HB-11 series
| HB-11/12 | |
|---|---|
| File:PRB 11-12.png An HB-11/12 rocket launcher, towed by a Chŏnsŏ G544 light utility truck | |
| Type | Multiple Rocket Launcher |
| Place of origin |  Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1962-present |
| Used by | Menghe |
| Wars | Menghean War of Liberation Ummayan Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 1966-2003 |
| Variants | RB-11/1, RB-11/12, GJRB-11/12, GJRB-11/12 Sinsedae, JJRB-11/80 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 645 kg (RB-11/12) |
| Crew | 4-5 |
| Breech | rocket tube (12x) |
| Elevation | -4/+55 degrees |
| Traverse | +/- 20 degrees |
The HB-11 (Menghean: 화전 발사기, Hwajŏn Balsagi, "Rocket Launcher") is a root designation applied to a family of multiple rocket launchers developed in Menghe. These include the HB-11/12', the JHB-11/12 (Sinsedae), and the JHB-11/80. While the number of tubes differs greatly across variants, all fire the same 110mm rocket ammunition, and thus share the HB-11 (Hwajŏn-Balsagi/Rocket Launcher, 11 centimeter) root designation. Once widely used in the military of the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe, they have now been relegated mostly to small special-purpose or reserve units.
H-11 Rockets
All launchers in the HB-11 family share the same H-11 rocket family, which has a caliber of 11 centimeters (110mm) and is light enough to be easily handled and loaded by a single person. The first rockets used by the system were simply designated H-11GT and had a simple high-explosive charge. This served as the main ammunition type for the RB-11 for most of its service life.
In 1983 a new ammunition type was introduced, bearing the designation H-11Yŏ. It replaced the high-explosive fragmentation warhead with a more powerful thermobaric charge. By removing oxidizer from the mix and fitting narrower warhead walls, this greatly improved the rocket’s effectiveness against personnel in fortified positions, but made it less effective against even lightly armored vehicles. 1985 brought the more complex H-11J, which carried 28 anti-tank submunitions with a diameter of 30 millimeters. Today the H-11FH and H-11ChSh make up most of Menghe's R-11 stockpiles. Along with the earlier but now less common H-11GT, they share a maximum effective range of about 8,000 meters. These three variants are also designed with controlled weights and share the same flight profile, allowing them to be fired with the same aiming settings or even mixed within a single volley.
Mine Rockets
To further increase the system’s versatility, designers developed minelaying cartridges compatible with the HB-11 launcher. The first of this type was the H-11/1, a modification of the R-11JM which substituted small anti-personnel mines for the anti-tank submunitions and retained the full range of 8 kilometers. Later in the 2000s this was supplemented by the HB-11G and HB-11DCh, mine-dispensing canisters with a heavier payload. The former contains 56 anti-personnel mines, the latter 5 anti-tank mines using the Misznay-Schardin effect to punch through the thin undersides of enemy armored vehicles. Because their propellant is greatly reduced in comparison with the heavier warhead, these rockets have a range of less than 100 meters, and would be used to rapidly set up minefields in front of prepared defenses.
Mount Variants
HB-11/12
A lightweight and simple design, the HB-11/12 is the most common member of the HB-11 family, and was widespread in the 1970s and 1980s. It consists of twelve 110mm tubes in a rectangular block with three rows of four each, mounted on top of a wheeled platform with two supporting legs. Once emplaced, the rocket array can elevate from -4 to +55 degrees, though it can only traverse 20 degrees left and right. It is usually towed by a light vehicle such as the Chŏnsŏ G288 seen in the image above, with a total crew of 5 men. The entire mount weighs under 700 kilograms excluding ammunition.
JHB-11/12
Introduced to improve the mobility and reaction time of rocket artillery units, the JRB-11/12 ("Self-Propelled Rocket Launcher") consists of a 12-tube launcher in the cargo bed of a Chŏnsŏ 112 utility truck. In this initial iteration, the launcher itself was manually operated, requiring two crew members to stand in the cargo bed and aim the launcher according to the commander's orders. As the Chŏnsŏ 112's cabin only had space for one driver and one passenger, this meant that two of the four crew members had to either ride in the flatbed area or follow behind in the ammunition truck.
JHB-11/12 Sinsedae
Today, the JHB-11/12 has been almost entirely replaced by the JHB-11/12 Sinsegye ("New Generation"). This system is mounted on the more reliable G598 truck, a modification of the Chŏnsŏ G588. The larger cabin is able to accommodate all four crew members, and has an electro-optical sighting and rangefinding system on top of the roof as well as a fully automated traverse and aiming system for the launcher. Consequently, it can execute firing missions with all crew members inside the cabin, decreasing reaction time and reducing exposure to the elements.
Even so, the two loaders must still leave the vehicle to reload the launcher from the vehicle’s ammunition store, which is also located in the cargo bed. The cabin is entirely unprotected, leaving the crew vulnerable to shrapnel and small-arms fire and poorly protected against CBRN threats. During the 2000s, it was rumored hat a JHB-11/12 variant was under development to address these problems, but in the end the Menghean Army decided to cease work on the HB-11/12 family.
JHB-11/80
Affectionately nicknamed the "Byŏgdol" or brick, the JHB-11/80 is an intimidating weapon consisting of a 4x20 80-tube launcher on the hull of a converted MinChong-4 medium tank. It is designed to fire at a faster rate than other HB-11 mounts, alternating rockets from either side of the array to reduce the risk of collisions and interference in flight. Due to space constraints within the tank, the crew is reduced to three (driver, commander, layer) and reloading is typically carried out with the aid of soldiers from a support truck. It is estimated that fewer than a hundred JHB-11/80s are in service with the Menghean Army, mostly in Corps-level Combat Engineer units. Due to the system's size and weight compared to its poor range and explosive payload, the Menghean Army has not invested heavily in its production or modernization.
Service
During mass production, the HB-11/12 was standard-issue at the Regimental level, with one Battery of six launchers in each Regimental Artillery Battalion from the 1969 TO&E through the Decembrist Revolution in 1989. Initially a praised weapon, it steadily fell under criticism for its short 8-kilometer range, which limited its usefulness on an increasingly fast-paced battlefield. Its accuracy was also poor, even by Multiple Rocket Launcher standards, which made it unsuitable for use in situations where friendly and enemy forces were in close proximity. During the 1990s some Home Defense units had their HB-11/12s or JHB-11/12s grouped into a single Battalion within the Divisional Artillery Regiment, to be assigned to important areas of the Division's frontage, but in time this arrangement was criticized as well and the decision was made to steadily withdraw the weapon from regular service.
Today, RB-11 systems are no longer standard-use at the Regimental or Divisional level, and are mostly reserved for special-purpose units. Most are assigned to the Airborne Forces; as late as 2015, every Airborne Regiment includes two Multiple Rocket Launcher Batteries with a total of 12 Sinsegye systems on 4x4 trucks. These are intended for the rapid destruction of soft targets like headquarters or refueling areas, and the suppression of fortified sites in support of other Airborne units. As an experimental measure, some Marine Infantry Regiments have been assigned 6 or 12 HB-11/12 launchers, sometimes on amphibious vehicles, for assaults on slightly inland defenses, though Marine Infantry doctrinal manuals prefer to rely on rocket fire delivered from amphibious assault ships.
Prior to the DPRM's collapse, large numbers of RB 11 variants were exported to Qusayn, including several JHB-11/80 armored launchers. These, in turn, were used against rural resistance forces during the internal fighting that followed the government's attempts at collectivization. It is believed that Qusayni forces have developed a compatible 110mm rocket with a chemical-weapons payload in the mid-1980s.