The following page on globalsecurity.org has some background on the Katyusha rockets. Some pictures of the missile launchers suspected of being used by Hizballah can be found on the AP Wire: 1, 2, 3. More portable single missile launchers exist as well.

The Katyusha, or Little Kate, was a rocket launcher mounted on a heavy truck that fired volleys of up to 48 rockets nearly four miles. The Katyusha was infamous among German troopers who quickly learned to dread its distinctive scream. They named the Katyusha “Stalin’s Organ.” Soviet guards mortar units were equipped with multiple rocket launchers, the famous katyushas, named after the title of a popular song of the time. Some military scholars credit the Katyusha for the relief of Stalingrad.

The word Katyusha is the tender diminutive of the female name Ekatherina (Katherine). For example, the diminutive for Natalia is Natasha, and the tender diminutive for Natasha is Natashenka. In the case of Ekaterina, Katya is the nickname and Katyusha, a tender diminutive. Katyusha is a Soviet song about a girl longing for her beloved, who is away on military service. The music was composed in 1938 by Matvei Blanter and the lyrics were written by Mikhail Isakovsky.

Yes, the Germans used to call the original version of the rocket what amounted to "Stalin's Cock". Considering the rockets currently used by Hizballah are radically different models from the ones the Russian's created, they should come up with a new name. Since the original version came from a song, keeping with that scheme makes sense. I suggest the "Oops, I did it again". Too long?

It is widely reported that Hizballah possesses over 5,000 Katyusha rockets, some of whcih can threaten the Galilee down to Haifa. In April 1996, in response to an increasingly intolerable attacks on northern Israel by Hizballah Katyusha rockets, the Israeli government launched Operation GRAPES OF WRATH. The operation involved heavy bombardment of south Lebanon. Israel maintained a security zone in southern Lebanon thereafter. Israel needs to protect civilians on its northern borders against terrorist rocket attacks, but the demonstrated failure of the Israel Defense Forces (the most powerful military force in the Middle East) to prevent Hizb'allah Katyusha attacks against northern Israel during Operation Grapes of Wrath demonstrated the magnitude of the challenge. Katyusha rockets, fired by Hizbollah extremists, slammed into northern Israel regularly until the Israeli pullout in June 2000.

On 03 January 2002, in Operation Noah’s Ark, Israel captured... [ Read More (0.3k in body) ]