shotdownski
11-21-2005, 09:04 AM
Found this at: http://www.tarrif.net/
Seems like the probability of hitting a target was very, very low.
The Soviet Union was the first country to develop effective air-to-ground rockets, dating far back to even before the war. In the 1920's, Russian scientists discovered the formula for Pyroxyline TNT Powder, or PTP, which was the basis for rocket propellant. Continuing their work through the 1930's and during the Great Patriotic War, they developed three major rocket sizes: 68mm, 82mm, and 132mm. While the 68mm rocket was deemed too small for military use since it could not carry an adequate warhead, the 82mm and 132mm rockets became the RS-82 and RS-132 respectively. The smaller RS-82 rocket was even used for experiments in rocket-assisted take-off in the early 1930's.
Like most other air launched rockets of WWII, the Russian RS-82 and RS-132 were developed from army rockets used by the NKVD's Katyusha units. They had good performance, although suffering from the usual poor accuracy, and could be found on most fighters, bombers, and attack aircraft in the Russian arsenal. According to Soviet records, over 12 million RS series rockets were produced before and during the war.
RS-82 (High Explosive Rocket)
The RS-82 was Russia's best early rocket and could be found on many of her aircraft, such as the LaGG-3 pictured above. It was available for use by aircraft in 1937, and it was first used in combat against the Japanese on August 20, 1939, by an experimental fighter group engaged over Nomonhan. With five I-16 "Ratas" carrying 4 rockets each, the Russians claimed the rockets destroyed 2 Japanese aircraft, although this has been widely discredited. While the air-to-air effectiveness of the RS-82 was questionable, the psychological impact was not: Japanese intelligence concluded the Russians were equipping their aircraft with 76mm guns, which had many Japanese aircraft designers scratching their heads.
Unlike the Katyusha, the RS-82 was not used during the Great Patriotic War until late 1941. This was because most of the Soviet air force was smashed during the German invasion, and because rockets were not sent to front line aviation units out of fear that the rockets would be captured. It wasn't until the German advance was slowed that major Russian rocket use began. The RS-82 had a high-explosive warhead and was good for destroying un-armored vehicles and small fortifications. Another variant with a shaped charge armor piercing warhead was also developed, named the BRS-82, and could penetrate 65mm of armor - but it had to impact at or near a 90 degree angle. The stats and weights of the two rockets are identical.
In a Russian study of rocket effectiveness vs. enemy armor, 182 rockets of the type RS-82 were fired at a stationary tank 500 meters away with only 7 hits, none of which caused any damage. The next test moved the firing distance forward to 300 meters and the target was a vehicle column. Accuracy improved slightly, up to 3.7%, but the only damage observed were direct hits on light tanks and half-tracks. Near misses of 1 meter or more did no damage to any armored or semi-armored vehicles.
RS-132 (High Explosive Rocket)
While the RS-82 was Russia's premier rocket early in the war, its power wasn't strong enough to knock out heavy fortifications and tanks. In 1942 the 132mm RS-132 rocket appeared, although it had been in existance since 1932 for experimental purposes, it wasn't available for regular use until after the war began. It was too heavy to be carried by many of the smaller fighter aircraft that could mount the RS-82, so this 132mm rocket was mostly carried by the IL-2 "Shturmovik" and other attack / bomber aircraft.
The RS-132 came in three varieties: the standard high explosive (RS), high explosive fragmentation (ROFS), and a shaped charge armor piercing version (BRS). The BRS-132 could penetrate 110mm - 160mm of armor, but had the same problems as other HEAT weapons, with a narrow impact angle needed to work properly.
In the same Russian study mentioned above, 182 of the type RS-132 rockets were launched against a similar stationary target at 500 meters range. No rockets hit the target. Again the launch range was decreased and the target became a column of vehicles. Against this column, at 200 meters range and with 134 launches, only 2 rockets found targets, both of which were medium tanks and both of which were deemed out of action. The results of these tests proved to the Soviet high command that rockets were useless in attacks against tanks, and it encouraged the development of PTAB bomblet cases - which proved much more effective.
Source: "Shturmovaiya aviaciya Krasnoy Armii". Petrov, Rastrenin.
