New "secret weapon" of the Syrian army?
Questions that ask inquisitive readers, sometimes the most unexpected. Fortunately, the Internet today allows you to see the most amazing things about military subjects. This question was sent to us by one of our regular readers. Video Interview What is this weapon?
Honestly, the question took me by surprise. Not by the fact that this unknown weapon exists. About this below. To be honest, the surprise was precisely the return, the cyclical, if you like, life of the weapon.
What you saw on the presented video, in fact, has already been more than a century history. Yes, more than 100 years ago such a weapon appeared in the armies of most of the warring countries. But let's start from the stove.
The appearance of hand grenades, "pocket artillery" in the conditions of the First World War, when the armies "dug" in the ground and fought a positional war, led to the realization of the need to increase the range of such a grenade. There were few people who could throw hand grenades at decent distances. Most were limited to throw range in 10-20 meters. And this is clearly not enough. Especially for fragmentation defensive grenades.
Soldier ingenuity, especially in war, often leads to the appearance of a completely incredible weapon. And what was in service with the soldier then? Rifle and grenade. And they needed to be somehow united. Just what kind of "grenade launchers" was not at that cruel time, from large "slingshots" to catapults, similar to ancient Greek. However, all these grenade launchers were too demanding on the conditions of use. And the distances that catapults threw grenades were not particularly necessary for soldiers.
The trenches of the opposing sides were literally a few dozen meters from each other. What was needed was soldiers, not very long-range, but simple solutions. And they were found. The so-called rifle grenades were invented.
The first "rifle grenades" were nothing more than the famous "lemon" F-1 with a pin attached to the bottom. The thickness of the pin was chosen as close as possible to the caliber of the rifle. And the shot technology was simple. The pin was inserted into the rifle barrel. The weapon was set at the required angle, depending on the firing range. And then fired a shot. For the shot used blank cartridges.
The production of such grenades was pure amateur. In battalions and regiments, right on the front line, workshops made such items. However, it turned out that the friction of iron against iron quickly leads to the failure of the rifle barrel. After firing rifle grenades, the weapon could no longer be used for its intended purpose.
But what you saw in the first case on the video, has already been produced by industry. And the first to think of the British. More precisely, the British were the first to do the same as the Syrians in the above video.
They remembered the already forgotten flint mortars that were once used. Specially designed nozzle in the form of mortars mounted on the barrel of a rifle. And then it happened exactly what you saw. Grenade fit into mortar. The lever was placed in a special slot. And the safety ring was removed manually. Shot by the blank cartridge, and the grenade flies for a considerable distance.
The second system, which was used by the Syrian fighter, is already related to our homeland. This product very much resembles the once famous Dyakonov grenade launcher, the Soviet 30 weapons.
In the video you can see that a special grenade is used for the shot. With ready-made rifling. This allows for more accurate shooting. Although, perhaps this is a modification of the German Gewehrgranatgerät.
For the Russian army, the history of rifle grenades ended in the post-war period. And they finally disappeared in the early 60-s. It was then that the idea of RPGs and grenade launchers prevailed. But in the armies of other countries the idea of using rifle grenades is alive. Moreover, if you look closely at some samples of weapons, you will clearly see that they were made precisely for the possible use of rifle grenades. The presence of a long flame arrester is one of these indicators.
Such weapons perfectly use grenades “worn” over the barrel. Today rifle grenades are a special type of weapon that has not yet fully revealed its capabilities. What you saw in the video is the past. Rods, mortars on the barrel and other devices disappeared from the armies of the world. Modern-day rifle grenades are ammunition mounted on a barrel or flame arrester.
Moreover, these grenades have their own system of aiming. They do not use the existing one, but have a sight on their own body. Further, most modern grenades have either a bullet catcher or a through channel for the passage of a bullet. And this means the possibility of firing live ammunition. Many of the readers may have seen shots from hand grenade launchers with smoke grenades. Remember the impact of such weapons. So, a through hole reduces returns at times.
Well, and the last. I just can't get past the weapons of our best "friends." It was in the USA that an interesting type of grenade was invented. More precisely, they invented a device that allows using any hand grenade for a shot. The idea is implemented in a special universal adapter M1A2. Instead, the warhead are three legs. It is in these legs that the grenade is clamped. After hitting the grenade at the target, when they hit the paws, they unclench. At the same time, a security check is pulled out of the grenade. Then everything is as usual. So, alas, the Syrian army does not use secret weapons, but obsolete and already forgotten in modern armies of the world.
