Grad MLRS combat debut - fifty years
15 March 1969, the sky above Damanski Island was cut by fiery arrows, they crossed the Ussuri River and hit the Chinese coast, covering the territory where the Chinese units were located, with a sea of fire. So in the frontier armed conflict around the island of Damansky the fat point was put. Salts of the MLRS "Grad" from the 135 Motorized Rifle Division transferred this conflict to a fading stage. After 15 March, Chinese border guards and the PLA troops no longer took any active hostile actions on this section of the state border with the Soviet Union.
It is now everyone has an idea of what the MLRS Grad is, and in March 1969, this weapon was secret. Until the “Grad” widely spread throughout the world, there were still many years. After the completion of serial production, by the 1995, more than two thousand BM-50 combat vehicles will be in service with the armies of the 21 states. And all in all, during the mass production, 6536 BM-21 “Grad” combat vehicles were delivered only to the Soviet Army. Also, during the mass production, more than three million missiles of various purposes for this MLRS were fired. Volumes of production and distribution throughout the world make it possible to compare the Grad system with the famous Kalashnikov assault rifle.
The BM-21, which received the GRAU index 9K51, has been actively developed since the end of the 1950-s. Preliminary tests of the new installations, which became the heirs of the legendary Katyushas, were held at the end of 1961, and were recognized as successful. Full-scale tests of the new weapons were carried out in the spring of 1962, at test sites located in the Leningrad Region, during these tests the systems transferred to the military were to carry out about 650 volleys and pass 10 thousands of kilometers. According to the results of tests carried out at the end of March 1963, the new 122 mm caliber self-propelled rocket launcher was officially adopted by the Soviet Army, and in the following year the first production models began to flow into the operating units.
The Grad MLRS, which were first used in real combat conditions on March 15, 1969, were part of the 13th separate rocket artillery division of the 135th Motorized Rifle Division and were an integral part of its regular artillery. It was on March 15 that the armed conflict around the border island of Damansky culminated, and the first truly serious battle on the island took place on March 2, 1969. After the first serious aggravation of the situation on the border, the 135th Motorized Rifle Division with its attached artillery, including BM-21 Grad combat vehicles, began to deploy in the rear of the reinforced border patrols. The division was incomplete, it did not have a 3rd battery, so it had 12 BM-21 Grad combat vehicles instead of the regular 18 units. In addition, the division had the 378th Artillery Regiment at its disposal, which had 152 1-mm D-12 howitzers and 122 30-mm M-24 howitzers.
Around 15: 00 - 15: 30 15 in March, two artillery battalions of the 378 artillery regiment, armed with 122-mm howitzers M-30, were already in equipped firing positions located east of Damansky island, at about XNXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX of the XNUM of 4 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX of 5 X-NUMX X-NUMX X X-NUMX X-NUMX X-NUMX X-Num. The third division of the artillery regiment arrived at the place with a delay due to the change of deployment site and difficult terrain. By the time his gunners reached new positions, the other two divisions were already firing at the Chinese troops, with each of the batteries participating in the battle already having time to launch missiles at the enemy in about 300. According to eyewitnesses, the artillery calculations were so heated by the battle that some of the fighters worked with guns, stripped to the waist underwear, while the weather was frosty outside, about -10 degrees Celsius.
According to the memoirs of the commander of the 13-th separate rocket artillery division, Major Mikhail Tashonovich Vaschenko, to 16: 20 as a result of the impact of cannon artillery fire on fire assets and positions of the Chinese, the Chinese forces were able to advance into the island of Damansky. The Chinese military went on the defensive in positions located in the western part of the island. At the same time, the Chinese continued to pull up their reserves to the island, hoping to knock out Soviet border units from the eastern part of the island with a massive attack and seize it entirely. By this time, the firing positions of the MLRS Grad were approximately 9 kilometers east of Damanskiy, and the command and observation post of the division was equipped on Kafila mountain, on its south-western slopes.
The Soviet secret weapon entered the 17 watch when it became clear that the Chinese would be able to knock the border guards off their positions on the island due to their numerical superiority. It is believed that Lieutenant-General Oleg Losik, commander of the troops of the Far Eastern Military District, personally ordered the use of the secret at that time MLRS Grad. In a short time, 12 combat vehicles BM-21 could launch 480 rocket projectiles (40 guides on the machine) of 122-mm caliber to enemy troops.
The raid, which was carried out simultaneously with the use of deployed cannon artillery and lasted 10 minutes, had disastrous consequences for the Chinese side. Under the distribution were artillery guns, mortars and Chinese reserves, which were advanced to the island. In a short time, fire raids destroyed most of the material and technical resources available to the Chinese military group, including openly located shells. The attack of Soviet frontier guards and soldiers from the 2 th motorized rifle battalion of the 199 th motorized rifle regiment that followed the fire attack allowed the Chinese forces to be knocked out of Damansky Island.
