ww2steel Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 I was wondering if anyone knows how the rockets came to be named Katyuschas? I know it's short for the Russian Catherine, sort of like Katie... but how did the rockets get named that. Just wondering.. I was working on my book and thought this would be great to include. Thanks, Mike 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeeDog Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 I may be mistaken, but I believe the name originated from a song that was popular in Russia at the time. I have a book at home by a British Journalist who spent the war in Moscow as a correspondent; I believe he mentions this at some point. If I have time, I'll see if I can dig up the reference. Cheers, YD 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vergeltungswaffe Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Clearly a high ranking Soviet official involved with production had a feline with a cold. During the process of deciding on a name for a new weapon system, his cat sneezing all the while, a sudden inspiration struck. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grisha Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 YankeeDog has the story. The song title is "Katyusha," which in english is "Katie." It's a song about a girl. If interested in hearing the song, click here to get the zip of the mp3. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ww2steel Posted July 8, 2004 Author Share Posted July 8, 2004 That's great! Thanks guys! Mike 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 I believe that what prompted the Katyusha moniker in the first place is that the launchers were built at the Komintern plant and arrived in the field bearing a mysterious "K" marking. The troops, members of what were termed Guards Mortar Regiments, faced with extreme secrecy, had to call the launcher something and ran with it, so effectively that most people have never heard of the BM-13, but lots have heard of the Katyusha. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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