S incendiary rockets whe bombarding Ilovaisk and Luhansk.

In Middle East, it was used by Egypt and Syria in the Yom Kippur War, noted by the Israelis as among the most effective weapon in this war. They were often used for counter-battery fire and the Weapons Systems Evaluation Group cited two examples, when a battery of Israeli 175-mm M107 self-propelled guns (4 guns) were destroyed and a single salvo later destroyed 3 field guns, killing 23-28 Israelis. The Grad barked also inb Africa since decades, starting with the war in Angola, Somalia. It was instrumental in the Battle of Quifangondo on November 10, 1975 with a battery of four vehicles controlled by Cuban crews, which wpired out in two salvoes a troop gathering of 2,500 FNLA as well as Zairians and South African troops crossing the river but also almost all armored vehicles, jeeps with recoilless rifles. 345 FNLA militants, 50 Zairean soldiers and an unknown number of South Africans were killed and the local offensive stopped dead in its track. In the Libyan Civil War Grad were used by the loyalist Syrian Arab Army, notably in the bombardment of Palmyra.

Given the number of operators and upgraded variants still built acros the world, its far from over. In the 2022 war in Ukraine for example, the Ukrainians deployed and lost 53 BM-21 so far as well as a single 9P138 Grad-1 and a single Bastion-1. The Russian army lost 2 1V110 BM-21 Grad battery command vehicles, two hunder and sixty four BM-21 Grad, twenty nine 122mm 9P138 Grad-1, five 122mm 2B26 Grad-K and twenty 122mm 2B17 Tornado-G.

A typical Soviet frontline BM-21 battery comprises 4 to 6 launcher trucks assisted each by a 9T450 re-supply truck with 60 additional rockets. There is also a single maintenance truck and a command truck per unit. The 4 or 6 depended on the level, batallion or divisional level organic unit. Six vehicles could rain down 240 rockets, packed each with a lot of TNT in 20 seconds, completely saturating any given area. To avoid counter-battery fire from enemy artillery this unit uses a ‘shoot and scoot’ tactic, rapidly folding up the stabilization jacks and departing fast, a process which is generally done in 20-30 sec. Depending on the ammunition type, notably cluster, a salvo of 40 Grad rockets creates a lethal area of 36 hectares (600 m x 600 m).

Author's Renditions

The basic Ural-375

Somali BM-21

BM-21 in a St Petersburg parade

Nicaraguaian BM-21

Armenian BM-21M

BM-21M at Ekaterinburg

BM-21-1 (1976) mounted on the Ural-4320

Colombian BM-21

BM-21 Azerbaidjan

Iranian BM-21

Polish Grad in the early 1990s

Russian BM-21M

Ukrainian Grad

Gallery

Sources

characterisationexplosiveweapons.org
commons.wikimedia.org

WW1 Vehicles

Allied ww2 Vehicles

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Axis Trucks

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Sd.Kfz 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 were half-tracks designed just before the war as prime movers, to carry supplies, ammunition, personal, and tow artillery. Many were also converted during the war as armored versions carrying AA FLAK guns (Flakvierling, 37 mm, or the legendary 88 mm Rheinmetall als used as tank hunters), or were converted as nebelwerfer (rocket launching armored vehicles). They were built by Hanomag, Steyr, Mercedes-Benz, Bussing and many other manufacturers until 1945, over 20,000 half-tracks.

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