Priceless Treasure
On December 16, 1976, based on the many years of experience of the BM-21 "Hail" rocket launcher system in various countries around the world, the Soviet Union’s Tula "Alloy Science Production Enterprise, in accordance with Order No. 1043-361 issued by the Soviet Council of Ministers, began to develop a 50-tube 122 mm 9K59 "One-degree Sound" multi-purpose rocket launcher system.
9K59 "One-degree Sound" is mainly used to destroy the enemy’s living forces and non-armored equipment in tactical depth. Compared with the BM-21 "Hail" rocket launcher system, the "One-degree Sound" system has a 6-7 times higher killing area and a 3-4 times higher deployment efficiency in positions. In 1988, the "Alloy" scientific production enterprise began mass production of the 9K59 "One-degree Sound" multi-purpose rocket launcher system. In 1989, the first set of "One-degree Sound" began to serve in the Soviet Army artillery. Subsequently, due to the Soviet leaders’ implementation of a new arms control policy, the Soviet Union stopped the production of the 50-tube 9K59 "One-degree Sound" multi-purpose rocket launcher system. Due to the scarcity of production, there are few physical objects and photos of this rocket launcher system, which is called a priceless treasure by today’s Russian military fans.
Powerful performance
9K59 "One-degree Sound" multi-purpose rocket launcher system, mainly composed of 9A51 launcher, 122mm unguided rocket, fire control system and 9T232M Rocket transport and loading vehicles.
9A51 launch vehicle is designed according to the traditional layout, and the launch device is installed on the Ural-4320 truck chassis with better driving performance. The 9K59 "One-time Sound" multi-purpose rocket launcher system uses 50 guide tubes while the "Hail" rocket launcher system uses 40. "One-time Sound" uses a longer box-type launcher. The "Hail" rocket launcher system has 7 combat personnel, while the "One-time Sound" system has only 3 combat personnel, which shows a significant improvement in automation and efficiency.
The launch device of the "One-time Sound" multi-purpose rocket launcher system consists of a rotatable drive device, an aiming device and an electric hydraulic device. In order to improve the stability of shooting, a hydraulic spade is installed at the rear of the launcher chassis.
The "One-time Sound" system can launch all models of the "Hail" rocket launcher system 122 millimeter unguided rockets, including anti-mine and anti-infantry submunitions. In addition, the "Alloy" scientific production enterprise has also developed a variety of new high-efficiency rockets for "One Degree Sound". This is the biggest difference between the "One Degree Sound" and "Hail" rocket artillery systems.
Among them, the 9M53 new anti-personnel blasting rocket is 3073 mm long, weighs 70 kg, has a range of 21 kilometers, and a warhead weighs 26 kg. It uses two detonation methods: time and trigger. When the time fuse is detonated, the warhead separates from the body and falls vertically to the ground with the deceleration parachute. When it contacts the ground, the trigger fuse detonates the warhead. The biggest feature of this detonation method is that it ensures the annular scattering of the anti-personnel fragments, which increases the dense damage area by 5 times compared with the 9M22U anti-personnel blasting rocket of "Hail". At present, the new rocket developed for the "One-degree Sound" has been equipped with an improved version of the "Hail" rocket launcher system.
The 9A51 launcher can fire either single or salvo, and can fire 50 rockets in 30 seconds. It can be launched not only from the cab but also by remote control. The maximum road speed of the 9A51 launcher is 85 km/h, the climbing gradient is 28°, the wading depth is 1.5 meters, the fuel tank capacity is 270 liters (main tank 210 liters, auxiliary tank 60 liters), and the maximum mileage is 990 kilometers. The vehicle is also equipped with a very short wave radio station and a fire extinguishing device.
The 9T232M rocket transport and loading vehicle, like the launcher, is installed on the Ural-4320 truck chassis and uses mechanical loading, which takes 10 minutes.
The Ural-4320 truck has excellent performance. The vehicle is equipped with a KAMAZ-740 fuel-saving V-shaped 8-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine. When the speed reaches 2600 rpm, the engine can reach a maximum power of 210 horsepower. The transmission of the Ural-4320 is a double-disc dry clutch and a 5-speed manual transmission with synchronizer, and uses a 3-axle 6x6 off-road chassis.
