3d katyusha soviet russian rocket launcher - Katyusha soviet russian rocket launcher TRUCK WWII by De Espona

Katyusha multiple rocket launchers (Russian: ??????) are a type of rocket artillery built and fielded by the Soviet Union beginning in the Second World War. Compared to other types of artillery, multiple rocket launchers are able to deliver a devastating amount of explosives to an area target more quickly but with lower accuracy and longer reloading time. They are relatively fragile but inexpensive and easy to produce. Katyushas of World War Two, the first self-propelled artillery mass-produced by the Soviet Union, were usually mounted on trucks. This mobility gives Katyushas (and other self-propelled artillery) another advantage: they are able to deliver a blow and then move before the other side is able to attack their position with counter-battery fire.

Katyusha weapons of World War Two included the BM-13 launcher, light BM-8, and heavy BM-31. Today, the nickname is also applied to newer truck-mounted Soviet multiple rocket launchers—notably the very common BM-21—and their derivatives worldwide.

Red Army troops adopted the nickname from Mikhail Isakovsky's popular wartime song, 'Katyusha', about a girl longing for her absent beloved, who is away performing military service.