Rockets as a weapon were known to many nations and were created in different countries. It is believed that they appeared even before the barrel firearm. Thus, an outstanding Russian general and also a scientist K. I. Konstantinov wrote that simultaneously with the invention of artillery, rockets also came into use. They were used wherever gunpowder was used. And since they began to be used for military purposes, it means that special missile troops were also created for this. This article is devoted to the emergence and development of the mentioned type of weapons, from fireworks to spaceflight.
How it all began
According to official history, gunpowder was invented in China around the 11th century AD. However, the naive Chinese did not come up with anything better than using it to stuff fireworks. And now, several centuries later, “enlightened” Europeans created more powerful gunpowder recipes and immediately found great uses for it: firearms, bombs, etc. Well, let’s leave this statement to the conscience of historians. We are not with youwas in ancient China, so it’s not worth arguing anything. And what do written sources say about the first use of missiles in the army?
Charter of the Russian army (1607-1621) as documentary evidence
The fact that in Russia and Europe the military had information about the manufacture, arrangement, storage and use of signal, incendiary and firework rockets, tells us the "Charter of military, cannon and other matters that relate to military science." It is composed of 663 articles and decrees selected from foreign military literature. That is, this document confirms the existence of missiles in the armies of Europe and Russia, but nowhere is there any mention of their use directly in any battles. And yet, we can conclude that they were used, since they fell into the hands of the military.
Oh, this thorny path…
Despite the lack of understanding and fear of all new military officials, the Russian missile forces still became one of the leading branches of the military. It is difficult to imagine a modern army without missilemen. However, the path of their formation was very difficult.
Officially, signal (illumination) rockets were first adopted by the Russian army in 1717. Almost a hundred years later, in 1814-1817, the military scientist A. I. Kartmazov sought recognition from officials for military high-explosive and incendiary rockets (2-, 2, 5- and 3.6-inch) of his own manufacture. They had a flight range of 1.5-3 km. They were never accepted into service.
In 1815-1817 Russian artilleryman A. D. Zasyadko also invents similarlive shells, and military officials do not let them through either. The next attempt was made in 1823-1825. After going through many offices of the War Ministry, the idea was finally approved, and the first combat missiles (2-, 2, 5-, 3- and 4-inch) entered service with the Russian army. The flight range was 1-2.7 km.
This turbulent 19th century
In 1826, the mass production of the mentioned weapons begins. For this purpose, the first rocket facility is being created in St. Petersburg. In April of the following year, the first rocket company was formed (it was renamed a battery in 1831). This combat unit was intended for joint operations with cavalry and infantry. It is from this event that the official history of the missile forces of our country begins.
Baptism of Fire
For the first time, Russian rocket troops were used in August 1827 in the Caucasus during the Russian-Iranian war (1826-1828). Already a year later, during the war with Turkey, they were given command during the siege of the fortress of Varna. So, in the campaign of 1828, 1191 rockets were fired, of which 380 were incendiary and 811 high-explosive. Since then, rocket troops have played a major role in any military battles.
Military engineer K. A. Schilder
This talented man in 1834 developed a design that brought rocket weapons to a new stage of development. His device was intended for underground launch of rockets, it had an inclined tubular guide. However, Schilder did not stop there. They developed rocketsenhanced explosive action. In addition, he was the first in the world to use electric igniters to ignite solid fuels. In the same year, 1834, Schilder designed and even tested the world's first rocket-carrying ferry and submarine. He installed installations for launching missiles from the surface and underwater positions on the watercraft. As you can see, the first half of the 19th century is characterized by the creation and widespread use of this type of weapon.
Lieutenant General K. I. Konstantinov
In 1840-1860 a huge contribution to the development of rocket weapons, as well as the theory of their combat use, was made by a representative of the Russian artillery school, inventor and scientist K. I. Konstantinov. With his scientific work, he made a revolution in rocket science, thanks to which Russian technology took a leading place in the world. He developed the basics of experimental dynamics, scientific methods for designing this type of weapon. A number of devices and instruments for determining ballistic characteristics have been created. The scientist acted as an innovator in the field of rocket manufacturing, set up mass production. Made a huge contribution to the safety of the technological process of manufacturing weapons.
Konstantinov developed more powerful rockets and launchers for them. As a result, the maximum flight range was 5.3 km. Launchers became more portable, convenient and perfect, they provided high accuracy and rate of fire, especially in mountainous areas. In 1856, according to the project of Konstantinov, a rocket plant was built in Nikolaev.
Moordid his job
In the 19th century, rocket troops and artillery made a grand breakthrough in their development and distribution. So, combat missiles were put into service in all military districts. There was not a single warship and naval base where missile troops were not used. They were directly involved in field battles, and during the siege and assault of fortresses, etc. However, by the end of the 19th century, rocket armament began to be much inferior to progressive barrel artillery, especially after the appearance of long-range rifled guns. And then came 1890. It was the end for the missile forces: this type of weapon was discontinued in all countries of the world.
Jet Propulsion: Like a Phoenix Bird…
Despite the refusal of the army from the missile troops, scientists continued their work on this type of weapon. So, M. M. Pomortsev proposed new solutions for increasing the flight range, as well as firing accuracy. I. V. Volovsky developed rockets of a rotating type, multi-barreled aircraft and ground launchers. N. V. Gerasimov designed combat anti-aircraft solid fuel analogues.