Losses of the Chinese side in manpower are still classified information. According to various estimates, they can be from a few hundred to a few thousand people just killed. At the same time, the assessment of Chinese irretrievable losses at the level of approximately 300 military personnel, who were victims of not only the Grad missile attack, but also the fire of the Soviet artillery, seems to be the most adequate. In general, it can be stated that the impact of multiple launch rocket systems impressed the Chinese military. In addition to the fact that some kind of secret weapon was used, hypotheses were expressed on the use of special incendiary (thermite) projectiles and even fantastic versions about the use of a laser.
In fact, on that day no special ammunition was used, a volley at the enemy was fired using standard 122-mm high-explosive fragmentation shells 9M22 with a warhead weighing 18,4 kg. These shells made it possible to confidently hit infantry, artillery batteries and enemy equipment located in an open area at a distance of up to 20,4 km. At the same time, the psychological effect of the use of such weapons was also noted during the years of World War II, the fire of multiple launch rocket systems had a demoralizing effect on the enemy. Such weapons were not liked not only by the Germans, but also by Soviet soldiers. For example, in the battle for the Island in early July 1941, the Germans massively used their six-barreled mortars. Soviet commanders noted the emergence of new weapons and appreciated their effectiveness, but could not understand what it was. In Island Battle Report 3 tank the division mentioned the simultaneous covering of large areas with incendiary shells, the Germans also mentioned the use of aircraft with incendiary bombs and some kind of combustible mixture. In March 1969, the Chinese military found themselves in approximately the same situation as the Soviet troops attacking the Island in 1941. Up to this point, the PLA has never encountered such weapons.
It is worth noting that their own "Grads" appeared at the disposal of the Chinese military only in 1982, when the 81 Type volley-fire rocket launcher entered service with the PLA. She was a practically complete copy of the Soviet BM-21 combat vehicle. It is believed that the Chinese were able to copy this installation after several machines were seized by them during the Sino-Vietnamese war of the 1979 year. At the same time, the organizational structure of the PLA also repeated the Soviet one - for 18 combat vehicles per division. In addition to the MLRS "Tip-81", which was located, also on off-road vehicles with the wheel formula 6х6, in China in 1983, the lightweight version of the pirate "Grad" was adopted - the installation "Type-83", which received 24 - trunk package guides.
Damansky Island itself, which became the scene of the largest armed conflict between China and the USSR, was transferred to the Chinese side of 19 in May of 1991 of the year and is now called Zhenbao dao (literally translated as “Precious Island”).
Information sources:
Ryabushkin D.S. Myths of Damansky. Moscow, AST, 2004.
https://vpk-news.ru.
https://vladnews.ru.
rbase.new-factoria.ru.
Materials from open sources.
It is now everyone has an idea of what the MLRS Grad is, and in March 1969, this weapon was secret. Until the “Grad” widely spread throughout the world, there were still many years. After the completion of serial production, by the 1995, more than two thousand BM-50 combat vehicles will be in service with the armies of the 21 states. And all in all, during the mass production, 6536 BM-21 “Grad” combat vehicles were delivered only to the Soviet Army. Also, during the mass production, more than three million missiles of various purposes for this MLRS were fired. Volumes of production and distribution throughout the world make it possible to compare the Grad system with the famous Kalashnikov assault rifle.
The BM-21, which received the GRAU index 9K51, has been actively developed since the end of the 1950-s. Preliminary tests of the new installations, which became the heirs of the legendary Katyushas, were held at the end of 1961, and were recognized as successful. Full-scale tests of the new weapons were carried out in the spring of 1962, at test sites located in the Leningrad Region, during these tests the systems transferred to the military were to carry out about 650 volleys and pass 10 thousands of kilometers. According to the results of tests carried out at the end of March 1963, the new 122 mm caliber self-propelled rocket launcher was officially adopted by the Soviet Army, and in the following year the first production models began to flow into the operating units.
The Grad MLRS, which were first used in real combat conditions on March 15, 1969, were part of the 13th separate rocket artillery division of the 135th Motorized Rifle Division and were an integral part of its regular artillery. It was on March 15 that the armed conflict around the border island of Damansky culminated, and the first truly serious battle on the island took place on March 2, 1969. After the first serious aggravation of the situation on the border, the 135th Motorized Rifle Division with its attached artillery, including BM-21 Grad combat vehicles, began to deploy in the rear of the reinforced border patrols. The division was incomplete, it did not have a 3rd battery, so it had 12 BM-21 Grad combat vehicles instead of the regular 18 units. In addition, the division had the 378th Artillery Regiment at its disposal, which had 152 1-mm D-12 howitzers and 122 30-mm M-24 howitzers.
