Man-portable anti-tank systems (MANPATS or MPATS) are traditionally portable shoulder-launched projectile systems firing heavy shell-type projectiles (although throwing and lunge weapons have existed), typically designed to combat protected targets, such as armoured vehicles, field fortifications and at times even low-flying aircraft (especially helicopters).
MPATS-launchers can be either unguided or guided weapons and generally fall into three distinct categories:
Disposable systems, consisting of a small pre-loaded, single-shot launch tube meant to be disposed after firing, operated by one soldier. Examples include: Panzerfaust 1, M72 LAW, Miniman, AT4, FGM-148 Javelin, NLAW, etc.
Semi-disposable systems, where the launcher is manufactured pre-loaded and issued as a single unit of ammunition meant to be launched from a reusable firing and sighting device and discarded after one use. Examples include, Bofors Bantam, BGM-71 TOW, 9M113 Konkurs, Panzerfaust 3, 9M133 Kornet, etc.
Portable anti-tank systems initially appeared in the form of heavy rifles – so called anti-tank rifles – during the First World War and interwar period. These soon got replaced with recoilless systems with the application of the shaped charge explosive projectiles during the Second World War.[1] The development of practical rocketry and recoilless cartridges occasioned by World War II provided a means of delivering such an explosive from a shoulder-launched weapon, leading to a new type of weapon family which combined portability with effectiveness against armoured vehicles, fortifications, and buildings. Famous early examples includes the American bazooka-family of reloadable rocket launchers, the German Panzerfaust single-shot disposable anti-tank launcher and the post war Swedish Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle. The war also saw the use of a variety of unconventional MPAT-systems, such as the German Hafthohlladung magnet mine, the Japanese Shitotsubakurai lunge mine, the British sticky bombhand grenade and PIAT direct fire spigot mortar.
Anti-tank rifles
Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr 13.2x92mm anti-tank rifle at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris.
Arguably, the first MANPATS could be anti-tank rifles developed during World War I. An anti-tank rifle is a rifle designed to penetrate the armour of vehicles, particularly tanks. The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks in World War I and until the Korean War. While medium and heavy tank armour became too thick to be penetrated by rigid projectiles from rifles that one soldier could carry, anti-tank rifles continued to be used against other targets. Anti-materiel rifles of today, such as the Barrett M82, are a development of the Second World War technology. Although no longer able to penetrate even the side armour of the main battle tanks, they can cause serious damage to their external fittings such as periscopes and machine guns, and disable or even destroy less well armoured and support vehicles, helicopters, low-flying UAVs, and personnel.
One of the more common projectile types in MPAT-systems are rocket projectiles, commonly referred to as rocket-propelled grenades, a backronym originating from the Russian acronymRPG (Russian:РПГ: Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, romanized:Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot,lit. 'hand-held antitank grenade-launcher'), a name used for more than just rocket firing weapons. Rocket firing MPATS are conventionally called rocket launchers (alternatively man-portable rocket launchers when distinguishing them from vehicle ordnance) and are typically recoillessshoulder-launched systems firing high-explosive anti-tank rockets. These rockets typically consist of a high-explosive anti-tank warhead affixed to a rocket motor outfitted with areal stabilization-fins, typically folding fins.
The majority of rocket launchers are reloadable, but there is no rule against single-use weapons. Loading of the rockets is either done from the breech or the muzzle depending on the system.[2]
The first man-portable rocket launcher to be mass-produced was the American 60mm M1 rocket launcher, more commonly known as the bazooka. It was a man-portable, tube launched, recoilless rocket anti-tank weapon, widely fielded by the United States Army during World War II and into the Cold War. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was amongst the first generation of man-portable rocket launchers used in infantry combat. Featuring a solid rocket motor for propulsion, it allowed for high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads to be delivered against armoured vehicles, machine gun nests, and fortified bunkers at ranges beyond that of a standard thrown hand grenade. The bazooka also fired a high explosive squash head (HESH), effective against buildings and tank armour. The universally applied nickname arose from the M1 variant's vague resemblance to the musical instrument called a "bazooka" invented and popularized by 1930s U.S. comedian Bob Burns. The name bazooka was later applied to the 60mm M9 "foldable" rocket launcher, which was followed by the 90mm M20 rocket launcher being named "Super Bazooka". The bazooka concept was quickly copied by Nazi Germany and turned into the 88mm Panzerschreck.