Honestly, the question took me by surprise. Not by the fact that this unknown weapon exists. About this below. To be honest, the surprise was precisely the return, the cyclical, if you like, life of the weapon.
What you saw on the presented video, in fact, has already been more than a century history. Yes, more than 100 years ago such a weapon appeared in the armies of most of the warring countries. But let's start from the stove.
The appearance of hand grenades, "pocket artillery" in the conditions of the First World War, when the armies "dug" in the ground and fought a positional war, led to the realization of the need to increase the range of such a grenade. There were few people who could throw hand grenades at decent distances. Most were limited to throw range in 10-20 meters. And this is clearly not enough. Especially for fragmentation defensive grenades.
Soldier ingenuity, especially in war, often leads to the appearance of a completely incredible weapon. And what was in service with the soldier then? Rifle and grenade. And they needed to be somehow united. Just what kind of "grenade launchers" was not at that cruel time, from large "slingshots" to catapults, similar to ancient Greek. However, all these grenade launchers were too demanding on the conditions of use. And the distances that catapults threw grenades were not particularly necessary for soldiers.
The trenches of the opposing sides were literally a few dozen meters from each other. What was needed was soldiers, not very long-range, but simple solutions. And they were found. The so-called rifle grenades were invented.
The first "rifle grenades" were nothing more than the famous "lemon" F-1 with a pin attached to the bottom. The thickness of the pin was chosen as close as possible to the caliber of the rifle. And the shot technology was simple. The pin was inserted into the rifle barrel. The weapon was set at the required angle, depending on the firing range. And then fired a shot. For the shot used blank cartridges.
The production of such grenades was pure amateur. In battalions and regiments, right on the front line, workshops made such items. However, it turned out that the friction of iron against iron quickly leads to the failure of the rifle barrel. After firing rifle grenades, the weapon could no longer be used for its intended purpose.
But what you saw in the first case on the video, has already been produced by industry. And the first to think of the British. More precisely, the British were the first to do the same as the Syrians in the above video.
They remembered the already forgotten flint mortars that were once used. Specially designed nozzle in the form of mortars mounted on the barrel of a rifle. And then it happened exactly what you saw. Grenade fit into mortar. The lever was placed in a special slot. And the safety ring was removed manually. Shot by the blank cartridge, and the grenade flies for a considerable distance.
The second system, which was used by the Syrian fighter, is already related to our homeland. This product very much resembles the once famous Dyakonov grenade launcher, the Soviet 30 weapons.
In the video you can see that a special grenade is used for the shot. With ready-made rifling. This allows for more accurate shooting. Although, perhaps this is a modification of the German Gewehrgranatgerät.
For the Russian army, the history of rifle grenades ended in the post-war period. And they finally disappeared in the early 60-s. It was then that the idea of RPGs and grenade launchers prevailed. But in the armies of other countries the idea of using rifle grenades is alive. Moreover, if you look closely at some samples of weapons, you will clearly see that they were made precisely for the possible use of rifle grenades. The presence of a long flame arrester is one of these indicators.
Such weapons perfectly use grenades “worn” over the barrel. Today rifle grenades are a special type of weapon that has not yet fully revealed its capabilities. What you saw in the video is the past. Rods, mortars on the barrel and other devices disappeared from the armies of the world. Modern-day rifle grenades are ammunition mounted on a barrel or flame arrester.
Moreover, these grenades have their own system of aiming. They do not use the existing one, but have a sight on their own body. Further, most modern grenades have either a bullet catcher or a through channel for the passage of a bullet. And this means the possibility of firing live ammunition. Many of the readers may have seen shots from hand grenade launchers with smoke grenades. Remember the impact of such weapons. So, a through hole reduces returns at times.
Well, and the last. I just can't get past the weapons of our best "friends." It was in the USA that an interesting type of grenade was invented. More precisely, they invented a device that allows using any hand grenade for a shot. The idea is implemented in a special universal adapter M1A2. Instead, the warhead are three legs. It is in these legs that the grenade is clamped. After hitting the grenade at the target, when they hit the paws, they unclench. At the same time, a security check is pulled out of the grenade. Then everything is as usual. So, alas, the Syrian army does not use secret weapons, but obsolete and already forgotten in modern armies of the world.
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