THE CREATORS OF “FIRE ARROWS”

The emergence of missiles in Russia noted by the chroniclers in the Pskov chronicle of the XV century In 1680 in Moscow organized a special “school” for the production of lighting and flares. In 1717, the Russian army was adopted grenade dynamites lighting signal, rises to a height of 500 fathoms (1 fathom = 2.13 m). In the eighteenth century in India, English General Convex designed their own patterns of missiles and achieved flight range of the missiles up to 3 km away. the Missiles of the Convex was used in the war with Napoleon 1812 – 1814 In particular, these missiles English fleet bombarded Copenhagen, “convincing” Danes join the French fleet, gathering forces for the invasion of England.

In 1813 our talented Russian scientist, Lieutenant-General Alexander Dmitrievich Zasyadko developed different types of gunpowder rockets caliber from 2 to 4 inches (1 inch = 2.54 cm). In 1817 he exhibited at the artillery ground in St. Petersburg missiles to its design, the range of which reached 2670 m. they were Made in a special pyrotechnic laboratory in Mogilev. In 1826, work was moved to St. Petersburg, where for this purpose there was organized the so-called Missile facility, able to provide large-scale production.

On the initiative of A. D. Zasyadko in the Russo-Turkish war of 1828-1829., a similar facility was established directly in the area of warfare. As a result, 24 companies of the 2nd the army received about 10 thousand rockets caliber from 6 to 36 pounds (the last match linear a caliber of 106 mm.) For their start in the units used setting that allows the simultaneous start of up to 36 missiles. It was the “ancestors” of the famous guards of “Katyusha”.

In March 1829 missile design Zasyadko armed ships of the Danube flotilla, marking the beginning of the introduction of missile weapons in the Navy.

In the mid-nineteenth century a great contribution into the Russian rocket was made General of the artillery Konstantin Konstantinov. From 1849 to 1867, he headed the St. Petersburg Okhta capsule and rocket factories, then he was transferred to the Nikolaev rocket factory. They laid the foundations of the science of missiles, constructed machines for their production. Created Konstantinov rockets were adopted by the Russian army and was successfully used during the Crimean war of 1853 – 1856

Rocket machines General K. Konstantinov: on the left the first pattern, right – second

Missiles mid-nineteenth century:

a – Russian rocket (1849); b – Prussian missile (1850); a French missile (1857); Mr. Russian rocket (1859 – 1863>.)

The project launcher I. TM for launching missiles from the vehicle. 1912

They also improved the rockets sample of 1862, was manufactured in two calibers for field artillery -2-inch with a range of 1500 m and for fortification and siege artillery, 4 inch with a range of up to 4,200 meters.

There is evidence that these Missile establishment in 1851 and 1852, he in the year produced 2,700 missiles systems Konstantinov, later in 1853 – 4000 rockets in 1854 – 10 488, in 1855, -5870.

In 1868, Constantine designed a new rocket machine and a new starting device by which the rate increased to 6 RDS./min. For this work the academic Council of the Artillery Academy awarded him in 1870 the Grand prize Mikhailovsky.

In the 1870’s missile business in the Russian army is in decline. At this time, the missiles only sporadically and in small numbers was used in the Russo-Turkish war 1877 – 1878

In 1898, the missile was officially removed from the armament of the Russian army, leaving only the lighting. It was connected with the undoubted success in the development of rifled artillery. Earlier the same thing happened in Austria in 1866 and in 1885 in England.

But the rocket thing in Russia and in the world stood still. In 1908 a military engineer N. In. Gerasimov has developed and tested a rocket with a gyroscopic stabilization system to combat ground and air targets.

Plane Farman HF-40 with rockets design La Prie

Aircraft Farman HF-40 with rockets design La.

In 1909, the “aerial torpedo” with the engine on smokeless powder was designed by Swedish Lieutenant Colonel in the background.. It is stabilized in flight by rotation. The idea interested the Germans, and the patent for its manufacture was bought by the Krupp firm.

In April 1912 the Director of the Putilov I. Volovskiy submitted to the Ministry of war of Russia the project of a new type of rotating missiles and two “throwing machines” for their start with airplane and car. The project, from a modern point of view, it sounds more like multi-barreled rocket mortars, widely used in the Navy.

