60 years in the service. Success factors of the RPG-7 grenade launcher

RPG-7 and PG-7VR round. Photo Vitalykuzmin.net

Exactly 60 years ago, on June 16, 1961, by a decree of the USSR Council of Ministers, the newest RPG-7 anti-tank rocket launcher with a PG-7V cumulative reactive grenade was adopted by the Soviet army. These products still remain in our armed forces and in more than a hundred foreign armies. Such outstanding results were predetermined by a number of factors - successful design, ease of use, etc.

Hero and his successes

The development of the future RPG-7 began in 1958 in the interests of the ground forces of our army - they needed an infantry anti-tank weapon a new generation capable of dealing with existing and promising tanks probable enemy. The development of the future RPG-7 (GRAU index - 6G1) was carried out with the participation of several enterprises. The main executor was the GSKB-47 unit in the city of Krasnoarmeysk, the chief designer of the grenade launcher and the shot to it was V.K. Firulin.

RPG-7 grenade launcher. The optical sight is removed, only the mechanical one is used. The PG-7VL grenade is loaded. Photo of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

In the first half of 1960, the project reached factory tests. In the following months, military and state tests took place, according to the results of which the grenade launcher was recommended for adoption and serial production. The corresponding resolution of the Council of Ministers was issued on June 16, 1961, and soon the Kovrov Mechanical Plant began production of new RPG-7s. Subsequently, several modifications of the grenade launcher were developed and put into production with certain features.

In the early years of production, the RPG-7 and PG-7V were supplied only to our army, which made it possible to seriously increase the anti-tank capabilities of the infantry. Having saturated its armed forces, the USSR began exporting such weapons. It was supplied to friendly countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. Some states showed interest in organizing their own production of grenade launchers, and the Soviet side helped them in this.

For several decades after its appearance, the RPG-7 / 6G1 has become widespread. At the moment, such weapons are used in more than a hundred armies and in many armed formations of varying degrees of legality. It is believed that at least 60-9 million grenade launchers and hundreds of millions of grenades were fired in 10 years. Moreover, production continues to this day - and the list of manufacturers is sometimes replenished with new enterprises and countries.

PG-7VL grenades and engine charges in a carrying bag. Photo of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Since the Vietnam War, RPG-7s have found regular use in a variety of armed conflicts. Grenade launchers and their calculations have repeatedly demonstrated the high potential of such weapons. It is noteworthy that with its help they hit not only armored vehicles and fortifications, but also more complex targets, such as airplanes or helicopters. With certain limitations, the RPG-7 is still a convenient and effective weapon.

Technical prerequisites

A decisive contribution to the success of the RPG-7 was made by the technical features of the grenade launcher and its shot. First of all, it should be noted the simplicity and manufacturability of the design. The grenade launcher is actually a lightweight barrel with a variable cross-section with a bell. A firing mechanism and a sighting device are installed on it. This architecture facilitated both production and further upgrades.

The grenade launcher was compact and lightweight. Its length was only 950 mm, and its mass without a grenade did not exceed 6,5 kg. A calculation of two people could safely carry the weapon itself and a large ammunition load for it. Accordingly, even one grenade launcher without much difficulty could significantly increase the firepower of an infantry unit.

Disassembled RPG-7D airborne grenade launcher. Photo Wikimedia Commons

The first ammunition for the RPG-7 was the PG-7V or 7P1 grenade. It was an 85-mm over-caliber round with a mass of 2,2 kg. With the help of the starting and sustainer engine, the grenade developed a speed of 120 m / s. The aiming range reached 500 m, the range of a direct shot at a target with a height of 2 m - 330 m. The cumulative warhead penetrated 260 mm of homogeneous armor, which exceeded the level of protection of most foreign tanks of that time.

Thus, for its time, the RPG-7 was a very successful, powerful and convenient weapon. In all respects, it surpassed the previous types of grenade launchers and posed a real danger to modern armored vehicles, not to mention outdated vehicles. A weapon with such capabilities could not fail to find a place in our armed forces or in foreign armies.

Potential for modernization

Already by the mid-sixties, the 6G1 grenade launcher ceased to fully meet all the requirements: the protection of tanks increased, a number of other challenges appeared. However, the grenade launcher system underwent modernization, as a result of which it restored its potential. In the future, new activities of this kind were repeatedly carried out.

