RPG is a portable anti-tank weapon that fires rocket-propelled grenades. It is mainly used to attack tanks and armored vehicles and destroy fortifications at close range. The scientific name is "rocket propelled Grenade launcher", commonly known as rocket launcher.
At present, military RPG only refers to RPG-7 series rockets produced by the former Soviet Union (China imitates the model 69-40 rockets).
★ The origin of RPG-7
At the end of 1950s, due to the continuous improvement and improvement of the armor performance of the world's main battle tanks, the RPG-2 rocket launcher equipped by the former Soviet Union was obviously insufficient in power, short in range and large in rear jet flame, and could only be fired from the right shoulder. Therefore, the Soviet Union developed RPG-7 40 mm rocket launcher to replace the former. This is a new anti-tank weapon developed on the basis of RPG-2. Its launching principle, caliber, sight, launching and firing mechanism are all the same as RPG-2z, but the barrel structure is improved, and the main optical sight and rocket extended range engine are added and redesigned. The penetration thickness of RPG-7B and RPG-7BM armor-piercing projectiles is 350 mm and 400 mm respectively, and the direct distance is 300 meters. In addition, it is equipped with anti-personnel grenades to enhance its combat functions.
Rocket launcher 196 1 mass production. By 1966, it completely replaced RPG-2 and became the standard anti-tank weapon of infantry squad. In addition to the Soviet army, it is also equipped with a large number of Warsaw Pact troops and many Asian and non-domestic troops. 1968, Soviet airborne troops were also equipped with a collapsible RPG-7 40 mm rocket launcher. 199210 On June 6-10, two new ammunition types of RPG-7B were exhibited at the 7th National Defense Weapons Expo held in Athens, Greece: one was an explosive Grenade; The other is a series warhead rocket energy-increasing armor-piercing projectile with a caliber of 105 mm, a mass of 4.5 kg and an effective range of 200 meters. It is said that it can destroy all kinds of modern tanks, including main battle tanks equipped with reactive armor, and can penetrate reinforced concrete with a thickness of 1.5 meters. For the field fortifications of civil structures, the penetration thickness is as high as 2.7 meters.
★ Structural characteristics
RPG-7 rocket launcher is small in mass, powerful, long in range, small in afterspray flame, durable in structure, and can be launched from both left and right shoulders. It is an ideal single soldier main battle weapon. When disassembling, the left hand holds the barrel, the thumb presses out the lever of the locking mechanism, the right hand unscrews the tail nozzle assembly counterclockwise, and then folds it under the barrel, thus becoming an airborne container weapon. If you need to use the night vision sight, you can install a bipod between the quasi-constellation and the grip.
Rocket launcher launches RPG-7B and RPG-7BM rocket extended-range armor-piercing projectiles, including hollow charge warhead, piezoelectric fuze, rocket engine and tail assembly. The propellant tube is screwed behind the rocket engine, and the tail tube, tail wing and turbine of the tail wing assembly are contained inside. The warhead has a mass of 866 grams and contains 388 grams of explosives. The fuse head mechanism is screwed into the hood insulation sleeve, and the hood insulation sleeve is equipped with a protective cap to prevent the piezoelectric element from being accidentally hit in use. The bottom mechanism of fuze with delayed self-explosion device is located after explosion. The rocket extended-range engine adopts single-hole tubular double-base propellant. PRG-7BM rocket is an improved version of RPG-7B, with a diameter of 70.5mm and a slightly smaller mass. Its armor-piercing ability, shooting accuracy and wind deflection resistance are better than RPG-7B. In addition, a kind of anti-personnel grenade with the same caliber was developed, with a combat length of 250 mm, a trigger fuse and a killing radius of15 m.
★ Veterans have reason to be arrogant.
Many people think that old weapons like RPG-7 should have entered the weapons museum long ago, and it is difficult or impossible to play a big role in modern wars. Indeed, during the Iraq war, people did not see RPG-7, but after President Bush announced the end of the Iraq war, it showed great power. Why? A philosopher once said that there is nothing useless in the world, and garbage is just a treasure misplaced. The operational efficiency of RPG-7 rocket launcher is not as good as that of modern high-tech weapons, but it will show its power when there are favorable conditions for it to play its role.
First of all, rockets are individual combat weapons. Usually, it is organized into separate classes and rows for training. It can be arranged in wartime to enhance the anti-tank ability of the detachment. Because it weighs only 20 Jin, it can be carried by individual soldiers and is convenient for maneuvering. Under the cover of darkness, buildings and vegetation, anti-American forces in Iraq are quietly approaching American bicycles on patrol and carrying out a surprise attack. In Baghdad, 1 man got out of the skylight of 1 Toyota and fired 1 rocket launcher at 1 Hummer jeep of the US military, injuring three soldiers.
Secondly, RPG can destroy advanced main battle tanks such as M 1A 1 when launching critical explosive grenades and rocket extended-range armor-piercing projectiles, especially when approaching shooting, weak parts of armored vehicles and helicopters can be found, such as tank tracks, helicopter portholes flying at low altitude, wheels and fuel tanks of military trucks, etc. Can double the killing efficiency.
In addition, RPG has stable performance, simple operation and convenient maintenance. He is not as delicate as many high-tech weapons, and stumbling will not affect the operation; The technical gold content is not high, the operation is simple, and it can be mastered after training with time; Many parts can be manufactured even by ordinary mechanical work, and the maintenance is not complicated.
Fourth, the price is cheap. RPG-7 is easy to get on the international black market today, and its price is only 1/8 of the official price, that is, 200 dollars, which is one of the reasons why it is widely circulated among the people. Now there are many third world countries, many terrorist organizations and anti-government armed forces, and its proliferation has brought great harm. That's true. RPG not only fought against American troops in Iraq, but also was used by Taliban soldiers to shoot down several American helicopters in the war in Afghanistan. It can be said that RPG will fight against the US military all over the world.
In the future war, how to give full play to the combat effectiveness of the side with inferior equipment technical performance level is a problem worth pondering. The success of RPG-7 tells us that not all high-tech weapons are high, but also have their own weaknesses. Low-tech weapons are not useless. As long as it is used properly, it can exert its power and win future wars.