In France during the First world war naval officer La Prie proposed light missile weaponry to airplanes. They intended to use against German balloons and airships. Rocket. La was installed on the aircraft “Nieuport” 12, “Farman” HF-40, “sopvich”, etc. In September 1916, a British pilot A. Walker was shot down with missiles of the German airplane company LVG.

Russian priorities

1 Oct 1916 in the report at the 1st Russian Congress on matters of inventions in the list of pre-approved development at No. 43 was listed as “Special pyroxylin charge.” Its author Ivan Platonovich grave. He was born in 1874 in Kazan, he graduated from the Simbirsk Cadet corps, the Mikhailovsky artillery school, the Mikhailovsky artillery Academy, where he taught from 1904

In 1915 I. grave offers Artillery Committee Chief artillery Directorate of the project of creation of combat missiles with the new foruym composition on the basis of smokeless powder and the machine launching missiles in the form of grooves on the rollers with lifting mechanism. Artkom rejected as recorded grave in his diary – “for reasons unlikely the possibility of using it in the imperialist war” as “war will end soon and the proposal will not have time to develop before the end of the war.”

However, the Board Shlisselburg gunpowder mills “Russian society for the manufacture and sale of gunpowder” was supported by the inventor. In the summer of next year at the disposal of I. grave provided the original laboratory and two workers. His research work was primarily focused on obtaining compact and easily pressed mass of the powder by hot-rolling the mixture from pyroxyline two varieties and stabilizing substances. Compact mass obtained in the form of strips, which are then divided into parts and loaded into a heated press. Leaving only a single output neck, the grave received a cylindrical ribbon with a diameter of 70 mm, which was then cut manually into the cylinders. They are dried for two-three days and hardened so that it was possible their turning on a lathe followed by drilling a Central longitudinal channel. From one end of the drilled channel was sealed with a thin circle of the same mass with the liquid solvent.

I. P. Grave

N. And. Tikhomirov

V. A. Artemyev

For testing charges of cylinders made of a steel combustion chamber with removable bottoms. To study their influence on the pressure in the combustion chamber, the number and size of nozzle holes in doniach were different. Experiments in the application of July 14, 1916 grave I. wrote: “as the driving part may be an ordinary forsony composition, or that it would be a lot better, smokeless powder, prepared with an admixture of solid solvent”.

In the open literature for the period from 1910 to 1930, and publications about gunpowder and explosives found little. In the book “Smokeless powder”, the German specialist G. Brunswig wrote: “In the patents you already have nearly a hundred of such substances, and, it seems, there is a possibility that some of the many technically obscure drugs would be really suitable.” It was ten years after the application I. grave, which Brunswig didn’t know.

To finish the test in 1916 failed, they were deferred to the next summer.

In December 1918, the Military, the legislative Council of the young Soviet Republic decided to organize the Commission for special artillery experiments – CARTOP under the chairmanship of V. M. Trofimov. Here in 1919 – 1926 turned and work on the creation of rocket artillery. I. P. The grave becomes a member of the Commission, involves the work of their students left to teach at the Academy: O. G. Filippov and S. A. Ser-Kova and M. E. Serebryakov. They research gunpowder.

In 1924 the patent application grave from the 1916, was finally considered and approved “On the basis of article 4 of the preliminary provisions to the law on patents, according to the review of the statement and all relevant documents, the Section IV Committee… recognized the ability to grant the patent on the battle or the glowing rocket…”

Grave now devoted himself entirely to the theory of rockets. However, the diary of Ivan Platonovich suggests that he was forced to worked on theoretical problems because it was removed from practical developments on his invention. 4 Oct 1932 in red Star, it appears a great article of “Jet principle in military technology”, describing various options of the launcher machines: with guide groove; a pipe, provided with inside screw thread, etc. This article is the first domestic review of the achievements in the field of rocket artillery.

Schematic diagram of the projectile is fully consistent with the grave shell “Katyusha”, created before the great Patriotic war. This and the size of the internal diameter of the shell: a sword, made grave in 1916, had a diameter of 70 mm, and that of the projectile M-8 “Katyusha” inner diameter – 72 mm; the pieces themselves – exactly the same shape, with internal longitudinal channels with the only difference being that in the patent channel of the grave is deaf, and here, through and through. The gunpowder in the shells “Katyusha” was used e – his grave was offered in 1916, and the type of powder (pyroxylin) was used in shells “Katyusha”, along with nitroglycerin. However, the solvent in M-8 was, but it almost always happens – the invention over the years, debugging is undergoing some changes.