US Marines inspect Chinese-made Type 69 captured grenade launchers. Iraq, 2003

The general architecture of the RPG-7 and its barrel as a whole did not change. At the same time, the RPG-7D landing grenade launcher with a split barrel was developed. In addition, some modern modifications receive plastic fittings instead of the standard wooden ones. An interesting version of the development of the original design was proposed by the American company Airtronic. In her Mk.777 project, she used a carbon fiber barrel with a steel liner, thereby reducing the mass of the grenade launcher to 3,5 kg.

One of the main vectors of development of the entire complex was the development of new sighting devices. Initially, the 6G1 was equipped with a PGO-7 optical sight, which later underwent several upgrades. Then the PGN-1 night sight appeared, followed by new products of this class. At the turn of the century, the UP-7V universal sighting device was created, complementing the standard sight. Also, many other options for such modernization are known, involving the installation of factory or homemade sights.

Iranian copy of RPG-7. Photo IDF

The most important area of ​​development was the development of new ammunition. For domestic grenade launchers, a scheme with an over-caliber shot was chosen at one time, and this greatly simplified the creation of new grenades. From the mid-sixties to the middle of the last decade, about a dozen different ammunition was created. The systematic development of cumulative grenades was carried out, tandem products were created. Also, a fragmentation and thermobaric shot have been developed.

The most advanced anti-tank ammunition at the moment is the PG-7VR "Resume" weighing 4,5 kg with a tandem warhead of 64 and 105 mm caliber. At the cost of increasing the mass and reducing the aiming range to 200 m, it was possible to increase the penetration to 650 mm behind the reactive armor.

Other factors

The economic and political power of the USSR also made a significant contribution to the overall success of the RPG-7. It was possible to establish mass production of such weapons in the shortest possible time, and in just a few years all the needs of the Soviet army were covered. This made it possible to move to the creation of a significant warehouse stock in case of mobilization, as well as to start exporting to friendly countries.

RPG-7D from the arsenals of the Polish army at the Polish-American exercise, 2016. An American soldier prepares to shoot, his Polish colleague sets up a grenade. US Department of Defense Photo

In the sixties and seventies, the Soviet Union, being one of the two superpowers, had a lot of allies and attracted neutral states. All of them were potential buyers or recipients of Soviet weapons. In addition, some states were able to master licensed production. This explains the widespread distribution of RPG-7 in Europe, Asia and Africa.

In the early seventies, the Type 69, an unlicensed Chinese copy of the Soviet grenade launcher, entered the international market. As a result, the number of countries and organizations using such weapons has grown significantly. At the same time, the use of grenade launchers has also expanded in ongoing and new armed conflicts.

At this stage, simplicity of design and operation was again a positive factor. These qualities were especially important in the development of weapons in backward states. The bulk of their armies were conscripts with an extremely low level of education and poor training. But even of them, it was possible to make well-aimed grenade launchers, which was helped by the simplicity of the RPG-7.

Burundi army grenade launcher, member of an international mission in Somalia. Photo by AMISOM

With the collapse of the USSR, the supply of weapons to a number of developing countries stopped. However, by this time they had managed to accumulate serious stocks of weapons, incl. RPG-7 and shots for them. In addition, alternative procurement and supply channels have emerged. The observed scale of the spread of rocket-propelled grenade launchers is still based on the "Soviet reserve", and the prerequisites for a radical change in this situation are still lacking.

Another anniversary

The RPG-7 anti-tank rocket launcher entered service with our army exactly 60 years ago. After a number of upgrades, it remains in service, and so far they are not going to abandon it. Foreign countries and formations also continue to operate such weapons and for the most part do not intend to replace them - both due to their high characteristics and due to the lack of the necessary capabilities.

US Special Forces soldiers are mastering a Soviet-made grenade launcher. Syria, 2017

It cannot be ruled out that in the near future the Russian industry will again increase the characteristics of the grenade launcher by introducing new sights or shots. The appearance of similar projects abroad is also possible. These steps will help prolong the operation for a significant period.

Thus, the Soviet and Russian RPG-7 grenade launcher meets its sixtieth anniversary in the status of the main and mass weapon of its class in the world. And objective factors will allow him to remain in the service in the future, for an indefinitely long time. It is likely that the next anniversaries this weapon will meet again in service.