Seems like the probability of hitting a target was very, very low.
The Soviet Union was the first country to develop effective air-to-ground rockets, dating far back to even before the war. In the 1920's, Russian scientists discovered the formula for Pyroxyline TNT Powder, or PTP, which was the basis for rocket propellant. Continuing their work through the 1930's and during the Great Patriotic War, they developed three major rocket sizes: 68mm, 82mm, and 132mm. While the 68mm rocket was deemed too small for military use since it could not carry an adequate warhead, the 82mm and 132mm rockets became the RS-82 and RS-132 respectively. The smaller RS-82 rocket was even used for experiments in rocket-assisted take-off in the early 1930's.
Like most other air launched rockets of WWII, the Russian RS-82 and RS-132 were developed from army rockets used by the NKVD's Katyusha units. They had good performance, although suffering from the usual poor accuracy, and could be found on most fighters, bombers, and attack aircraft in the Russian arsenal. According to Soviet records, over 12 million RS series rockets were produced before and during the war.
RS-82 (High Explosive Rocket)
The RS-82 was Russia's best early rocket and could be found on many of her aircraft, such as the LaGG-3 pictured above. It was available for use by aircraft in 1937, and it was first used in combat against the Japanese on August 20, 1939, by an experimental fighter group engaged over Nomonhan. With five I-16 "Ratas" carrying 4 rockets each, the Russians claimed the rockets destroyed 2 Japanese aircraft, although this has been widely discredited. While the air-to-air effectiveness of the RS-82 was questionable, the psychological impact was not: Japanese intelligence concluded the Russians were equipping their aircraft with 76mm guns, which had many Japanese aircraft designers scratching their heads.
Unlike the Katyusha, the RS-82 was not used during the Great Patriotic War until late 1941. This was because most of the Soviet air force was smashed during the German invasion, and because rockets were not sent to front line aviation units out of fear that the rockets would be captured. It wasn't until the German advance was slowed that major Russian rocket use began. The RS-82 had a high-explosive warhead and was good for destroying un-armored vehicles and small fortifications. Another variant with a shaped charge armor piercing warhead was also developed, named the BRS-82, and could penetrate 65mm of armor - but it had to impact at or near a 90 degree angle. The stats and weights of the two rockets are identical.
In a Russian study of rocket effectiveness vs. enemy armor, 182 rockets of the type RS-82 were fired at a stationary tank 500 meters away with only 7 hits, none of which caused any damage. The next test moved the firing distance forward to 300 meters and the target was a vehicle column. Accuracy improved slightly, up to 3.7%, but the only damage observed were direct hits on light tanks and half-tracks. Near misses of 1 meter or more did no damage to any armored or semi-armored vehicles.
RS-132 (High Explosive Rocket)
While the RS-82 was Russia's premier rocket early in the war, its power wasn't strong enough to knock out heavy fortifications and tanks. In 1942 the 132mm RS-132 rocket appeared, although it had been in existance since 1932 for experimental purposes, it wasn't available for regular use until after the war began. It was too heavy to be carried by many of the smaller fighter aircraft that could mount the RS-82, so this 132mm rocket was mostly carried by the IL-2 "Shturmovik" and other attack / bomber aircraft.
The RS-132 came in three varieties: the standard high explosive (RS), high explosive fragmentation (ROFS), and a shaped charge armor piercing version (BRS). The BRS-132 could penetrate 110mm - 160mm of armor, but had the same problems as other HEAT weapons, with a narrow impact angle needed to work properly.
In the same Russian study mentioned above, 182 of the type RS-132 rockets were launched against a similar stationary target at 500 meters range. No rockets hit the target. Again the launch range was decreased and the target became a column of vehicles. Against this column, at 200 meters range and with 134 launches, only 2 rockets found targets, both of which were medium tanks and both of which were deemed out of action. The results of these tests proved to the Soviet high command that rockets were useless in attacks against tanks, and it encouraged the development of PTAB bomblet cases - which proved much more effective.
Source: "Shturmovaiya aviaciya Krasnoy Armii". Petrov, Rastrenin.