Rocket-propelled grenade
A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a
RPGs with
The term "rocket-propelled grenade" is a backronym from the Russian acronym РПГ (Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot), meaning "handheld anti-tank grenade launcher", the name given to early Russian designs.[2][3][4]
History
Predecessor weapons
The static nature of
Even with the first tanks, artillery officers often used
The first dedicated
Anti-tank guns deployed during World War II were manned by specialist infantry rather than artillery crews, and issued to infantry units accordingly.[4] The anti-tank guns of the 1930s were of small caliber; nearly all major armies possessing them used 37 mm (1.5 in) ammunition, except for the British Army, which had developed the 40 mm (1.6 in) Ordnance QF 2-pounder.[5] As World War II progressed, the appearance of heavier tanks rendered these weapons obsolete and anti-tank guns likewise began firing larger calibre and more effective armor-piercing shells.[7] Although a number of large caliber guns were developed during the war that were capable of knocking out the most heavily armored tanks, they proved slow to set up and difficult to conceal.[7] The latter generation of low-recoil anti-tank weapons, which allowed projectiles the size of an artillery shell to be fired from a man's shoulder, was considered a far more viable option for arming infantrymen.[4]
First shaped charge, portable weapons
The RPG has its roots in the 20th century with the early development of the explosive shaped charge, in which the explosive is made with a conical hollow,[9] which concentrates its power on the impact point. Before the adoption of the shaped charge, anti-tank guns and tank guns relied primarily on kinetic energy of metal projectiles to defeat armor. Soldier-carried anti-tank rifles such as the Boys anti-tank rifle could be used against lightly-armored tankettes and light armored vehicles. However, as tank armor increased in thickness and effectiveness, the anti-tank guns needed to defeat them became increasingly heavy, cumbersome and expensive. During WW II, as tank armor got thicker, larger calibre anti-tank guns were developed to defeat this thicker armor.
While larger anti-tank guns were more effective, the weight of these anti-tank guns meant that they increasingly were mounted on wheeled, towed platforms. This meant that if the infantry was on foot, they might not have access to these wheeled, vehicle-towed anti-tank guns. This led to situations where infantry could find themselves defenseless against tanks and unable to attack tanks. Armies found that they needed to give infantry a human-portable (i.e., can be carried by one soldier) weapon to defeat enemy armor when no wheeled anti-tank guns were available, since
Research occasioned by World War II produced such weapons as the American Bazooka, British/Allied PIAT and German Panzerfaust, which combined portability with effectiveness against armored vehicles, such as tanks. The Soviet-developed RPG-7 is the most widely distributed, recognizable and used RPG in the world.[10] The basic design of this RPG was developed by the Soviets shortly after World War II in the form of the RPG-2, which is similar in function to the Bazooka (due to the reloadability) and the Panzerfaust (due to an oversized grenade that protrudes outside of a smaller launch tube and the recoilless launch), though the rounds it fires lack a form of propulsion in addition to the launch charge (unlike the RPG-7 rounds, which also feature a sustainer motor, effectively making the rounds rocket propelled grenades).
Soviet RPGs were used extensively during the
RPGs were used by militants to destroy "hundreds" of vehicles (AFVs, armored Humvees etc) in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).[12]
Design
The RPG warhead being used against tanks and other armor often has a
An RPG comprises two main parts: the launcher and a rocket equipped with a warhead that follows a ballistic trajectory after the rocket motor has completed its burn. The most common types of warheads are
An issue that affected the earliest RPG weapon systems such as the German Panzerschreck was that rocket motor propellant could harm the operator. The weapon therefore featured a metal shield attached to the launch tube to protect the operator’s face from the blast. With later designs such as the RPG-7, the rocket exits the launcher with a low-powered gunpowder charge, and the main rocket motor then fires after the rocket has travelled 10 m (33 ft). In some other designs, the propellant charge burns completely within the tube.