Comments

[Avior]

Burundi army grenade launcher, member of an international mission in Somalia.

the tent behind you will burn.
however, it is unlikely - the ammunition seems to be training, already very shabby

[Peak]

Quote: Avior

the tent behind you will burn.
however, it is unlikely - the ammunition seems to be training, already very shabby

When fired, it is possible and will burn, if earlier it is simply not blown off ...

[Paragraph Epitafievich Y.]

Quote: Avior

the tent behind you will burn.
however, it is unlikely - the ammunition seems to be training, already very shabby

Yellow slippers at the entrance to the tent somehow contrast with the fighting pose of the Burundian zoldat))

[Avior]

This is a stylishly dressed Burundian zoldat :))

[Kote Pan Kokhanka]

Thanks for the story. I don't like jubilee articles, but about the old man RPG-7 I got it right the first time.

[SERGE ANT]

the Soviet and Russian RPG-7 grenade launcher celebrates its sixtieth anniversary in the status of the main and mass weapon of its class in the world.

Happy anniversary, Legend!

[Siberian54]

Two brands from the USSR-Kalashnikov and RPG.cars for years

[riwas]

The Basalt Research and Production Association (part of the Tekhmash concern of the Rostec State Corporation) is developing a new generation of ammunition for the RPG-7, the first products may appear in 2-3 years, Nikolai Sereda, head of the Basalt design bureau, told reporters.
According to him, the new ammunition will have greater armor penetration - up to 600 millimeters, compared to 260 millimeters for the first ammunition for the RPG-7. Their thermobaric and fragmentation effects will increase. In addition, the accuracy should be significantly improved due to new sighting devices.
Sereda explained that now, at a direct shot range (150 meters), a grenade projectile hits the target with a spread of 40-50 centimeters. When firing at a distance of up to a kilometer, the accuracy may exceed the dimensions of armored vehicles.
"Therefore, it became necessary to increase this accuracy, so that even at a distance of up to a kilometer it would be possible, even if not from the first shot, from the second, but, nevertheless, to hit and hit the tank so that the accuracy is in the region of several meters, up to five, say," , - added the head of the design bureau.
https://ria.ru/20210615/boepripasy-1737028332.html

[motorized rifle]

In addition, the accuracy should be significantly improved due to new sighting devices.
Sereda explained that now, at a direct shot range (150 meters), a grenade projectile hits the target with a spread of 40-50 centimeters. When firing at a distance of up to a kilometer, the accuracy may exceed the dimensions of armored vehicles.
"Therefore, it became necessary to increase this accuracy, so that even at a distance of up to a kilometer it would be possible, even if not from the first shot, from the second, but, nevertheless, to hit and hit the tank so that the accuracy is in the region of several meters, up to five, say," , - added the head of the design bureau.

The "chief of KB2" is disingenuous. Even the PGO-7V scope was sufficient in accuracy, your humble servant got into a growing tree (into a birch) of your choice, at a distance of 400m, with a trunk diameter of more than half a meter. In a tank or an armored personnel carrier, at the same distance, even more so, but at 500 meters, that's all, even the sight allowed. The fact is that the charge in the grenade engine burns out almost completely, the centering of the grenade and, accordingly, the ballistics change greatly, hence the large dispersion. Moreover, with the same sight and aiming point on a stationary target, hits are on average 50%. Therefore, to improve the accuracy of hits, not even by 1000m, but at least by 600m, first of all, a grenade is needed, which can provide stable ballistics at such firing distances.

[Yuri Sotnik]

What is cunning? Perhaps they are working in this direction.

[Lech from Android.]

Oh, such a shaitan-pipe of the Red Army would by 1941 ... the price would not have been then ... so many lives of our people would have saved.

[Avior]

In the USSR, American rocket-propelled grenade launchers Bazooka appeared in 1942 under the lend-lease, but they were not appreciated and they did not receive distribution.
Later they actively used the captured German Ofenrora and Panzershrecki
https://topwar.ru/38955-sovsem-ne-muzykalnaya-bazuka-chast-2.html

[Catfish]

Hello, Sergey.
A little about the "first swallow". The first grenade launcher was named PTG-44 with AKG-70 grenade, grenade launcher "B" - LPG-70 with RKG-70 grenade, and "V" - TPG-90 with RKG-90 grenade. Only LPG-70 reached field tests, but already in 1945 after the end of the Second World War.

