Rocket artillery isartillery that usesrockets as the projectile. The use of rocket artillery dates back to medievalChina where devices such asfire arrows were used (albeit mostly as apsychological weapon). Fire arrows were also used in multiple launch systems and transported via carts. In the late nineteenth century, due to improvements in the power and range of conventional artillery, the use of early military rockets declined; they were finally used on a small scale by both sides during theAmerican Civil War. Modern rocket artillery was first employed duringWorld War II, in the form of the GermanNebelwerfer family of rocket ordnance designs, SovietKatyusha-series and numerous other systems employed on a smaller scale by the Western allies and Japan. In modern use, the rockets are often guided by an internal guiding system or GPS in order to maintain accuracy.
The use ofrockets as some form of artillery dates back to medievalChina where devices such asfire arrows were used (albeit mostly as a psychological weapon). Fire arrows were also used in multiple launch systems and transported via carts. Devices such as the Koreanhwacha were able to fire hundreds of fire arrows simultaneously. The use of medieval rocket artillery was picked up by the invadingMongols and spread to theOttoman Turks who in turn used them on the European battlefield.
The use of war-rockets is well documented in medieval Europe. In 1408 Duke John the Fearless of Burgundy used 300 incendiary rockets in theBattle of Othée. The city dwellers coped with this tactic by covering their roofs with dirt.[1]
In theMughal Empire underAkbar's reign during the 16th century,Mughal artillery rockets began to usemetal casing, which made them more weatherproof and allowed a larger amount of gunpowder, increasing their destructive power.[2]: 48 Mughalbaniron rockets were described by European visitors, includingFrançois Bernier who witnessed the 1658Battle of Samugarh fought between brothersAurangzeb andDara Shikoh.[3]: 133
The earliest successful utilization of metal-cylinder rocket artillery is associated with theKingdom of Mysore,South India.Tipu Sultan successfully established the powerfulSultanate of Mysore and introduced the firstiron-casedmetal-cylinder rocket. TheMysorean rockets of this period were innovative, chiefly because of the use of iron tubes that tightly packed thegunpowder propellant; this enabled higher thrust and longer range for the missile (up to 2 km range).
Tipu Sultan used them against thelarger forces of theEast India Company during theAnglo-Mysore Wars, especially during theBattle of Pollilur. Another battle where these missiles were deployed was theBattle of Sultanpet Tope, whereColonel Arthur Wellesley, later famous as the FirstDuke of Wellington, was almost defeated by Tipu'sDiwan Purnaiah.
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The rockets had a demoralizing effect on the enemy due to the noise and bursting light. The rockets could be of various sizes but usually consisted of a tube of soft hammered iron about 8 inches (20 cm) long and 1.5 to 3 inches (3.8 to 7.6 cm) in diameter, closed at one end and strapped to a shaft of bamboo about 4 ft (1 m) long.[4] The iron tube acted as a combustion chamber and contained well-packed black powder propellant. A rocket carrying about one pound (~500 gm) of powder could travel almost 1,000 yards (~900 m).