An RPG is an inexpensive way for an infantryman to safely deliver an explosive payload or warhead over a short distance with reasonable accuracy. Substantially more expensive guided
Warheads
The HEAT (high-explosive anti-tank) round is a standard shaped charge warhead, similar in concept to those used in many tank cannon rounds. In this type of warhead, the shape of the explosive material within the warhead focuses the explosive energy on a copper (or similar metal) lining. This heats the metal lining and propels some of it forward at a very high velocity in a highly plastic state. The resulting narrow jet of metal can defeat armor equivalent to several hundred millimeters of RHA, such as that used in light and medium armored vehicles. However, heavily armored vehicles, such as main battle tanks, are generally too well armored to be penetrated by an RPG, unless weaker sections of the armor are exploited. Various warheads are also capable of causing secondary damage to vulnerable systems (especially sights, tracks, rear and roof of turrets) and other soft targets. The warhead detonates on impact or when the fuse runs out; usually the fuse is set to the maximum burn of the rocket motor, but it can be shortened for improvised anti aircraft purposes.[14]
Specialized warheads are available for illumination, smoke, tear gas, and white phosphorus. Russia, China, and many former Warsaw Pact nations have also developed a
So-called PRIGs (Propelled Recoilless Improvised Grenade) were improvised warheads used by the
Effectiveness
The
In August 2006, in
Various armies and manufacturers have developed add-on tank armor and other systems for
The RPG-30 was designed to address the threat of active protection systems on tanks by using a false target to trick the APS.[19] The RPG-30 shares a close resemblance with the RPG-27 in that it is a man-portable, disposable anti-tank rocket launcher with a single-shot capacity. However, unlike the RPG-27, there is a smaller diameter precursor round in a smaller side barrel tube in addition to the main round in the main tube. This precursor round acts as a false target, tricking the target's active protection system into engaging it, allowing the main round a clear path into the target, while the APS is stuck in the 0.2–0.4 second delay it needs to start its next engagement. Recent German systems were able to reduce reaction delay to mere milliseconds, cancelling this advantage.[19]
The PG-30 is the main round of the RPG-30. The round is a 105 mm (4.1 in) tandem shaped charge with a weight of 10.3 kg (23 lb) and has a range of 200 m (660 ft) and a stated penetration capability in excess of 600 mm (24 in)
Protection
An early method of disabling shaped charges developed during World War II was to apply thin skirt armor or meshwire at a distance around the hull and turret of the tank. The skirt or mesh armor (
Today, technologically advanced armies have implemented
Weapons by country
Soviet Union and Russian Federation
Specific types of RPGs (current, past and under development) include:
- Anti-personnel explosives
- RPG-7: Reloadable RPG launcher, TBG-7V thermobaric rocket and OG-7V fragmentation grenade
- RPG-27 "Tavolga": One-shot disposable RPG launcher, RShG-1 thermobaric rockets
- RShG-1
- RShG-2
- RPG-29 "Vampir": Reloadable RPG launcher, TBG-29 thermobaric rockets
- RPO Rys
- RPO-A Shmel
- MGK Bur
- MRO-A
- Anti-tank explosives
- Bunker buster explosives
United States
The United States Army developed a lightweight antitank weapon (LAW) in the middle 1950s. By 1961, the M72 LAW was in use. It is a shoulder-fired, disposable rocket launcher with HEAT warhead. It is a recoilless weapon, which is easy to use, and effective against armored vehicles. It was used during the Vietnam War, and is still in use today. It uses a fin-stabilized rocket. In response to the threat of thicker armor, this weapon was replaced by the AT4 recoilless rifle, a larger & non-collapsible – albeit still single-shot weapon.
The
- Bazooka
- M72 LAW
- M3 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWS)
- Mk 153 Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW)
- M141 Bunker Defeat Munition
- PSRL-1[25][26][27]
France
Germany
- Raketenpanzerbüchse Panzerschreck
- Panzerfaust 2
- Panzerfaust 3
Israel
- SMAW)
- IMI Shipon
- MATADOR
Spain
Czechoslovakia
Poland
Serbia
Yugoslavia
China
Palestine
Ukraine
Tactics
One of the first instances the weapon was used by militants was on January 13, 1975, at
In Afghanistan, Mujahideen guerrillas used RPG-7s to destroy Soviet vehicles. To assure a kill, two to four RPG operators would be assigned to each vehicle. Each armored-vehicle hunter-killer team can have as many as 15 RPGs.[29] In areas where vehicles were confined to a single path (a mountain road, swamps, snow, urban areas), RPG teams trapped convoys by destroying the first and last vehicles in line, preventing movement of the other vehicles. This tactic was especially effective in cities. Convoys learned to avoid approaches with overhangs and to send infantrymen forward in hazardous areas to detect the RPG teams.