A few years later, the Artkom GAU approved the drawings of the RPG-1 grenade launcher and the PG-70 grenade for it. In fact, it was the first Russian grenade launcher. But, unfortunately, in the future, the RPG-1 will not be used. By 1949, the Soviet Union was adopting the RPG-2, the serial production of which would not begin until 1950.

I read that even before the Second World War, we had RPGs made in metal and tested, but some muddy story happened there, like everyone was jailed, and the design bureau was covered up.

[SERGE ANT]

Perhaps we are talking about the Taubin-Baburin grenade launcher ... The idea of ​​creating an automatic grenade launcher for a standard 40,8-mm round for rifle mortars of the Dyakonov system was visited by Ya.G. Taubin, even when he was a simple student at the Odessa Institute of Technology and Grain. He sent his project to Tukhachevsky, who at that time held the post of deputy people's commissar of defense for armaments. In 1934, a separate design bureau will be created under Taubin and the group of enthusiasts he gathered around his project. In 1937, the first sample of the AG-TB automatic grenade launcher was presented to the military for testing.

At the test site, the AG-TB showed a monstrous rate of fire for those times - 50-60 rounds per minute when loaded with five-round magazines and 440-460 rounds with tape feed. But the military abandoned the novelty in favor of ... a 50-mm company mortar. The main argument in this case was presented completely "enchanting": an automatic grenade launcher is not capable of conducting external fire, and at the maximum elevation angle gives a greater dispersion of hits than a mortar.
Taubin tried to prove something, wrote numerous complaints to the People's Commissariat: "Individual Artkom workers Dorovlev, Bogomolov, Bulba, Ignatenko throughout 1937, with the help of the former chairman of the Artillery Committee of the AU Kirillov-Gubetsky, created an atmosphere of blackmail around ... a 40,8-mm grenade launcher." - but in 1938, 50-mm mortars were put into service, and the AG-TB was sent over and over again for revision.
Meanwhile, enthusiastic reviews were received about the grenade launchers that were sent to the troops for practical tests. In the Dnieper military flotilla, AG-TB was installed on an armored boat of type D: "Automation worked flawlessly ... accuracy is satisfactory ... the system does not unmask when firing due to the weak sound of a shot and the absence of flame ... the fuse works flawlessly both on water and on the ground." During the Finnish War, several grenade launchers took part in the battles on the Karelian Isthmus and did not fail even in 40-degree frost.
The ending of this story turned out to be typical for that time - since 1938, the design bureau was loaded with work on the MP-6 aircraft cannon, and in May 1941, Taubin was arrested on charges of "participating in an anti-Soviet conspiracy" and of "preserving unfinished weapons and launching a gross production of technically imperfect systems: 23 mm air cannon, 12,7 mm machine gun and others. " On October 28, 1941, he was shot. Small-caliber mortars from the very first days of the war showed their complete ineffectiveness and were removed from service.

[Catfish]

I read about Taubin, but I had something else in mind. Now I rummaged around and found it.
In 1931, B.S. Petropavlovsky. Its design contained a number of promising elements: the use of light alloys, shoulder launch, electric trigger, a shield to protect the shooter from gases and a muzzle wave. All of these ideas have found application in German and American designs. But after the death of Petropavlovsky in 65, this development was not continued.

[Avior]

Perhaps the rejection of Bazooka during the war was just a consequence of the works of Taubin, Kurchevsky and the proximity of these works to Tukhachevsky.

[Alexey RA]

Quote: SERGE ant

But the military abandoned the novelty in favor of ... a 50-mm company mortar. The main argument in this case was presented completely "enchanting": an automatic grenade launcher is not capable of conducting external fire, and at the maximum elevation angle gives a greater dispersion of hits than a mortar.

The arguments are absolutely normal: the military needed a weapon capable of throwing a mine or a grenade behind cover / into a trench. For flat shooting at these ranges, and so there was someone to lead.
As for the greater dispersion, it all comes down to the consumption of ammunition to hit a standard target. Let me remind you that we are in the thirties. The infantry does not have an infantry fighting vehicle and an armored personnel carrier, where you can fold the ammo and carry it with you. There are not even enough trucks. So, at best, the entire BC will have to be transported by carriage. And at worst, on the backs of the infantry. That is, the mass of ammo for infantry weapons is extremely critical.

