BM-21 Hail
"Let him remember the young and simple maiden,
Let him hear the song she now sings,
Let him protect his Motherland for sure,
And their love Katyusha will protect."
- – From Katyusha, a Russian Folk Song
A direct descendent of the iconic Katyusha Rocket Launcher, the BM-21 Hail is a rocket artillery truck designed by the Soviet Union. It is used by Soviet, East German, Polish, Iraqi and Iranian forces in Team Yankee.
In Team Yankee
Despite the menacing profile, the Hail is surprisingly limited to anti infantry duty. Since the majority of NATO vehicles have top armor 1, it would statistically require 12 hits to kill a single APC. If you really must destroy armor with Artillery look elsewhere.
This does not mean that the Grad is useless though. The Salvo template that it slings around can cover massive sections of the table, potentially pining down multiple units per barrage. In addition since these rocket trucks are so cheap, you can take twice the number of these things for only a few points more than the Acacia, you can very easily blanket huge sections of the board in smoke, giving your units the cover they need to flank the more durable NATO opposition. All in all, the Grad is a dedicated support platform, good for suppressing the enemy and aiding your troops, though more damage oriented commanders might want to take the Acacia or the Gvozdika
Do note that these vehicles are literally unarmored trucks with a 5+ save tank save. The Brutal rule that the Brits and Canadians weild will absolutely ruing your day and small arms fire, whether from APCs with machine guns or just a unit of Infantry with their assault rifles, have a very real chance to turn your Hails into blazing wrecks. To avoid this unfortunate fate, keep the Grad safe in your backline!
A Battery of three BM-21s will cost you 4 points (5 if you are a East German) and you can double the size to 6 launchers with an additional 4 points, for a grand total of 8 (10 if you are East German).
IRL
Like a lot of soviet gear the BM-21 "Grad" or "Hail" (hail being a nickname it has) is still in use today because of it's simplicity: it's a truck with a rocket launcher on it. It's not rocket science. The Hail is a descendant of the BM-14 and the more widely known BM-13 "Katyusha" rocket platforms. The Nazi's in world war 2 get a lot of credit for their rocketry, but the Soviets were also really into rocket based artillery weapons. Katyusha were the first mass produced self propelled artillery pieces of the Soviet Union, predating the American T34 Calliope rocket launchers and even the famous Nazi Nebelwerfer by two years.
The BM-21 is much like it's ancestors and is very good at delivering quick, sharp rapid volleys of 122mm rockets very, very quickly. Wikipeida claims that one battalion of eighteen launchers is able to deliver 720 rockets in a single volley, which is enough dakka to impress even an ork.
Keep an eye out for future versions of this thing in Team Yankee, the mad Soviets made a version of this thing airdroppedable and some of it's rocket payloads IRL include things like AT mines, radio jammers and some HEAT warheads. It also has two descendants with higher caliber: BM-27 "Uragan" or "Hurricane" (220mm, 1975) and BM-30 "Smerch" or "Whirlwind" (300 mm, 1989, but it was perfectly ready for production in 85 with generals struggling to find out what the hell they are going to do with this firepower, so who knows..).
| Soviet Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T55AM2 - T-62M - T-64 - T-72 - T-80 - T-72B - T-64BV |
| Transports: | BTR-60 - BMP-1 - BMP-2 - BMP-3 -BMD-1 - BMD-2 - BTR-D |
| Troops: | Motor Rifle Company - Hind Assault Landing Company - Afghansty Air Assault Company - BMP Shock Motor Rifle Company - BMD Air Assault Company - Afghansty BMD Air Assault Platoon |
| Artillery: | 2S1 Carnation - 2S3 Acacia - BM-21 Hail - TOS-1 Buratino - BM-27 Uragan - 2S9 Nona - BM-37 82mm mortar platoon |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - SA-13 Gopher - SA-9 Gaskin - SA-8 Gecko - 2S6 Tunguska - BTR-ZD |
| Tank Hunters: | Spandrel - Storm - BTR-RD - ASU-85 |
| Recon: | BMP-1 OP - BRDM-2 |
| Aircraft: | SU-22 Fitter - SU-25 Frogfoot - MI-24 Hind |
| East German Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-55 - T55AM2 - T-72M - T-72B |
| Transports: | BTR-60 - BMP-1 - BMP-2 |
| Troops: | Mot-Schützen Kompanie - Hind Assault Landing Company |
| Artillery: | 2S1 Carnation - BM-21 Hail - RM-70 - 2S3 Acacia |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - SA-13 Gopher - SA9 Gaskin - SA-8 Gecko |
| Tank Hunters: | Spandrel |
| Recon: | BMP-1 OP - BRDM-2 |
| Aircraft: | MI-24 Hind - SU-22 Fitter |
| Soviet Support: | SU-25 Frogfoot |
| Polish Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-55 - T55AM2 - T-72M - T-72B |
| Transports: | SKOT-2A - BMP-1 - BMP-2 |
| Troops: | Zmotory Kompania - Hind Assault Landing Company |
| Artillery: | Dana SpGH - BM-21 Hail |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - SA-13 Gopher -SA-8 Gecko |
| Tank Hunters: | Spandrel |
| Recon: | BMP-1 OP - BRDM-2 |
| Aircraft: | MI-24 Hind - SU-22 Fitter |
| Soviet Support: | SU-25 Frogfoot |
| Iraqi Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-55 - T-62 - T-72M |
| Transports: | BTR-60 - OT-64 - AMX-10P - BMP-1 |
| Troops: | Motor Rifle Company |
| Artillery: | 2S1 Carnation - 2S3 Acacia - AMX Auf1 - BM-21 Hail |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - SA-13 Gopher - SA9 Gaskin - SA-8 Gecko - Roland AA |
| Tank Hunters: | Spandrel - VCR/TH |
| Recon: | BRDM-2 - BTR-60 OP |
| Aircraft: | MI-24 Hind - Gazelle HOT |
| US Support: | A-10 Warthog - AV-8 Harrier |
| Iranian Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-55 - T-62 - M60 Patton - Chieftain |
| Transports: | M113 Armored Personnel Carrier - BTR-60 - BMP-1 |
| Troops: | Iranian Mechanized Platoon - Basij Infantry Company |
| Artillery: | M109 Howitzer - BM-21 Hail - M125 81mm |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - ZSU-57-2 - SA-8 Gecko |
| Tank Hunters: | Jeep TOW - Jeep 106mm Recoilless - M113 106mm Recoilless |
| Recon: | Scorpion |
| Aircraft: | AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter |
| Soviet Support: | SU-25 Frogfoot |