The main obstacle to the development of such a technique was the lack of a theoretical basis. To solve this problem, a group of Russian scientists at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century carried out titanic work and made a significant contribution to the theory of jet propulsion. However, K. E. Tsiolkovsky became the founder of the unified theory of rocket dynamics and astronautics. This outstanding scientist from 1883 until the last days of his life worked on solving problemsin rocket science and space flight. He solved the main questions of the theory of jet propulsion.
The selfless work of many Russian scientists gave a new impetus to the development of this type of weapon, and consequently, a new life for this type of troops. Even today in our country, the rocket and space troops are associated with the names of prominent figures - Tsiolkovsky and Korolev.
Soviet Russia
After the revolution, work on rocket weapons was not stopped, and in 1933 the Jet Research Institute was even established in Moscow. In it, Soviet scientists designed ballistic and experimental cruise missiles and rocket gliders. In addition, significantly improved rockets and launchers for them have been created. This also includes the BM-13 Katyusha combat vehicle, which later became legendary. A number of discoveries were made at the RNII. A set of projects for units, devices and systems was proposed, which subsequently received application in rocket technology.
The Great Patriotic War
Katyusha became the world's first multiple launch rocket system. And most importantly, the creation of this machine contributed to the resumption of special missile forces. By the beginning of the Second World War, the BM-13 combat vehicle was put into service. The difficult situation that developed in 1941 required the rapid introduction of new missile weapons. The restructuring of industry was carried out in the shortest possible time. And already in August, 214 factories were involved in the production of this type of weapon. As we spokeabove, rocket troops were re-created as part of the Armed Forces, however, during the war they were called guards mortar units, and later to this day - rocket artillery.
Combat vehicle BM-13 "Katyusha"
The first HMCs were divided into batteries and divisions. So, the first rocket battery, which consisted of 7 experimental installations and a small number of shells, was formed under the command of Captain Flerov within three days and was sent to the Western Front on July 2. And already on July 14, the Katyushas fired their first combat salvo at the Orsha railway station (the BM-13 combat vehicle is shown in the photo).
The Rocket Forces in their debut delivered a powerful fire strike with 112 shells simultaneously. As a result, a glow blazed over the station: ammunition was exploding, trains were burning. The fiery tornado destroyed both the enemy's manpower and military equipment. The combat effectiveness of missile weapons exceeded all expectations. During the years of the Second World War, there was a significant leap in the development of jet technology, which led to a significant spread of HMC. By the end of the war, the missile troops consisted of 40 separate divisions, 115 regiments, 40 separate brigades and 7 divisions - a total of 519 divisions.
If you want peace, prepare for war
In the post-war period, rocket artillery continued to develop - the range, accuracy of fire and volley power increased. The Soviet military complex created entire generations of 40-barrel 122-mm MLRS "Grad" and "Prima", 16-barrel 220-mm MLRS "Uragan", providinghitting targets at a distance of 35 km. In 1987, a 12-barreled 300-millimeter long-range MLRS "Smerch" was developed, which to this day has no analogues in the world. The range of hitting the target in this installation is 70 km. In addition, the ground forces received operational-tactical, tactical and anti-tank systems.
New weapons
In the 50s of the last century, the missile forces were divided into different directions. But rocket artillery has retained its positions to this day. New types were created - these are anti-aircraft missile troops and strategic troops. These units are firmly established on land, at sea, under water and in the air. Thus, the anti-aircraft missile forces are represented in the air defense as a separate branch of service, but similar units exist in the navy. With the creation of nuclear weapons, the main question arose: how to deliver the charge to its destination? In the USSR, a choice was made in favor of missiles, as a result, strategic missile forces appeared.
Stages of development of the Strategic Missile Forces
- 1959-1965 - creation, deployment, putting on combat duty of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of solving tasks of a strategic nature in various military-geographical regions. In 1962, the Strategic Missile Forces took part in the Anadyr military operation, as a result of which medium-range missiles were secretly deployed in Cuba.
- 1965-1973 - deployment of ICBMs of the secondgenerations. The transformation of the Strategic Missile Forces into the main component of the nuclear forces of the USSR.
- 1973-1985 - equipping the Strategic Missile Forces with third-generation missiles with multiple warheads with individual guidance units.
- 1985-1991 - the elimination of medium-range missiles and the arming of the RVNS with fourth-generation complexes.
- 1992-1995 - the withdrawal of ICBMs from Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The Russian Strategic Missile Forces have been formed.
- 1996-2000 - the introduction of fifth-generation Topol-M missiles. Consolidation of the Military Space Forces, the Strategic Missile Forces and the Space Rocket Defense Forces.
- 2001 - The Strategic Missile Forces were transformed into 2 branches of the Armed Forces - the Strategic Missile Forces and the Space Forces.
Conclusion
The process of development and formation of the missile forces is rather heterogeneous. It has its ups and downs, and even the complete elimination of "rocketeers" in the armies of the whole world at the end of the 19th century. However, rockets, like a Phoenix bird, rise from the ashes during World War II and are firmly established in the military complex.
And despite the fact that over the past 70 years the missile forces have undergone significant changes in the organizational structure, forms, methods of their combat use, they always retain a role that can be described in just a few words: to be a deterrent in regarding the unleashing of aggression against our country. In Russia, November 19 is considered the professional day of rocket troops and artillery. This Day was approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 549 dated May 31, 2006. The emblem of the Russian missile forces is shown on the right of the photo.