And most importantly, at the words "automatic grenade launcher" almost everyone immediately imagines AGS-17. While the real Taubin AG was as far from the AGS-17 as the Shosh machine gun and the PKM.

So if he created the AGS. He created a 60 kg bulky box powered by a non-removable store for 5 shots :-)
Which at the same time recharged only STANDING
Moreover, the calculation with itself had as much as 30 shots (like one snail to the AGS which weighs less
The sleeves for which were ordered in Germany at the same time at the company "Gecko"
A very, very necessary construction for the war with Germany ...

© fvl1_01
According to the results of testing the AG Taubin in 1937, it was found that for 473 shots the grenade launcher gives 34 delays. The extractor and ejector springs should be changed every 20 shots on average. The pomegranate has insufficient wall strength. A quarter of the grenades don't explode at all. Etc. And when it came to the production technology of this miracle ... in general, for our industry, in terms of complexity, this grenade launcher was at the level of the original Bofors guns.

[Alexey RA]

Quote: SERGE ANT

In May 1941, Taubin was arrested on charges of "participating in an anti-Soviet conspiracy" and "preserving incomplete weapons and launching into gross production of technically imperfect systems: a 23-mm air cannon, a 12,7-mm machine gun, and others." On October 28, 1941, he was shot.

The results of Taubin's activity (more precisely, inactivity):

According to Ilyushin’s planes, it’s known for sure - because of the failure to deliver M-6 guns and disruptions in the supply of ShVAK guns (which replaced the Taubin guns with IL-2 before entering a large series of VY guns), 146 vehicles got stuck in the plant with varying degrees of readiness. Exactly half of the number that was available on July 1, 1941.

... a quarter of the available Lagg-3s did not make it to the front in the summer and autumn or were not mastered by the pilots due to a two to three month delay in readiness

© fvl1_01

[Avior]

I tried to understand why they didn’t take Bazooka under Lend-Lease, but I didn’t understand.
The price of a grenade launcher is small, you could get it as insurance for the infantry in case of meeting with enemy tanks.
The argument that there was supposedly already been a saturation of anti-tank artillery does not stand up to scrutiny. You can't attach a PTO battery to each platoon, and tanks are very mobile.

On March 2, 1943, a platoon of Lieutenant Shironin, performing a combat mission, took up defense at a railway crossing near the village of Taranovka, Kharkov region. For 5 days before the approach of the main forces, the platoon held the position. On March 5, 1943, the Nazis threw 35 tanks and armored vehicles into platoon positions. In a difficult battle, the platoon under the command of Shironin held the position, destroying 16 tanks [3] and more than 100 enemy soldiers. Platoon soldiers, sacrificing themselves, threw grenades under enemy tanks. Lieutenant Shironin was seriously wounded in this battle.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union, like all the platoon soldiers, was awarded on March 18, 1943.

The platoon defended its positions at the railway crossing [1] in the area of ​​the village. In the period from March 2 to March 6, 1943, the platoon withstood several battles for the move. On March 5, the enemy made the most powerful attempt to seize the crossing so that armored trains could enter the occupied positions to shell Kharkov. Platoon positions attacked 25 German tanks and 15 armored personnel carriers [2]. The only 45-millimeter gun in the platoon was destroyed during the second attack of the Nazis. [2] However, the fighters with fire from anti-tank rifles, grenades and Molotov cocktails, destroyed 10 tanks, a self-propelled gun and an armored personnel carrier, and with fire from machine guns and submachine guns - over 100 enemy soldiers [3] [4]. Several platoon soldiers rushed with grenades under enemy tanks, sacrificing their lives. During the fierce battle, most of the platoon died. Only 6 people survived. All the dead platoon soldiers were buried in a mass grave in the village of Taranovka.

Shironin's fighters could well have Bazookas and would not have to rush under tanks with grenades and bottles.

[Eule]

Quote: Avior

tried to understand why Bazooka was not taken under Lend-Lease,

Failures when firing at temperatures below plus 10, for starters. The low initial speed of the rocket, which makes it difficult to hit a moving target.