Today the most widely distributed and used rocket launcher in the world is the SovietRPG-7.[3] Its basic design was developed by the Soviets shortly after World War II in the form of the RPG-2, which used a recoilless cartridge solution instead of rockets.
A recoilless rifle (RR) or recoilless gun is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of counter mass, such as propellant gas, from the rear of the weapon at the moment of firing, creating forward thrust that counteracts most of the weapon's recoil. Technically, only devices that use a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles. Smoothbore variants are recoilless guns. This distinction is often lost, and both are often called recoilless rifles.[4] Though similar to a rocket launcher, a recoilless weapon fires shells that use conventional gun propellant. The key difference from rocket launchers (whether man-portable or not) is that the projectile of the recoilless rifle is initially launched using conventional explosive propellant rather than a rocket motor. While there are rocket-assisted rounds for recoilless launchers, they are still ejected from the barrel by the detonation of an initial explosive propelling charge.
An anti-tank missile (ATM), anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW), or anti-armour guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armoured military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder-launched weapons, which can be transported by a single soldier, to larger tripod-mounted weapons, which require a squad or team to transport and fire, to vehicle and aircraft mounted missile systems. The introduction of smaller, man-portable ATGMs, such as the M47 Dragon and FGM-148 Javelin, with larger warheads to the modern battlefield has given infantry the ability to defeat light and medium tanks at great ranges, though main battle tanks using composite and reactive armours have proven to be resistant to smaller ATGMs.[5][6] Earlier infantry anti-tank weapons, such as anti-tank rifles, anti-tank missiles, and magnetic anti-tank mines, had limited armour penetration abilities and/or required a soldier to approach the target closely. See: List of anti-tank missiles.
A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired rocket weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor which propels the RPG towards the target and they are stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable with new rocket-propelled grenades, while others are single-use. RPGs are generally loaded from the front.
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder-launched weapons, which can be transported by a single soldier, to larger tripod-mounted weapons, which require a squad or team to transport and fire, to vehicle and aircraft mounted missile systems.
A recoilless rifle (rifled), recoilless launcher (smoothbore), or simply recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated to "RR" or "RCL" is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propellant gas from the rear of the weapon at the moment of firing, creating forward thrust that counteracts most of the weapon's recoil. This allows for the elimination of much of the heavy and bulky recoil-counteracting equipment of a conventional cannon as well as a thinner-walled barrel, and thus the launch of a relatively large projectile from a platform that would not be capable of handling the weight or recoil of a conventional gun of the same size. Technically, only devices that use spin-stabilized projectiles fired from a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles, while smoothbore variants are recoilless guns. This distinction is often lost, and both are often called recoilless rifles.
High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity shaped charge jet; this is capable of penetrating armor steel to a depth of seven or more times the diameter of the charge. The shaped charge jet armor penetration effect is purely kinetic in nature; the round has no explosive or incendiary effect on the armor.
The Panzerfaust was a development family of single-shot man-portable anti-tank systems developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapons were the first single-use light anti-tank weapons based on a pre-loaded disposable launch tube, a weapon configuration which is still used today.
Anti-tank warfare originated during World War I from the desire to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks. After the Allies deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire introduced the first anti-tank weapons. The first developed anti-tank weapon was a scaled-up bolt-action rifle, the Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr, that fired a 13.2 mm cartridge with a solid bullet that could penetrate the thin armor used by tanks at that time and destroy the engine or ricochet inside, killing occupants. Because tanks represent an enemy's strong force projection on land, military strategists have incorporated anti-tank warfare into the doctrine of nearly every combat service since. The most predominant anti-tank weapons at the start of World War II in 1939 included the tank-mounted gun, anti-tank guns and anti-tank grenades used by the infantry, and ground-attack aircraft.
A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile.
Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-launched missile or man-portable missile, among other variants, are common slang terms to describe high-caliber shoulder-mounted weapons systems; that is, weapons firing large, heavy projectiles ("missiles"), typically using the backblast principle, which are small enough to be carried by a single person and fired while held on one's shoulder. The word "missile" in this context is used in its original broad sense of a heavy projectile, and encompasses all shells and rockets, guided or unguided. A more formal variant is simply shoulder-fired weapons system and the like.