Multiple shooters were also effective against heavy tanks with
Afghans sometimes used RPG-7s at extreme range, exploded by their 4.5-second self-destruct timer, which translates to roughly 950 m (3,120 ft) flight distance, as a method of long distance approach denial for infantry and reconnaissance.[31] The most noteworthy use of RPGs against aircraft in Afghanistan occurred on August 6, 2011, when Taliban fighters shot down a U.S. CH-47 Chinook helicopter killing all 38 personnel on board including SEAL Team 6 from a range of 220 m (720 ft).[32] An earlier anti-aircraft kill by the Taliban occurred during Operation Red Wings, on June 28, 2005, when a Chinook helicopter was destroyed by unguided rocket propelled grenades.
In the
RPGs were a main tool used by the
During the
Using RPGs as improvised anti-aircraft batteries has proved successful in Somalia, Afghanistan, and Chechnya.
See also
- Bazooka
- Commando mortar
- Grenade launcher
- MANPATS
- Panzerfaust 3
- Rifle grenade
- Shoulder-fired missile
- Rocket-assisted projectile
References
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- ^ How Rocket-Propelled Grenades Work Archived March 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine howstuffworks.com
- ^ "RPG-7 – Rocket-Propelled Grenade Launcher – History, Specs and Pictures – Military, Security and Civilian Guns and Equipment". Militaryfactory.com. November 21, 2013. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-1841768427.
- ^ ISBN 978-1857531770.
- ^ Oxford Advanced Lerner's Dictionary of Current English, New Edition, Cornelsen & Oxford, A S Hornby, 5th edition, p. 42.
- ^ ISBN 978-0668036078.
- ^ Militärisches Studienglosar Englisch Teil II/ Teil III, Deutsch – Englisch, Abkürzung Begriff, Bundessprachenamt (Stand Januar 2001), p. 283, anti-tank ammunition.
- ^ Connor 1987, p. 47.
- ^ "Rocket Propelled Grenades, about.com". Terrorism.about.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ^ "CCB-18 Memorial Fund". Mrfa.org. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ^ Rottman 2010, p. 43.
- ^ "S&TR | September/October 2021" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
- ^ "Modern Pirate Weapons - RPG7 - MaritimeSecurity.com". maritimesecurity.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009.
- ^ "Military Photos". Strategypage.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ^ Sunday Telegraph. Archived from the originalon April 18, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ Michael R. Gordon (May 21, 2008). "Operation in Sadr City Is an Iraqi Success, So Far". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
- ^ a b "Army News – News from Afghanistan & Iraq – Army Times". July 19, 2012. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012.
- ^ a b c ""Базальт" завершил разработку и испытания РПГ-30". ВОЙНА и МИР (Russian). November 19, 2008. Archived from the original on September 5, 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
- ^ "Sturmgeschütze vor!". Stugiii.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ^ "Relative armour thickness". Panzerworld.net. November 18, 2013. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ^ Ward Carroll (July 18, 2007). "The MRAP Cage Fight". Defense Tech. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ^ "RMG – Modern Firearms". October 28, 2010. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
- ^ "RPG-27 - Weaponsystems.net". weaponsystems.net. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ "AirTronic PSRL-1 (RPG-7USA) Anti-Armor / Anti-Personnel Shoulder-Fired Rocket Launcher". Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ^ "AirTronic USA – AirTronic PSRL-1 USA". Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ^ "AirTronic Precision Shoulder-Fired Rocket Launcher (PSRL-1)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ^ Grant Wardlaw, Political terrorism: Theory, Tactics and Counter-Measures (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), 27
- ^ Popular Mechanics Mar 2004. Hearst Magazines. March 2004. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ^ Grau 1998, pp. 6–8.
- ISBN 9781849168052. Archivedfrom the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ^ Darack, Ed. "The Final Flight of Extortion 17". Air & Space Magazine. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ Spencer, David E. From Vietnam to El Salvador: The Saga of the FMLN sappers and Other Guerrilla Special Forces in Latin America; Praeger Publishers (1996)
- ^ Grau, Lester W. (January 1997). "Russian-Manufactured Armored Vehicle Vulnerability in Urban Combat: The Chechnya Experience". Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Foreign Military Studies Office. Archived from the original on April 30, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
- Rottman, Gordon L. (2010). The Rocket Propelled Grenade. Weapon 2. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-153-5.
- Connor, Steve (July 23, 1987). "Ground wars". New Scientist. Reed Business Information. ISSN 0262-4079.
- Grau, Lester W. (May–August 1998). "The RPG-7 on the Battlefields of Today and Tomorrow" (PDF). Infantry. Fort Benning, GA: U.S. Army Infantry School. ISSN 0019-9532.
External links
- Most Valuable Weapon: the RPG Archived May 5, 2009, at the Gary Brecheron the history and use of the RPG