[Avior]

Only LPG-70 reached field tests, but already in 1945 after the end of the Second World War.

the fact is that the LPG-70 used only a propelling charge for firing, similar to the German faust cartridges, so the firing range was small.
The RPG-7 later used rocket-propelled grenades, which had a much longer range, which is why it became widespread.

[Peak]

Quote: Avior

In the USSR, American rocket-propelled grenade launchers Bazooka appeared in 1942 under the lend-lease, but they were not appreciated and they did not receive distribution.
Later they actively used the captured German Ofenrora and Panzershrecki

Quite informative and comprehensive video:

[Avior]

the author claims that the reason for not being adopted is allegedly the fact that the batteries did not work in the cold.
The thesis is widespread, but it also does not stand up to criticism. Batteries were ubiquitous for telephones and radios, and flashlights as well, and somehow got by, as with the German official and panzerschrecks copied from the bazooka.
And the winter with severe frosts is not all year round, in the summer it was also needed.
Looks like just an excuse for rejection, but not a reason.

[Peak]

Quote: Avior

Batteries were ubiquitous for telephones and radios, and flashlights, and somehow got by.

They got along, and that "somehow", with that still hemorrhoids, "babysitting" with the batteries as with relatives, in every possible way protecting and preserving them.
What is acceptable for a flashlight, or even a radio station, is categorically unsuitable for a weapon that must have 100% reliability and reliability.

[Avior]

nevertheless used in winter

why not handle batteries carefully?
And in summer, spring and autumn, nothing seemed to interfere.
but did not apply, although the need was

[Peak]

Quote: Avior

nevertheless used in winter

Judging by the photo, it was taken in the winter of 1944-45 on the Western Front, probably in the Ardennes.
And the European "winter", even in a mountainous area, is very different from our climatic conditions, when the battery, to preserve it, literally needs to be warmed up in the bosom.

Quote: Avior

why not handle batteries carefully?
And in summer, spring and autumn, nothing seemed to interfere.
but did not apply, although the need was

Why didn't they use it? Used but limited. There is a newsreel with a Soviet landing of the Marine Corps on the coast, and there are shots of fighters with these RPGs.

And besides, the Soviet side quite logically decided that it could cover the need for this weapon at the expense of captured samples, without purchasing Bazookas from the United States.

[Avior]

There is a newsreel with the landing of the Soviet Marine Corps landing on the coast

this is from a small batch of 1944.
And we are talking about 1942, when there were no trophy samples yet.
and the need was clearly there.

the battery to preserve it, literally needs to be warmed up in the bosom

such frost is rare enough, and it's no problem to keep spare batteries under your clothes, they are small
field phones were ubiquitous and worked, so the problem is exaggerated with batteries

[Peak]

Quote: Avior

field phones were ubiquitous and worked, so the problem is exaggerated with batteries

Here's the thing about field telephones , then I had to deal with them in the conditions of our winter, and I must note that a fairly "tired" battery is enough for a stable connection, but to ignite the fuse in the "Bazooka", the residual current and voltage charge may simply not be enough, with high probability of "misfires".

Who needs a weapon that can fail at any moment, and its failure will cost - probably many lives?

[Avior]

There it was provided - there was a button and a light for checking and testing
Before use, it was necessary to check in any case. The batteries were easy to change there, keeping a couple of spare ones under your outerwear would be no problem.
Moreover, it was necessary only in severe frost, for sure the same telephone operators did just that.
And in any case, it is much easier than throwing grenades and bottles under the tanks.
Which brings us back to the question - why didn't they order?

[Peak]

Quote: Avior

Which brings us back to the question - why didn't they buy it?

Are you a troll?

[Avior]

I do not, and you?
I wrote from the very beginning that

I tried to understand why they didn’t take Bazooka under Lend-Lease, but I didn’t understand.

and you, then, quickly decided to clarify me, in a hurry?
excuse me, I have been thinking over all your arguments for a long time and considered the factual side.
I don't see anything new

[Alexey RA]

Quote: PiK

There is a newsreel with a Soviet landing of marines on the coast, and shots of fighters with these RPGs flicker there.

These frames?

I met the information that these are personnel from the exercises - since all the received Bazookas were handed over to warehouses and were used only for educational purposes.