An anti-tank rifle is an anti-materiel rifle designed to penetrate the armor of armored fighting vehicles, most commonly tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles. The term is usually used for weapons that can be carried and used by one person, but is sometimes used for larger weapons. The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks in World War I until the Korean War. While medium and heavy tank armor became too thick to be penetrated by rigid projectiles from rifles that could be carried by a single soldier, anti-tank rifles continued to be used against other "soft" targets, though recoilless rifles and rocket-propelled grenades such as the bazooka were also introduced for infantry close-layer defense against tanks.
The Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle is a Swedish-developed 84 mm (3.3 in) caliber shoulder-fired recoilless rifle, initially developed by the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration during the second half of the 1940s as a crew-served man-portable infantry support gun for close-range multi-role anti-armour, anti-personnel, battlefield illumination, smoke screening and marking fire, which has seen great export success around the globe and continues to be a popular multi-purpose support weapon in use by many nations. The Carl Gustaf 84 mm recoilless rifle is a lightweight, low-cost weapon that uses a wide range of ammunition, which makes it extremely flexible and suitable for a wide variety of roles.
An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance of tanks during World War I. To destroy hostile tanks, artillerymen often used field guns depressed to fire directly at their targets, but this practice expended too much valuable ammunition and was of increasingly limited effectiveness as tank armor became thicker. The first dedicated anti-tank artillery began appearing in the 1920s, and by World War II was a common appearance in many European armies. To penetrate armor, they fired specialized ammunition from longer barrels to achieve a higher muzzle velocity than field guns. Most anti-tank guns were developed in the 1930s as improvements in tanks were noted, and nearly every major arms manufacturer produced one type or another.
A ranged weapon is any weapon that can engage targets beyond hand-to-hand distance, i.e. at distances greater than the physical reach of the user holding the weapon itself. The act of using such a weapon is also known as shooting. It is sometimes also called projectile weapon or missile weapon because it typically works by launching solid projectiles ("missiles"), though technically a fluid-projector and a directed-energy weapon are also ranged weapons. In contrast, a weapon intended to be used in hand-to-hand combat is called a melee weapon.
The Panzerfaust 3 is a modern semi-disposable recoilless anti-tank weapon, which was developed between 1978 and 1985 and first entered service with the Bundeswehr in 1987. It was first ordered in 1973 to provide West German infantry with an effective weapon against contemporary Soviet armor, thereby replacing West Germany's aging PzF 44 Light Lanze launchers and the heavy Carl Gustaf 84 mm anti-tank recoilless rifle manufactured in Sweden.
Small arms and light weapons (SALW) refers in arms control protocols to two main classes of man-portable weapons.
55 S 55, colloquially kevyt sinko and nicknamed Nyrkki, was a Finnish recoilless anti-tank weapon from the mid-1950s. The 55 S 55 was designed by a Finnish Defence Forces team led by MSc, Capt Esko Puronto, and it was manufactured by FDF's Vammaskoski factory.
The 8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43 Puppchen was an 88 mm calibre reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by Nazi Germany during World War II.
The RPG-75 is a portable, disposable, single-shot anti-tank weapon, developed in the 1970s in Czechoslovakia. It fires a 68 mm grenade with an effective range of 300 meters and maximum range of 1000 meters. It resembles the American M72 LAW rocket launcher. This recoilless rifle is recommended to be used against light tanks and armoured tracked vehicles.
The high–low system is a design of cannon and anti-tank warfare launcher using a smaller high-pressure chamber to store propellant. It allows a much larger projectile to be launched without the heavy equipment usually needed for large caliber weapons. When the propellant is ignited, the higher pressure gases are bled out through vents at reduced pressure to a much larger low pressure chamber to push a projectile forward. The high-low system allows the weight of the weapon and its ammunition to be reduced significantly. Production cost and time are drastically lower than for standard cannon or other small-arm weapon systems firing a projectile of the same size and weight. It has a far more efficient use of the propellant, unlike earlier recoilless weapons, where most of the propellant is expended to the rear of the weapon to counter the recoil of the projectile being fired.
The AT4 is a Swedish 84 mm (3.31 in) unguided, man-portable, disposable, shoulder-fired recoilless anti-tank weapon manufactured by Saab Bofors Dynamics. The AT4 is not a rocket launcher strictly speaking, because the explosive warhead is not propelled by a rocket motor. Rather, it is a smooth-bore recoilless gun. Saab has had considerable sales success with the AT4, making it one of the most common light anti-tank weapons in the world. The M136 AT4 is a variant used by the United States Army.
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