I've been told that the Frog-7 (Luna-M) was used by Soviet forces in Afghanistan, but can find no reference pictures for it. I've seen plenty of pics of the Afghani forces using it more recently. Was it used by Soviets during the conflict?

Yes they were.In one of my old Concord books about the Afghan-Soviet War it has I know at least one photo,it is not great but you can tell it is a FROG-7 (Luna-M).

According to Wikipedia, they've been used during the last three monthes of the war.

H.P.

Hi,
as far as i know the Frog-7 wasn't used by the soviet army in Afghanistan but by the afghan people's army from August 1989 onwards.
I can' find this picture in this old concord book. Sure you don't mean that one showing a BM-27?

Yes they were. Here is a DTIC document from May 1988 (and yes, it is publically releasable),

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a213733.pdf

"It should be noted that none of the Soviet motorized rifle divisions in Afghanistan are presently at full order-of-battle strength. At the very least, the FROG surface-to surface missile(SSM) battalions and SA-8 surface-to-air missile (SAM) regiments have been withdrawn."

In order to have been withdrawn, they would have had to been there in the first place...

True, but the Soviet units participating in the invasion were sent in their full WW III configuration because it was easier all around to use existing mobilization plans. The unneeded units were withdrawn rather quickly, generally without ever doing anything.

KL

The document was dated 1988, near the end of the Soviet invasion. It doesn't give a date when they were withdrawn. It simply shows that they were there. It's a very interesting read. Here is the preface:

This report presents the findings of a study on the Soviet army in Afghanistan undertaken by the Arroyo Center of The RAND Corporation for the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, U.S. Army. The primary analytical effort of the study focuses on key factors affecting the morale, discipline, motivation, and cohesion of the Soviet forces in Afghanistan, rather than on strictly operational analysis. The analysis is based on extensive interviews with 35 former members of the Soviet armed forces who served in Afghanistan, augmented by a comprehensive search of the Soviet military literature. This study is unique in that it is the first analytical examination of the Soviet armed forces under conditions of war in the post-World War II period that incorporates a substantial body of firsthand information.

But, back to the original poster's question, the FROG-7 units would be just like every other Soviet Motorized Rifle Division as far as appearance and equipment. I doubt they did anything special to them before deploying them. They would have been kept back to protect division or regimental assets

Which is exactly my point. That report is not a historical treatise on the Soviet deployment. It does not answer the OP's question: "Was it used by Soviets during the conflict?" If one wishes to be exact (to the point of being pedantic) then yes, driving them in, parking them for a short while with tarps on them, and driving them out a short time later counts as being used. If, on the other hand, one views the OP's question with some perspective (he is a modeler posting on a model site), "used" undoubtedly refers to carrying out their designed combat mission of firing rockets and there is no evidence that they did.

KL

Thanks all, I just wanted to depict a green vehicle covered in dust. I think that the posts above confirm that this is a real possibility. Again, thanks for all the help.

In that case, it might has well be in the Tajik SSR, Uzbek SSR, Kazakh SSR, or anywhere else in central Asia in 1980.

KL