[Peak]

Quote: Alexey RA

These frames?

Definitely they

Quote: Alexey RA

I met the information that these are personnel from the exercises - since all the received Bazookas were handed over to warehouses and were used only for educational purposes.

I cannot comment on this information. I have no data.

[Alexey RA]

Quote: Avior

In the USSR, American rocket-propelled grenade launchers Bazooka appeared in 1942 under the lend-lease, but they were not appreciated and they did not receive distribution.

We just got an early version of the "bazooka" (there was no other then) with all its childhood illnesses. And they made negative conclusions about RPGs as a whole based on this very version.

[Avior]

I think that in the midst of the Battle of Stalingrad, weapons with childhood diseases would have gone, especially since they have already received them anyway.
And where to try it, if not at the front?
But it didn't work out ...

[Alexey RA]

Quote: Avior

I think that in the midst of the Battle of Stalingrad, weapons with childhood diseases would have gone, especially since they have already received them anyway.
And where to try it, if not at the front?

From the Hansa:

Mikhail Svirin claims that there was an order from the GAU, categorically prohibiting the transfer of bazookas to the troops, based on the results of wax tests that showed high probability of injury to personnel... In his opinion, this chronicle is footage of exercises, possibly at the Gorokhovets training ground.

[Avior]

The injury risk did not prevent the Americans from using on all fronts
The alternative was - deadly for their Molotov cocktails and bunches of grenades

[Alexey RA]

Quote: Avior

The injury risk did not prevent the Americans from using on all fronts

The Americans were manufacturers of the bazooka and were constantly improving it - so that their soldiers received improved samples.
We took the first version of the product, burned ourselves on it - and never returned to it, considering it unsuitable.
Another question is why, according to the test results of the bazooka, ours did not ask the Americans to eliminate the shortcomings - as was the case with the "Sherman" or "Cobra"?

[Avior]

The weapon was clearly in demand among the troops, even if it had drawbacks
Therefore, I had questions about the fact that they did not apply
In the army, the captured faustpatron was quite used.

[Alexey RA]

Quote: Avior

In the army, the captured faustpatron was quite used.

The same problem with the Faust was the injury of the personnel. It was not in vain that they ordered the infantry to hand over the trophy fausts for transfer to the Ingvoys.

[Avior]

in the engineering troops, this is because as a means of anti-tank equipment at that time, the faustpatron was not needed and was poorly suited for this.
In engineering, they were used to destroy fortified points in a city.
Panzershreks and offenders - used as intended, for PTO

[Sergey Aleksandrovich]

In the battles on the streets of Stalingrad, the main weapons of the Germans were large-caliber artillery and aircraft, which could hardly be countered with bazookas. And during the counteroffensive from November 19 and the encirclement of the German group, the main weapon was the covert preparation of the operation, tanks and supporting them with fire during the Katyusha offensive. Later, during the defense of the outer ring of the encirclement, in the course of repelling Manstein's strike south of Stalingrad, maybe there would have been a place for them.

[Avior]

Stalingrad is not the only place where the war was going on, and it did not end with the Battle of Stalingrad, like the tanks of the Germans. I mentioned Stalingrad to understand what period of the war was at that moment.
Above, I gave an example of Shironin's platoon, this is after the Battle of Stalingrad. Watch an episode of the film based on those events in which Bykov's hero throws a bunch of grenades under the track of a German tank - this is really dangerous, not to mention the element of luck. Nevertheless, no one refused grenades.
Therefore, questions arise about the validity of abandoning bazookas.

[Sergey Aleksandrovich]

But you mentioned exactly Stalingrad, where this weapon would hardly have been used in street battles. Or his contribution would not have been significant.

[Avior]

it was a reference to a period, not to a specific place.

[Sergey Aleksandrovich]

About the period it looks more like a wish, they write that bazookas appeared just in November 1942, not earlier.

[Avior]

No, just the period
In the atmosphere, when the Germans are torn for the Volga, the war is in full swing, it is strange to see that weapons are not used, even if they are

[Sergey Aleksandrovich]

In November 1942, no one was torn for the Volga, on November 19 a counter-offensive began, which ended in an encirclement. The bazookas appeared only at this moment.
But near Rzhev .. just would not be superfluous.