In the early 1940s grave solves many theoretical problems critical to national defense. In 1942, for major work on jet gun “Ballistics semi-enclosed spaces” I. P. grave was awarded the Stalin prize 1 St degree.

The issues of military use of rockets was engaged from 1894 Nikolai Ivanovich Tikhomirov (1860 – 1930). In 1912 he proposed that the naval office run from a chute reactive “arrows”. In 1912 – 1917 this offer have passed all examinations and tests, was approved for use, but the revolution prevented the release of an experimental batch, and the collapse of the front – its combat use.

In the first decades after the revolution, Leningrad artillery Academy, with its laboratories and the test site was a center for rocket artillery. Tikhomirova is forced to relocate his laboratory from Moscow to Leningrad.

11 Jun 1929 in his name was issued the application certificate No. 48961/2349. In October 1929, the documents describing the technological process of manufacturing checkers-charges received for examination to the Department of military inventions. Expert

A. A. Solonina in the draft resolution read as follows: “IV Section of the Committee, taking into account that the use of TNT as the solid solvent, it has long been known, and the additive a small amount of impurities (sebacic ether and mononitrobenzene) not essential, says patent denied”.

Then someone crossed out the opinion and side on the sidelines wrote: “Review is too short. Details there are no guidelines”. The draft resolution was changed. After three and a half month in the journal of the Committee for inventions appears the entry: “the Meeting of the fourth Section. 29 Jan 1930, Upon consideration of the description and all relevant documents, Section IV of the Committee decided to issue… the patent for “Method of producing extruded smokeless powder” in the following edition of the subject of the patent: “…the new method is to use cold pressing of checkers at a pressure of about 350 atmospheres, and then final pressing in the heating matrices at 115° for 5-15 minutes at a pressure of 600 atmospheres”. And the signature “I. grave”.

Patent No. 384 dated June 20, 1930, was issued after the death of Tikhomirov.

The main assistant and co-author of N. And. Tikhomirov was Vladimir Andreyevich Artemyev (1885 – 1962). He was born in St. Petersburg, graduated from the alekseyevskoye military school, he volunteered for the Russo-Japanese war. Courage allowed him to become a Junior non-commissioned officer; in 1908 – 1911 he served as a Lieutenant in the Brest-Litovsk fortress artillery; 1911 – 1915-overseeing the production at the plant lighting mortar shells. After the revolution V. Artemyev to September 1924 he occupied the position of engineer for assignments with the technical Director of artillery stores, and then worked in the laboratory of N. And. Tikhomirova. Here he designed the first Soviet rocket on smokeless powder (the first successful launch took place on 3 March 1928), anti-submarine depth bomb, jet propulsion, and more.

After the merger in September 1933 Gasdynamic laboratory (GDL) and Mosgird at the Jet propulsion research Institute (RNII) worked on perfecting rockets RS-82 and RS-132 before putting them into service.

V. A. Artemyev was one of the main authors of the famous “Katyusha”, although for many years his name was not listed among the names of its creators.

Tests in the gas-dynamic laboratory

In 1928 in the laboratory, Tikhomirov took the first flight tests of rockets on smokeless powder; after that his laboratory was expanded and renamed the gas dynamics (GDL). In 1928 there were 10 people in 1930 – 23, 1932 – 120, and before it is converted into RNII in 1933 – about 200.

If N.And. The Tikhomirov worked in the laboratory on the theory of space flight, after his death, in 1930, when GDL was headed by B. S. Peter and Paul (1898 – 1933), the work of the lab refocused on military projects, work began to launch rockets from the tubular guides by type mortars; from 1930 to 1933 were the development of missiles of caliber 60, 65, 82, 132, 245, and 410 mm. Preserved data, that only in 1932 in the tests of these samples consumed was 6 tons of gunpowder.

Most successfully advanced studies in the 82 – and 132 – mm rockets that have received designation TRS-82, TRS-132. Launcher for them was a pipe, mounted on a light tripod. The basis for these developments was based on the successful illumination flare V. A. Artem’eva.

A significant contribution to the development of the legendary weapons made George erihovich Langemak (1898 – 1938). The first world war forced him to change a University audience on the school warrant: he was a marine artilleryman.

In 1919 Langemak volunteered in the Red Army, served in the coast artillery in Kronstadt. In 1928 he graduated from the Leningrad military engineering Academy. As chief of artillery of the Black sea, carried away by missiles.

