Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Peer review/Katyusha rocket launcher

Katyusha

I've done some work to this article. Would just like some general comments to help identify what is lacking, or what direction to take. —Michael Z. 2006-08-04 15:07 Z

Thanks for all of the feedback. I think I've addressed all of the concerns that I can without doing some further reading—let me know if I've missed anything obvious. I'd like to continue improving this article gradually, so please feel free to drop a note on talk:Katyusha or my talk page. —Michael Z. 2006-08-07 21:44 Z

UberCryxic

The lead is good in terms of length, but the prose could use help in certain spots. Also, there seems to be too much focus on World War II in the article. The Post-war section needs to be expanded, though I think this is obvious. Put some in-line citations in there as well. The development section should come first. I would suggest you put in some sort of popular culture section in there; I know this rocket is huge in Russia (in terms of fame) and many other spots around the world. Finally, any impact on future rockets? If so, this should be noted.UberCryxic 18:22, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

This started out as an article on the Soviet WWII launchers, but it's become obvious that it is growing in scope. I didn't include inline citations because practically all of the WWII section was based on a single book, but I should get them in there before a lot of other additions are made. —Michael Z. 2006-08-05 14:58 Z

Oh definitely. In-line citations are a must even if an article has a single book for a source.UberCryxic 17:20, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Commander Zulu

An excellent start, but I can't help feeling it's still missing something. As UberCryxic says, some citates are a must (I know it's frustrating- I went through the same thing with some of my other articles!), and some more information on the Katyusha's effectiveness during the war might be in order. Also- and I may be wrong on this- but my understanding is that "Katyusha" really only refers to the Russian truck-mounted unguided rocket batteries. I know the BBC keep calling the rockets used in the current Middle East situation "Katyushas", but I can't see Hezbollah having garages full of WWII-era Soviet Rocket Artillery, although I could be very wrong on that.
Perhaps something to the effect that the term "Katyusha" has now evolved to refer to all vehicle-based multi-launch rocket artillery batteries, especially those made on the cheap, might be in order? --Commander Zulu 01:58, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

I guess Katyusha refers to any Soviet-legacy, truck-mounted multiple rocket launcher: WWII BM-13 etc, the similar Cold War BM-21, and Chinese, North Korean, or Iranian derivatives (I'd like to see what the OED says). The Hezbollah vehicles starring in the IDF missile-cam videos look virtually the same as the WWII models. I guess BM-13, BM-8 and BM-31 can be spun off to contain the technical details, and the article can remain an umbrella. I wonder if it should be merged with multiple rocket launcher. —Michael Z. 2006-08-05 14:58 Z

Kirill Lokshin

As the other reviewers have commented, inline citations are essential, particularly for an article filled with numerical statistics. Aside from that:

• The "Post-war use" section is pretty stubby. Were these used in any other conflicts? Even if not, there has been enough press coverage of them lately that a decently-sized chunk of prose (two/three paragraphs) about the current conflict alone should be possible.
• The "See also" section should be ruthlessly trimmed of anything linked in the article.
• Would a {{Infobox Weapon}} be meaningful here? Some of the statistics might be too variable to give good numbers for, but at least the more general parameters would seem applicable.

Overall, this is off to a good start, but still needs some work. Kirill Lokshin 02:16, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

See also is just a collection of WWII German MRLs, but that is looking more misplaced as the scope of the article is growing. I'll write a sentence or two to put Katyushas in the larger context. I'll have a look at the suitability of the infobox. The article covers several weapons of a class, but it still might work with many of the values left out. —Michael Z. 2006-08-05 14:58 Z

Wandalstouring

BM-13-16 was the first type used, while the massproduced types of WWII were BM-8 and BM-13. Somehow I missed this technical background of official names since Katyusha is military slang. In German it was also called "Stalinorgel" (slang).

I like the focus on the Soviet history. The sections about modern use should be integrated in an article about mobile rocket launchers (just give a brief overview). This is a weapon class of its own now and we can refer there to the similar Fajr-3, Fajr-5, BM-21, etc. Wandalstouring 14:44, 15 August 2006 (UTC)