According to Stephen Oliver Fought and John F. Guilmartin, Jr. inEncyclopædia Britannica (2008):
Hyder Ali, prince of Mysore, developed war rockets with an important change: the use of metal cylinders to contain the combustion powder. Although the hammered soft iron he used was crude, the bursting strength of the container of black powder was much higher than the earlier paper construction. Thus a greater internal pressure was possible, with a resultant greater thrust of the propulsive jet. The rocket body was lashed with leather thongs to a long bamboo stick. The range was perhaps up to three-quarters of a mile (more than a kilometre). Although individually these rockets were not accurate, dispersion error became less important when large numbers were fired rapidly in mass attacks. They were particularly effective against cavalry and were hurled into the air, after lighting, or skimmed along the hard dry ground. Hyder Ali's son, Tipu Sultan, continued to develop and expand the use of rocket weapons, reportedly increasing the number of rocket troops from 1,200 to a corps of 5,000. In battles atSeringapatam in1792 and1799 these rockets were used with minimal effect against the British.[5]
The IndianTipu Sultan's rocket experiences, including Munro's book of 1789,[7] eventually led to theRoyal Arsenal beginning a military rocketR&D program in 1801. Several rocket cases were collected from Mysore and sent to Britain for analysis. The development was chiefly the work of Col. (later Sir)William Congreve, son of the Comptroller of theRoyal Arsenal,Woolwich, London, who set on a vigorous research and development programme at the Arsenal's laboratory; after development work was complete, the rockets were manufactured in quantity further north, nearWaltham Abbey, Essex. He was told that "the British at Seringapatam had suffered more from the rockets than from the shells or any other weapon used by the enemy".[8] "In at least one instance", an eyewitness told Congreve, "a single rocket had killed three men and badly wounded others".[9]
It has been suggested that Congreve may have adaptediron-casedgunpowder rockets for use by the British military from prototypes created by the Irish nationalistRobert Emmet during Emmet's Rebellion in 1803.[10] But this seems far less likely given the fact that the British had been exposed to Indian rockets since 1780 at the latest, and that a vast quantity of unused rockets and their construction equipment fell into British hands at the end of theAnglo-Mysore Wars in 1799, at least 4 years before Emmet's rockets.[citation needed]
Congreve introduced a standardised formula for the making of gunpowder at Woolwich and introduced mechanical grinding mills to produce powder of uniform size and consistency. Machines were also employed to ensure the packing of the powder was perfectly uniform. His rockets were more elongated, had a much larger payload, and were mounted on sticks; this allowed them to be launched from the sea at a greater range. He also introduced shot into the payload, which added shrapnel damage to the incendiary capability of the rocket.[11] By 1805 he was able to introduce a comprehensive weapons system to theBritish Army.[12]
The rocket had a "cylindro-conoidal" warhead and was launched in pairs from half troughs on simple metalA-frames. The original rocket design had the guide pole side-mounted on the warhead, this was improved in 1815 with a base plate with athreaded hole. They could be fired up to two miles, the range being set by the degree of elevation of the launching frame, although at any range they were fairly inaccurate and had a tendency for premature explosion. They were as much a psychological weapon as a physical one, and they were rarely or never used except alongside other types of artillery. Congreve designed several different warhead sizes from 3 to 24 pounds (1.4 to 10.9 kg). The 24 pounds (11 kg) type with a 15 foot (4.6 m) guide pole was the most widely used variant. Different warheads were used, including explosive,shrapnel and incendiary.[13] They were manufactured at a special facility near theWaltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills beside theRiver Lea inEssex.[14]
These rockets were used during theNapoleonic Wars against the city ofBoulogne, and during thenaval bombardment ofCopenhagen, where over 25,000 rockets were launched, causing severe incendiary damage to the city. The rockets were also adapted for the purpose of flares for signalling and battlefield illumination.Henry Trengrouse utilized the rocket in his life-saving apparatus, in which the rocket was launched at a shipwreck with an attached line to help rescue the victims.
The Congreve rockets are also famous for inspiring the lawyerFrancis Scott Key to pen the words the "rockets' red glare" in what becamethe US National Anthem during theWar of 1812.
After the rockets were successfully used during Napoleon's defeat at theBattle of Waterloo, various countries were quick to adopt the weapon and establish special rocket brigades. The British created the British Army Rocket Brigade in 1818, followed by theAustrian Army and theRussian Army.
One persistent problem with the rockets was their lack of aerodynamic stability. The British engineerWilliam Hale designed a rocket with a combination of tail fins and directed nozzles for the exhaust. This imparted a spin to the rocket during flight, which stabilized its trajectory and greatly improved its accuracy, although it did sacrifice somewhat of the maximum range. Hale rockets were enthusiastically adopted by theUnited States, and during theMexican War in 1846 a volunteer brigade of rocketeers was pivotal in the surrender of Mexican forces at theSiege of Veracruz.
By the late nineteenth century, due to improvements in the power and range of conventionalartillery, the use of military rockets declined; they were finally used on a small scale by both sides during theAmerican Civil War.
