Editing Katyusha rocket launcher (section)

== Nickname ==
Initially, concerns for secrecy kept the military designation of the Katyushas from being known by the soldiers who operated them. They were called by code names such as ''Kostikov guns'', after [[w:c:ru:Костиков, Андрей Григорьевич|A. Kostikov]], the head of the [[Reactive Scientific Research Institute|RNII]], the Reactive Scientific Research Institute, and finally classed as ''Guards Mortars''.<ref name=Zaloga-1984-154 /> The name ''BM-13'' was only allowed into secret documents in 1942, and remained classified until after the war.<ref name=Suvorov-1982-207>[[Viktor Suvorov]] (1982), ''[[Inside the Soviet Army]]'', [http://militera.lib.ru/research/suvorov12/06.html p 207]. Prentice Hall, {{ISBN|0-02-615500-1}}.</ref>

Because they were marked with the letter ''K'' (for [[Voronezh]] Komintern Factory),<ref name=Suvorov-1982-207 /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Trigg|first=Jonathan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zq6IDwAAQBAJ&q=K+%28for+Voronezh+Komintern+Factory%29&pg=PT136|title=Voices of the Scandinavian Waffen-SS: The Final Testament of Hitler's Vikings|date=2018-07-15|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|isbn=978-1-4456-7469-8|language=en}}</ref> [[Red Army]] troops adopted a nickname from [[Mikhail Isakovsky]]'s popular wartime song, "[[Katyusha (song)|Katyusha]]", about a girl longing for her absent beloved, who has gone away on military service.<ref name=Zaloga-1984-153>Zaloga, p 153.</ref> Katyusha is the Russian equivalent of ''Katie'', an endearing [[diminutive]] form of the name Katherine. ''Yekaterina'' is given the diminutive ''Katya,'' which itself is then given the affectionate diminutive ''Katyusha''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Katyusha - Wiktionary|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Katyusha|access-date=2021-05-14|website=en.wiktionary.org|language=en}}</ref>

German troops coined the nickname "Stalin's organ" ({{wikt-lang|de|Stalinorgel}}), after Soviet leader [[Joseph Stalin]], comparing the visual resemblance of the launch array to a [[pipe organ]], and the sound of the weapon's rocket motors, a distinctive howling sound which terrified the German troops,<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Carell|title=Hitler's war on Russia: the story of the German defeat in the East|author-link=Paul Carell|publisher=Harrap|year=1964|page=98}}</ref> adding a [[psychological warfare]] aspect to their use. Weapons of this type are known by the same name in [[Denmark]] ({{langx|da|Stalinorgel}}), [[Finland]] ({{langx |fi|Stalinin urut}}), [[France]] ({{langx|fr|orgue de Staline}}), [[Norway]] ({{langx|no|Stalinorgel}}), the [[Netherlands]] and [[Belgium]] ({{langx|nl|Stalinorgel}}), [[Hungary]] ({{langx|hu|Sztálinorgona}}), [[Spain]] and other [[List of countries and territories where Spanish is an official language|Spanish-speaking countries]] ({{langx|es|Órganos de Stalin}}) as well as in [[Sweden]] ({{langx |sv|Stalinorgel}}).<ref name=Zaloga-1984-153 />

The heavy BM-31 launcher was also referred to as ''Andryusha'' (''Андрюша'', an affectionate diminutive of "Andrew").<ref>Gordon L. Rottman (2007), ''FUBAR (F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition): Soldier Slang of World War II'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=SPx1hL-vZZsC&pg=PA279&vq=Katyusha&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1 p 279], Osprey, {{ISBN|1-84603-175-3}}.</ref>