B. S. Peter and Paul with its jet launcher

Commander of the Leningrad military district A. cork helped him to transfer to GDL. Since 1936 RNII he became Deputy head of the Institute and chief engineer from 1934 to 1937

G. E. Langemak led the development of missiles with solid fuel. He was convinced that solid-fuel missiles “unable to find combat use primarily as artillery shells of various types,” and made for the accomplishment of his designs, probably more than anyone.

G. E. Langemak

In 1937, the Institute Director I. T. Kleimenov and chief engineer G. E. Langemak was presented to the government awards for the creation of new types of weapons. However, in November of the same year, they both were arrested and sentenced to death.

Aviation rockets at Khalkhin Gol

By order dated September 21, 1933 on the initiative of Marshal M. N. Tukhachevsky with the support of the people’s Commissar of heavy industry G. K. Ordzhonikidze of the two laboratories gird (Group of study of reactive motion of S. P. Korolev) and GDL created in Moscow RNII Reactive scientific-research Institute engaged closely with the development of rockets.

Soon the Institute was commissioned to create an installation for firing missiles with a chemical warhead. Went through the old way: installation on the car ride to “advanced” at the site. Were manually unloaded, strengthened, loaded, aimed. All it took at least an hour, but for the “chemical option” is acceptable. (Remember how the Germans during the First world war in April 1915 in preparation for the gas attack, secretly brought to the position under the Belgian Ypres cylinders with chlorine, put them in the first line of trenches, a few days waiting for a fair wind, and only then released gas).

Developed at RNII starting the machine in the form of parallel bonded rails allowed the volley fire on the area. 15 June 1936 the head of chemical control of the red army corps engineer J. Fishman presented the report of the Director of RNII military engineer 1st rank I. T. kleimenova and the head of the 1st Department of the military engineer K. glukhareva on preliminary tests 132/82 mm rocket chemical mines of near action. The ammunition complement 250/132-mm chemical mine in the middle of the action, which was completed in April of the same year. In parallel, the Institute has developed rockets high-explosive action. It was important, as soon the customer from the chemical mortars was abandoned.

In 1938 (shortly after the death of Ordzhonikidze) RNII was transferred to the people’s Commissariat of ammunition and was renamed NII-3.

Next year, rockets were successfully applied from aircraft. Fighters I-15, I-153, I-16 And Il-2 were completed with unguided projectiles caliber 82 mm (RS-82). The bombers SB and later modifications of the Il-2 was mounted projectiles caliber 132 mm (RS-132).

The biplane I-153 with RS-82 under wings

Soviet fighter LAGG-3 with mounted RS-82 prepares for takeoff

In the summer of 1939 the conflict broke out, provoked by the Japanese on the border with Mongolia in the area Khalkhin-Gol. Under the agreement, the Red Army has provided military assistance to the Mongolian country.

In early August, at the railway siding near Chita was unloaded large boxes. Professionals under the leadership of the military engineer A. D. Popovic and A. G. Gubina technician organized a local Assembly of fighter planes I-16. Each assembled plane hung a 82-mm rockets, four under each wing. On the morning of 5 August, five fighter jets armed with missiles took off from the airfield for overflight. With captain N. And. By Zvonareva aircraft were Lieutenant S. Pimenov, lieutenants V. Fedosov, I. Mikhailenko, and T. Tkachenko.

The first sortie of fighter was timed to the day of the decisive attack at Khalkhin-Gol -20 Aug. The order for departure arrived in 16.57. Pilots were forbidden to cross the front line, not to reveal to the enemy the secret of the new weapons. Missile N. Zvonareva was covered by ordinary fighters I-153 and I-16. Close to the front lines of the lakes Uzur Nur and Angu captain noticed flickering in the air point. The Japanese fighter was about forty. They were flying at an altitude of 3000 – 3500 m. Before the enemy was no more than a kilometer, when the team N. Zvonareva planes given missile salvo. The Japanese pilots did not expect the fire strike from a distance, not taking the fight, and disappeared behind the front line.

On earth the captain was called to the telephone by the commander of the regiment hero of the Soviet Union G. P. Kravchenko: “Congratulations, Nicholas, on the first success! On the ground were two downed “ninety-seventh” of the enemy. Recorded you. From the ground no one was shot.”