[Avior]

even if they were not torn, the atmosphere was not conducive to calmness and reinsurance. We used everything that was, but in this case, the solution was clearly knocked out of the general line. That's why I'm interested - why? the explanations that I read did not convince me

[Gunther]

good article.

Quote: Author

Airtronic company. In her Mk.777 project, she used a carbon fiber barrel with a steel liner, thereby reducing the mass of the grenade launcher to 3,5 kg.

watched video of a shot from chinese
norinco dzj08 - it looks like it does not have a steel liner, a fiberglass pipe - at the time of the shot it shines through from the expelling jet.
I would be careful not to shoot from such a shaitan-pipe)))

[garri-lin]

Over-caliberness expands the modernization potential of the product. With the right approach, RPG 7 could well celebrate its 100th anniversary in the army. He would have been shot with LGSN. And shrapnel with programmable detonation. And, accordingly, the sighting complex is suitable.

[novel66]

and he will be like a javelin - expensive and heavy

[garri-lin]

The javelin has a smarter head than half of the users. And here is a primitive laser designator / rangefinder. The weight and dimensions of the sight will not be critical. I will say more, something similar already exists in a perfectly acceptable dimension.

[Denimax]

Theoretically, if the partisans knew the principle of work without recoil, they could build something. The simplest thing is to unscrew the breech at the mortar barrel, insert a mine and counter-mass, maybe a bottle of water or a concrete blank, a trigger on an electric fuse. IMHO

[Paragraph Epitafievich Y.]

Quote: Denimax

Theoretically, if the partisans knew the principle of work without recoil, they could build something. The simplest thing is to unscrew the breech at the mortar barrel, insert a mine and counter-mass, maybe a bottle of water or a concrete blank, a trigger on an electric fuse. IMHO

Enchanting comment

[Vsevolod136]

Quote: Paragraph Epitafievich Y.

Quote: Avior

the tent behind you will burn.
however, it is unlikely - the ammunition seems to be training, already very shabby

Yellow slippers at the entrance to the tent somehow contrast with the fighting pose of the Burundian zoldat))

Considering that the shot is "reusable", the main weapon of the Burundian Nibelung is on the left, at the foot.

[Paragraph Epitafievich Y.]

Quote: Vsevolod136

the main weapon of the Burundian Nibelung is on the left, at the foot.

taken from the fire shield ....))

[decimalegio]

Quote: Denimax

Theoretically, if the partisans knew the principle of work without recoil, they could build something. The simplest thing is to unscrew the breech at the mortar barrel, insert a mine and counter-mass, maybe a bottle of water or a concrete blank, a trigger on an electric fuse. IMHO

IRA PRIG grenades have already been launched.
The launcher consisted of a piece of steel pipe capable of receiving a charge of black powder in the middle through a perforated tube that was closed and welded in place. The charging is connected to a simple circuit that often uses a lamp socket as an arming switch and is actuated by a long arm microswitch that acts as
The muzzle itself consists of a standard food box filled with 600 g of Semtex, complete with an internal front metal cone that creates a charge in the form of an anchor perforation. This projectile was designed to explode on impact, an adaptation of a previously used improvised anti-armored grenade known as a "brake bomb" that, upon releasing the trigger, ejected a stabilizing hub made from a garbage bag.
At the rear of the grenade launcher was a "counter-shot" using the principle of recoil (according to some, reduced to a .22lr rifle!). It consisted of two packets of digestive tea cookies wrapped in cloth

[Sergey Aleksandrovich]

The main factor in the success of the RPG-7 grenade launcher is its grenade. A very difficult product was able to be launched into mass production, and this is an undoubted achievement of both designers and scientists, and industry.

[Andrey Sushkov]

Well, there is nothing complicated about the RPG-7 for a simple reason, it is nothing more than a launcher for a jet ammunition. But the ammunition is his whole "trick". In fact, you can shoot from an RPG even with an infantry shovel, if you attach a propellant charge to it, even with standard ammunition, even a tamdem one, designed to destroy any modern highly protected equipment.

[Alex968m]

RPG = Rocket Infantry Grenade Launcher

[Gookuni yeddey]

Quote: Alex968m

RPG = Rocket Infantry Grenade Launcher

Hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher. He was never reactive.