| The BM-21 Grad (Russian: БМ-21 "Град") is a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher[1] and an associated series of 122 mm artillery rockets[2], developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, 'combat vehicle', and the nickname grad means 'hail'. In NATO countries, the system was initially known as M1964. Several other countries have copied it or developed similar systems. The BM-21 122 mm multiple rocket launcher (MRL) system entered service with the Soviet Army in 1963 to replace the aging 140 mm BM-14 system. It consists of a Ural-375D six-by-six truck chassis fitted with a bank of 40 launch tubes arranged in a rectangular shape that can be turned away from the unprotected cab. The vehicle is powered by a water-cooled V-8 180 hp gasoline engine, has a maximum road speed of 75 km/h (47 mph), road range of up to 750 kilometres (470 mi), and can cross fords up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) deep. The original vehicle together with supporting equipment (including the re-supply truck 9T254 with 60 rockets) is referred to by the GRAU index 9K51; the launcher itself has the industrial index of 2B5. In 1976, the BM-21 was mounted on the newer Ural-4320 six-by-six army truck. The crew of five men can emplace the system and have it ready to fire in three minutes. The crew can fire the rockets from the cab or from a trigger at the end of a 64-metre (210 ft) cable. All 40 rockets can be away in as little as 20 seconds, but can also be fired individually or in ... |