Around 15: 00 - 15: 30 15 in March, two artillery battalions of the 378 artillery regiment, armed with 122-mm howitzers M-30, were already in equipped firing positions located east of Damansky island, at about XNXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX of the XNUM of 4 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX of 5 X-NUMX X-NUMX X X-NUMX X-NUMX X-NUMX X-Num. The third division of the artillery regiment arrived at the place with a delay due to the change of deployment site and difficult terrain. By the time his gunners reached new positions, the other two divisions were already firing at the Chinese troops, with each of the batteries participating in the battle already having time to launch missiles at the enemy in about 300. According to eyewitnesses, the artillery calculations were so heated by the battle that some of the fighters worked with guns, stripped to the waist underwear, while the weather was frosty outside, about -10 degrees Celsius.
According to the memoirs of the commander of the 13-th separate rocket artillery division, Major Mikhail Tashonovich Vaschenko, to 16: 20 as a result of the impact of cannon artillery fire on fire assets and positions of the Chinese, the Chinese forces were able to advance into the island of Damansky. The Chinese military went on the defensive in positions located in the western part of the island. At the same time, the Chinese continued to pull up their reserves to the island, hoping to knock out Soviet border units from the eastern part of the island with a massive attack and seize it entirely. By this time, the firing positions of the MLRS Grad were approximately 9 kilometers east of Damanskiy, and the command and observation post of the division was equipped on Kafila mountain, on its south-western slopes.
The Soviet secret weapon entered the 17 watch when it became clear that the Chinese would be able to knock the border guards off their positions on the island due to their numerical superiority. It is believed that Lieutenant-General Oleg Losik, commander of the troops of the Far Eastern Military District, personally ordered the use of the secret at that time MLRS Grad. In a short time, 12 combat vehicles BM-21 could launch 480 rocket projectiles (40 guides on the machine) of 122-mm caliber to enemy troops.
The raid, which was carried out simultaneously with the use of deployed cannon artillery and lasted 10 minutes, had disastrous consequences for the Chinese side. Under the distribution were artillery guns, mortars and Chinese reserves, which were advanced to the island. In a short time, fire raids destroyed most of the material and technical resources available to the Chinese military group, including openly located shells. The attack of Soviet frontier guards and soldiers from the 2 th motorized rifle battalion of the 199 th motorized rifle regiment that followed the fire attack allowed the Chinese forces to be knocked out of Damansky Island.
Losses of the Chinese side in manpower are still classified information. According to various estimates, they can be from a few hundred to a few thousand people just killed. At the same time, the assessment of Chinese irretrievable losses at the level of approximately 300 military personnel, who were victims of not only the Grad missile attack, but also the fire of the Soviet artillery, seems to be the most adequate. In general, it can be stated that the impact of multiple launch rocket systems impressed the Chinese military. In addition to the fact that some kind of secret weapon was used, hypotheses were expressed on the use of special incendiary (thermite) projectiles and even fantastic versions about the use of a laser.
In fact, on that day no special ammunition was used, a volley at the enemy was fired using standard 122-mm high-explosive fragmentation shells 9M22 with a warhead weighing 18,4 kg. These shells made it possible to confidently hit infantry, artillery batteries and enemy equipment located in an open area at a distance of up to 20,4 km. At the same time, the psychological effect of the use of such weapons was also noted during the years of World War II, the fire of multiple launch rocket systems had a demoralizing effect on the enemy. Such weapons were not liked not only by the Germans, but also by Soviet soldiers. For example, in the battle for the Island in early July 1941, the Germans massively used their six-barreled mortars. Soviet commanders noted the emergence of new weapons and appreciated their effectiveness, but could not understand what it was. In Island Battle Report 3 tank the division mentioned the simultaneous covering of large areas with incendiary shells, the Germans also mentioned the use of aircraft with incendiary bombs and some kind of combustible mixture. In March 1969, the Chinese military found themselves in approximately the same situation as the Soviet troops attacking the Island in 1941. Up to this point, the PLA has never encountered such weapons.
It is worth noting that their own "Grads" appeared at the disposal of the Chinese military only in 1982, when the 81 Type volley-fire rocket launcher entered service with the PLA. She was a practically complete copy of the Soviet BM-21 combat vehicle. It is believed that the Chinese were able to copy this installation after several machines were seized by them during the Sino-Vietnamese war of the 1979 year. At the same time, the organizational structure of the PLA also repeated the Soviet one - for 18 combat vehicles per division. In addition to the MLRS "Tip-81", which was located, also on off-road vehicles with the wheel formula 6х6, in China in 1983, the lightweight version of the pirate "Grad" was adopted - the installation "Type-83", which received 24 - trunk package guides.
Damansky Island itself, which became the scene of the largest armed conflict between China and the USSR, was transferred to the Chinese side of 19 in May of 1991 of the year and is now called Zhenbao dao (literally translated as “Precious Island”).
Information sources:
Ryabushkin D.S. Myths of Damansky. Moscow, AST, 2004.
https://vpk-news.ru.
https://vladnews.ru.
rbase.new-factoria.ru.
Materials from open sources.
Information