The RS-82 was Russia's best early rocket and could be found on many of her aircraft, such as the LaGG-3 pictured above. It was available for use by aircraft in 1937, and it was first used in combat against the Japanese on August 20, 1939, by an experimental fighter group engaged over Nomonhan. With five I-16 "Ratas" carrying 4 rockets each, the Russians claimed the rockets destroyed 2 Japanese aircraft, although this has been widely discredited.  While the air-to-air effectiveness of the RS-82 was questionable, the psychological impact was not: Japanese intelligence concluded the Russians were equipping their aircraft with 76mm guns, which had many Japanese aircraft designers scratching their heads. 

Unlike the Katyusha, the RS-82 was not used during the Great Patriotic War until late 1941. This was because most of the Soviet air force was smashed during the German invasion, and because rockets were not sent to front line aviation units out of fear that the rockets would be captured. It wasn't until the German advance was slowed that major Russian rocket use began. The RS-82 had a high-explosive warhead and was good for destroying un-armored vehicles and small fortifications. Another variant with a shaped charge armor piercing warhead was also developed, named the BRS-82, and could penetrate 65mm of armor - but it had to impact at or near a 90 degree angle. The stats and weights of the two rockets are identical.

In a Russian study of rocket effectiveness vs. enemy armor, 182 rockets of the type RS-82 were fired at a stationary tank 500 meters away with only 7 hits, none of which caused any damage. The next test moved the firing distance forward to 300 meters and the target was a vehicle column.  Accuracy improved slightly, up to 3.7%, but the only damage observed were direct hits on light tanks and half-tracks. Near misses of 1 meter or more did no damage to any armored or semi-armored vehicles.

The RS-132 came in three varieties: the standard high explosive (RS), high explosive fragmentation (ROFS), and a shaped charge armor piercing version (BRS). The BRS-132 could penetrate 110mm - 160mm of armor, but had the same problems as other HEAT weapons, with a narrow impact angle needed to work properly.

In the same Russian study mentioned above, 182 of the type RS-132 rockets were launched against a similar stationary target at 500 meters range. No rockets hit the target. Again the launch range was decreased and the target became a column of vehicles. Against this column, at 200 meters range and with 134 launches, only 2 rockets found targets, both of which were medium tanks and both of which were deemed out of action. The results of these tests proved to the Soviet high command that rockets were useless in attacks against tanks, and it encouraged the development of PTAB bomblet cases - which proved much more effective.

Source: "Shturmovaiya aviaciya Krasnoy Armii". Petrov, Rastrenin.

While the U.S. started off slow, it caught up quickly. After the war, with the help of many German scientists who came to America to escape the destruction of Europe, the United States took the lead in rocket development - rivaled only by the Soviet Union. The fast pace of rocket development during WWII was a big step in advancing the post-war space race, which eventually ended with Neil Armstrong's historic walk on the moon.

The rockets and their launchers produced a lot of drag, drastically reducing the speed of any aircraft that carried them. Later in the war the launchers were changed to be more aerodynamic, and the issue was partially solved. The 3.5 Inch FFAR proved that rockets could be effective weapons, and so development of even larger rockets - such as the 5 Inch series - began immediately.

While the M-8 was serviceable, it was clear improvements needed to be made. The warhead, the speed, and the range all need to be drastically increased, and so the 4.5 Inch Super M-8 was born. It was also longer and heavier, so less rockets could be carried and more drag was created because of the bulk - further slowing down the carrying aircraft. More testing needed to be done, and although the rocket was ready by December 1944, it was never used in WWII.

Born of the success of the 3.5 Inch rocket, the 5 Inch FFAR was the high explosive version. It mounted a modified 5 inch warhead from an anti-aircraft round, mated to the same rocket motor as the original 3.5 Inch FFAR. Unfortunately the extra weight slowed the rocket down, and although it entered service in December 1943, a replacement was needed. Therefore, in the same month the 5 Inch FFAR entered service, the newer 5 Inch HVAR (High Velocity Aerial Rocket) began it's testing. It was a great success, being nick-named "Holy Moses", this new rocket (pictured above) entered service in July 1944. The armor piercing version could penetrate 38mm of steel plate or 1250mm of concrete.

Although the 5 inch rockets used by the Navy and Marines were effective, something was needed to destroy the heavily fortified Japanese positions and even warships in the Pacific. The "Tiny Tim" was basically an up-scaled HVAR rocket, designed at Cal-Tech, and ready for deployment in December 1944. The only record of the rockets being used in combat occur at the bloody Battle of Okinawa towards the end of the war. Getting hit by this rocket was the equivalent of a 12 Inch naval shell, and it's destructive power was impressive enough for the "Tiny "Tim" to serve long after the war was over.

Three types of this rocket were produced.  The SAP version was for training only, while the No.1 was used in attacks at 15 degrees or over, and the No.2 was used in attacks under 15 degrees.

While the 25 Pound AP rockets worked well against submarines, something with explosive power was needed if aerial rockets were going to be used against enemy troops and equipment on land. The same 3 Inch rocket body was used, but a 60 pound warhead was attached. The result was more weight, more drag on the aircraft, less velocity and thus reduced accuracy - but an impressive explosion, as demonstrated in the video below.  An official British study after the war concluded that up to 25% of rockets fired failed to detonate for one reason or another - thus confirming rumors circulated by attack pilots during the war.

In the video RAF Typhoons are attacking German positions in the Normandy area in June 1944. They're firing a mix of different 60 pound rockets and you can see they're in a dive to improve accuracy. The SAP version of the 60 Pound had enough explosive force to destroy any lightly armored vehicle, or disable it with a near miss. It was devastating against exposed targets such as troops, trucks, or artillery. The GP version could penetrate 85mm of armor, although it still suffered from the same angle of impact problems as with all HEAT weapons. It was good enough to destroy a Pz.III or Pz.IV tank from any direction, and the famed "Panther" tank from the back and sides. All 60 Pound rockets had a reported accuracy of 1% against a stationary tank-sized object at 300 meters range. The 60 Pound rockets first saw action in July 1943.

Next: Allied Fighter-Bombers vs. German Armor