Rocket artillery

M270 MLRS.

Rocket artillery is artillery equipped with rocket launchers instead of conventional guns or mortars.

Types of rocket artillery pieces include multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles. These systems cannot usually match the accuracy and sustained rate of fire of conventional artillery, but may be capable of very destructive strikes by delivering a large mass of explosives simultaneously, thus increasing the shock effect and giving the target less time to take cover.

History

The use of rockets as some form of artillery dates back to medieval China where devices such as fire arrows were used. The basic idea of fire arrows were expanded in such invention as the Korean Shin Ki Chon. The use of medieval rocket artillery was picked up by the invading Mongols and spread to the Ottoman Turks who in turn used them on the European battlefield. Although the technique was therefore known to Europeans from the 17th century their use fell out of favor until the late 18th century when the British invented the Congreve rocket after Indians used rocket artillery against British forces in battle.

Modern rocket artillery was first employed during the Second World War, in the form of the German Nebelwerfer and Soviet BM-13 Katyusha. Modern examples are high mobile and are used as other self-propelled artillery.

Rockets have equipped ships and aircraft as well as the ground carriages covered here.

Rocket tanks

M4 Sherman

The M4 in US service was fitted with rockets on top the existing gun turret. The 752nd Tank Battalion in Italy in WW2 used M4 Sherman tanks with both the short-range T40 Whizbang and the long-range T34 Calliope, including extensive Calliope firing during the static period before the final Po Valley breakthrough. US units in NW Europe also used Calliope.

IDF MAR-240 (see postwar Sherman tanks).

IDF MAR-290 (see postwar Sherman tanks).

IDF Kilshon / Kachlilit (see postwar Sherman tanks).

*Rocket Launcher T34 Calliope - armed with 60 4.5 inch rocket tubes mounted above the turret. Saw limited combat in 1944-1945. (picture)
*Rocket Launcher T34E1 - T34 with 14 tubes in the 2 bottom units.
*Rocket Launcher T34E2 - T34 modified to accept 7.2" rockets.
*Rocket Launcher T39 - Enclosed box mount with doors, with 20 7.2" rockets.
*Rocket Launcher T40/M17 WhizBang - armed with 20 7.2" rockets. Saw limited combat in 1944-45. A short variant of the T40 was also developed, but saw little usage.

Unused variants
*Rocket Launcher T72 - T34 short tube variant. Never used.
*Rocket Launcher T73 - Similar to the T40, but with only 10 tubes. Never used.
*Rocket Launcher T76 - M4A1 w/ 7.2" rocket launcher in place of main gun. Never used.
*Rocket Launcher T105 - M4A1 w/ rocket case instead of main gun. Never used.
*Multiple Rocket Launcher T99 - 2 box mounts with 22 4.5" rockets, mounted on the turret. Never used.

In 1945 British service, some Shermans were fitted out with two 60 lb RP3 rockets, the same as used on ground attack aircraft, these were called Tulip

Israeli Rocket Shermans:
*MAR-240 Multiple Rocket Launcher - In place of the turret, a launcher for 36 240 mm rockets was fitted. These were Israeli made versions of the Soviet BM-24 Katyusha rocket. Photos: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/MAR-240
*MAR-290 Armored 290mm Rocket Launcher - As with the MAR-240 rocket launcher, except mounting four 290 mm ground-to-ground rockets with a 22 km range. Was used in the 1982 Lebanon War. Photos: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/MAR-290
*Kilshon (Trident) or Kachlilit - The Kilshon was developed to reduce the losses suffered by SAM suppression aircraft by launching anti-radiation missiles from the ground. The Kilshon was based on turretless hull of the M51 Isherman on which a AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile launcher was mounted. To deliver the desired range, a specially modified AGM-45 with booster was used. Later a prototype was developed for use with the AGM-78 Standard anti-radiation missile, but with the retirement of Shermans from IDF service the Keres (Hook) system was placed onto a heavy truck chassis for the finalized design instead. Photos: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/AGM-45_Shrike

Matilda Hedgehog

In Australian Service, the Matilda tank was equipped with the Hedgehog at the back of the vehcile behind the turret.

Sturmtiger

The German WWII Sturmtiger was a vehicle based on the Tiger I heavy tank chassis, armed with a 380 mm rocket mortar.

Other self-propelled rocket artillery

BM-8

Soviet BM-8 was a WWII era 82 mm rocket launcher produced in different variants on either truck or T-40/T-60 light tank chassis.

BM-13

Soviet BM-13, widely known as Katyusha, was a WWII era 132 mm rocket launcher based truck chassis.

BM-14

Soviet BM-14 was a post-war 140 mm rocket launcher on truck chassis.

BM-21 Grad

Soviet Grad is a 122 mm rocket launcher produced in a number of versions, mostly on truck chassis.

M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System

The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System is the United States Army's 12 x 227 mm rocket launcher.

Panzerwerfer

Panzerwerfer is the name for two different types of half-tracked multiple rocket launchers employed by Germany during the Second World War.

Wurfrahmen 40

Wurfrahmen 40 was the German WWII half-track SdKfz 251 converted to fire rockets.

Towed rocket artillery

Nebelwerfer

Nebelwerfer was a German WWII era 6 x 150 mm rocket launcher.

See also

* Multiple rocket launcher
* Tactical ballistic missile