  A mean field theory for Raman superradiance (SR) with recoil is presented,
where the typical SR signatures are recovered, such as quadratic dependence of
the intensity on the number of atoms and inverse proportionality of the time
scale to the number of atoms. A comparison with recent experiments and theories
on Rayleigh SR and collective atomic recoil lasing (CARL) are included. The
role of recoil is shown to be in the decay of atomic coherence and breaking of
the symmetry of the SR end-fire modes.
