Karl was surprised: "Ah, Philip, do you have a way to solve the problem of the accuracy of rocket artillery?" You know, it's very hard! ”

Xiao Weiguo laughed and said, "Carl, there is a problem with your understanding!" Who said rocket artillery had to have the same accuracy as a barrel gun? Of course, low accuracy and a single type of ammunition have always been the weak points of rocket artillery. That's because the current rocket artillery is a guide rail launch method, and we want to engage in a box-launched rocket launcher, and it is vehicle-mounted, which can quickly transfer the launch position, thereby reducing the risk of exposure. The ultimate goal of rocket artillery is one of the main fire suppression weapons of artillery, because it has the characteristics of simple structure, fierce firepower, high rate of fire, fast reaction and good surprise attack. ”

"This time we will first work on 130mm tracked self-propelled rocket launchers. Its directional system is composed of 19 seamless steel pipes, which are arranged in two rows according to 10 upper and lower 9, and are fixed on the box-shaped truss, and each directional pipe is equipped with a spring-type locking bullet blocking device and a conductive device at the back and top; The rocket launcher uses a car battery as a power source for ignition, and is equipped with an external launch device. It uses a 15-ton light tank as the chassis, with a maximum speed of 40 km / h and a maximum range of about 10,000 meters. It is equipped with a 130 mm solid-fuel turbine rocket with a directional device of about 1200 mm long. Xiao Weiguo said seriously.

Historically, box rocket artillery was equipped by Germany in 1941. As early as 1933, the German Wehrmacht specially allocated an artillery battalion to the rocket test station, claiming to be a smoke launch experimental unit in order to keep it secret. In the years that followed, the battalion participated in experiments with 100-mm, 110-mm, and 180-mm rockets, respectively, until the Do38 rocket was successfully finalized in 1937.

In 1936, the rocket artillery unit was officially designated as a branch of the Wehrmacht, with its own color of the arms - burgundy - on the epaulettes and collar badges, and the external name of the smoke launching unit was used until the end of the war. The unit has a strength of 100 officers, 332 non-commissioned officers and 1,612 enlisted men. Equipped with 96 rocket launchers of various types and 484 vehicles, it is a small and inconspicuous unit. In 1939, according to the needs of the war. The unit was expanded to four battalions. In the following year, the smoke launch training base was established and expanded to 4 regiments, equipped with 324 Type 41 6-tube 150mm rocket launchers; and 1 teaching group. Armed with 280/320 mm heavy rocket launchers.

Due to the excellent design of the rocket engine, the rockets of the 280/320 mm and 300 mm series can be launched directly from the box, saving the launch cost. The Type 40 projection box had a wooden frame, and the Type 41 projection box had an iron frame. Each rocket is equipped with rails, mounted in a frame, and erected in the middle of the position. Generally, 4~6 rounds are used as a firing unit group to configure the ignition line, and the firing distance is determined by adjusting the height, and a combat unit can launch 160 such heavy rockets in 30 seconds.

After firing, the rocket's box can be discarded or recycled, regardless of enemy countermeasures. This type of firing showed the German army's lead in the modularity of weapons. The disadvantage is that the erection time is relatively slow. Later in the war, Soviet M-30 series rockets could also be launched in this way. The Germans arranged the Type 40 rocket launcher boxes on the SdKfz 251/1 half-track armored vehicle according to the firing angle, equipped with an igniter, to form a large-caliber self-propelled rocket launcher, which was assigned to the engineer company of the armored division, which was responsible for clearing the enemy's fortress in front during the attack. Due to its firepower, it was splashed and called "Land Stuka" and "Roaring Cow". The gun is highly maneuverable and equipped with ammunition in a modular way. It can adapt to a variety of combat methods.

The Waffen-SS developed an 80-mm multiple self-propelled rocket launcher, but little is known. The cannon has a very interesting nickname - "Himmler Organ". This is due to the fact that its design is a direct reference to the BM-13 rocket launcher known as the "Stalin's organ" of the Soviet army. The gun is based on the French-made Soma 303 half-track armored vehicle as the chassis, and 24 2-meter-long firing guides are installed at the rear of the vehicle, arranged in two rows up and down, and can fire 48 80-mm high-explosive rockets in one salvo. The rocket is tail stabilized, 705 mm long and weighs 6.6 kg. The warhead charge is 0.68 kg, the maximum firing range is 6 kilometers.

Due to its impact deviation of less than 265 meters longitudinally and 162 meters laterally at the maximum range, coupled with a small charge, the killing effect is very unsatisfactory. As a result, by July 1943 the SS had produced only 13 rockets with 15,000 rounds, of which 12 were tested for use in the 521st SS Battalion. Since there is no official installation. This 80-mm rocket launcher is not mentioned in the official documents of the Tibetan army.

Listening to Xiao Weiguo's plan, Karl said in surprise: "Using a 15-ton light tank chassis? This is a very new idea. In this way, the rocket artillery can run around on its own. It's just that the Germans are also engaged in rocket artillery, and the Soviets are also engaged in rocket artillery, but I don't know if they have such self-propelled rocket artillery? ”

Xiao Weiguo laughed and said: "Our self-propelled rocket artillery is definitely the first of its kind. In rocket research, Germany's original aim was to bypass the Treaty of Versailles and develop throwing weapons that could replace large-caliber artillery to attack enemy forces defending trenches and fortresses, as well as to launch chemical munitions and incendiary bombs. After Hitler came to power, he carried out the expansion of the army, and the rocket artillery launched quickly, with fierce firepower and good surprise attack. The saturation shooting effect of opposite targets and cluster targets is good, and anti-personnel and explosive rockets can be used to annihilate and suppress the enemy's living forces and technical weapons, and special rockets can be used for mine-laying, lighting, and smoke screens. Of course, we are engaged in 130 mm caliber rocket artillery, which is a medium caliber and the most versatile. In the future, we can also engage in large-caliber heavy rocket artillery, such as 210 mm rockets, which can reach a range of more than 40 kilometers, or even 300 millimeters, and a range of more than 50 kilometers, so that the range of rocket artillery will greatly exceed that of body artillery. ”

Carl was pleasantly surprised: "That's great news! If we can develop this series of rocket artillery, won't we have to occupy an absolute leading position in the field of artillery weapons? That's great. ”

Xiao Weiguo nodded and said, "That's true, there are many advantages of self-propelled rocket artillery. In particular, tracked self-propelled rocket launchers, which consist of multiple rocket launchers combined with a light tank chassis, also have certain armor protection. Not only is the trip large, but it can also load dozens of bombs in the car. The maximum range of rocket artillery is more than 10 kilometers, and it can also fire a variety of ammunition, such as blasting and anti-personnel rockets, steel ball blasting and anti-personnel rockets, etc. (To be continued.) )