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Modern rocket artillery was first employed duringWorld War II, in the form of the GermanNebelwerfer family of rocket ordnance designs, and SovietKatyusha-series. The Soviet Katyushas, nicknamed by German troopsStalin's Organ because of their visual resemblance to a church musical organ and alluding to the sound of the weapon's rockets, were mounted on trucks or light tanks, while the early German Nebelwerfer ordnance pieces were mounted on a small wheeled carriage which was light enough to be moved by several men and could easily be deployed nearly anywhere, while also being towed by most vehicles. The Germans also had self-propelled rocket artillery in the form of thePanzerwerfer andWurfrahmen 40 which equippedhalf-trackarmoured fighting vehicles. An oddity in the subject of rocket artillery during this time was the German "Sturmtiger", a vehicle based on theTiger I heavy tank chassis that was armed with a 380 mm rocketmortar.
The Western Allies of World War II employed little rocket artillery. During later periods of the war, British andCanadian troops used theLand Mattress, a towed rocket launcher. The United States Army built and deployed a small number of turret-mountedT34 Calliope andT40 Whizbang rocket artillery tanks (converted from M4 Sherman medium tanks) in France and Italy. In 1945, the British Army also fitted some M4 Shermans with two60 lb RP3 rockets, the same as used on ground attack aircraft and known as "Tulip".
In the Pacific, however, theUS Navy made heavy use of rocket artillery on theirLSM(R) transports, adding to the already intense bombardment by the guns of heavy warships to soften up Japanese-held islands before theUS Marines would land. OnIwo Jima, the Marines made use of rocket artillery trucks in a similar fashion as the Soviet Katyusha, but on a smaller scale.[citation needed]
TheJapanese Imperial Army deployed the navalType 4 20 cm (8 in) Rocket Launcher and armyType 4 40 cm (16 in) Rocket Launcher against theUnited States Marines andArmy troops at Iwo Jima andOkinawa, and United States Army troops during theBattle of Luzon, as well SovietRed Army troops duringManchuria Campaign,South Sakhalin andKuril Island Campaign. Their deployment was limited relative to other mortar types and the projectiles on the 40 cm launcher were so large and heavy that they had to be loaded using small hand-operatedcranes, but they were extremely accurate and had a pronounced psychological effect on opposing troops, who called them "Screaming Mimis", a nickname originally applied to the GermanNebelwerfer tube-launched rocket mortar series in theEuropean Theater of Operations. They were often used at night to conceal their launching sites and increase their disruptiveness and psychological effectiveness. The Japanese 20 cm rockets were launched from tubes or launching troughs, while the larger rockets were launched from steel ramps reinforced with woodenmonopods.
The Japanese also deployed a limited number of 447mm rocket launchers, termed 45 cm Rocket Mortars by United States personnel who test-fired them at the close of the war. Their projectiles consisted of a 1,500 lb cylinder filled with propellant andballistite sticks detonated byblack powder, which produced a blast crater approximately the size of an American 1,000 lb bomb. In effect, this made the 447mm projectile a type ofsurface-to-surfacebarrel bomb. While these latter weapons were captured at Luzon and proved effective in subsequent testing, it is not clear that they were ever used against American troops, in contrast to the more common 20 and 40 cm types, which clearly contributed to the 37,870 American casualties sustained at Luzon.[15]
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Israel fitted some of theirSherman tanks with different rocket artillery. An unconventional Sherman conversion was the turretlessKilshon ("Trident") that launched anAGM-45 Shrikeanti-radiation missile.
The Soviet Union continued its development of the Katyusha during theCold War, and also exported them widely.
Modern rocket artillery such as the USM270 Multiple Launch Rocket System is highly mobile and are used in similar fashion to otherself-propelled artillery. Global Positioning and Inertial Navigation terminal guidance systems have been introduced.
During the Kargil war of 1999, theIndian army pressed into service the Pinaka MBRL against Pakistani forces. Despite the system still being under development, it was still able to perform successfully, after which the Indian Army showed interest in inducting the system into service.[16]