Military action in the battle of Khalkin Gol ended 16 September 1939, Less than two months five of the world’s first missile did 85 combat missions and shot down ten enemy fighters, two heavy and one light bomber. Part of the captain Zvonareva returned to Moscow without losses.

In March 1941 a group of employees RNII and factory engineers was awarded the Stalin prize for aircraft weapons missiles.

Ground launcher

The first rocket launcher on a truck chassis consisted of eight guides associated tubular welded spars. Jet 16 132-mm shells (the mass of each 42,5 kg) were recorded in pairs with T-shaped pins on the top and bottom rails. The design was the possibility to change the elevation and pivot in azimuth.

The installation, called MU-1 (mechanized system), mounted on the chassis of the truck ZIS-5: a relatively short rails located transversely of the machine. The decision was unsuccessful at shooting the car was rocking, which significantly worsened the accuracy of the volley. Characteristics of the plant increased slightly when the base began to use three-axle chassis of the truck ZIS-6.

In September 1939, creates a reactive system of the MU-2. In this embodiment, elongated guide rails mounted along the vehicle, the rear part of which before the shooting is additionally hung on the jacks. The weight of the car with a crew of five people and a full load was 8.33 t, the firing range was reached 8470 m. In a single volley for 8 – 10 were fired 16 shells containing 78,4 kg of explosive. For transfer of vehicle from stowed to combat position, was enough for 3 – 4 minutes (mostly time spent on the fixation of the jacks).

Installing MU-2

The Institute announced a closed competition for that rocket launcher to fire high-explosive shells. That is the use of rocket artillery focused at the time, G. E. Langemak and B. S. Peter and Paul. The idea came together, and in August 1939 by the engineers V. N. Galkowski, I. I. Gwaii, A. P. Pavlenko, and A. C. Popov presented the project “mobile multi-charged volley of settings for firing rockets”.

The project, signed by A. Kostikova I. Gwaii and sent to the customer. 1 Nov new installation fired the first salvo.

Rocket M-13 (132-mm high-explosive) and missile launcher BM-13 was adopted by the artillery on the eve of the great Patriotic war. In March 1941, successfully completed field tests of installations, and already on June 21, a few hours before the war, was signed the decree about their mass production.

One of the main enterprises for the production of missiles was the Moscow plant them. Vladimir Ilyich.

The caliber of Soviet missiles during the great Patriotic war, 82 mm and 132 mm was determined as the diameter of the powder checkers engine. Seven 24-mm powder checkers, tightly Packed in the combustion chamber, gives a diameter of 72 mm, the thickness of the chamber walls – 5 mm, hence the diameter of the rocket – more than Seven 82 mm. thick 40 mm checkers in the same way given the caliber 132 mm.

The most important question when designing the PC was the method of stabilization. Soviet designers until the end of the war favored feathered shells.

As a trigger for feathered missiles “Katyusha” was taken zhelobkova guides. Experiments have shown that the longer they are, the higher the accuracy. However, the length of the RS-132, because of the limitations on rail dimensions could not exceed 5 m.

Effective means of cranking any feathered shells steel helical guides, which are compared with the straight had more vitality. Their trials began in mid-1944 To April 1945 produced a 100 combat vehicles B-13СН (SI – spiral guides) and formed the first units armed with them. When shooting from BM-13-SN grouping of shells of M-13 and M-1 zook was very similar.

The second direction of development of domestic PC was the increasing charge of explosive, as the explosive action M-13 was small. In June 1942, took arms explosive 132-mm shells of M-20 differs from M-13 a heavier head and, therefore, less range. Soon the explosive action of M-20 is also considered insufficient, and in mid-1944 its production was discontinued.

More successful was the shells of M-30, in which the rocket engine from M-13 were joined by a powerful ndelivery head part, made in the form of an ellipsoid. She had a maximum diameter of 300 mm.

A significant disadvantage of the M-30 was a small range of what was partially done at the end of 1942, when he created a new 300-mm high-explosive RS M-31, with a range of 1.5 times greater. In M-31, the head part was taken from the M-30, and the missile was redesigned on the basis of its design the experimental engine PC M-14.

In October 1944 were adopting long-range PC M-13-DD. It was the first shell with two-chamber rocket engine. Both cameras were standard, and in the shells of M-13 and were successively connected by the intermediate nozzle, which had eight colonelonic holes. Rocket engines worked simultaneously.

L. KASHCHEEV

To be continued

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