The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 has made it the most widely used anti-armor weapon in the world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon; it is manufactured in several variants by nine countries. It is popular with irregular and guerrilla forces.
Widely produced, the most commonly seen major variations are the RPG-7D (десантник – desantnik – paratrooper) model, which can be broken into two parts for easier carrying; and the lighter Chinese Type 69 RPG. DIO of Iran manufactures RPG-7s with olive green handguards, H&K style pistol grips, and a commando variant.
The RPG-7 was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961 and deployed at the squad level. It replaced the RPG-2, having clearly out-performed the intermediate RPG-4 design during testing. The current model produced by the Russian Federation is the RPG-7V2, capable of firing standard and dual high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, high explosive/fragmentation, and thermobaricwarheads, with a UP-7V sighting device fitted (used in tandem with the standard 2.7× PGO-7 optical sight) to allow the use of extended range ammunition. The RPG-7D3 is the equivalent paratrooper model. Both the RPG-7V2 and RPG-7D3 were adopted by the Russian Ground Forces in 2001.
Description
RPG-7 V2
The launcher is reloadable and based around a steel tube, 40mm (1.6in) in diameter, 950mm (37in) long, and weighing 7kg (15lb). The middle of the tube is wood wrapped to protect the user from heat and the end is flared. Sighting is usually optical with a back-up iron sight, and passive infrared and night sights are also available. The launchers designated RPG-7N1 and RPG-7DN1 can thus mount the multi-purpose night vision scope 1PN51[5] and the launchers designated RPG-7N2 and RPG-7DN2 can mount the multi-purpose night vision scope 1PN58.[6]
As with similar weapons, the grenade protrudes from the launch tubes. It is 40–105mm (1.6–4.1in) in diameter and weighs between 2kg (4.4lb)[7] and 4.5kg (9.9lb). It is launched by a gunpowder booster charge, giving it an initial speed of 115m/s (380ft/s), and creating a cloud of light grey-blue smoke that can give away the position of the shooter.[8] The rocket motor[b] ignites after 10m (33ft) and sustains flight out to 500m (1,600ft) at a maximum velocity of 295m/s (970ft/s). The grenade is stabilized by two sets of fins that deploy in-flight: one large set on the stabilizer pipe to maintain direction and a smaller rear set to induce rotation. The grenade can fly up to 1,100m (3,600ft); the fuzesets the maximum range, usually 920m (3,020ft).[9]
According to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Bulletin 3u (1977) Soviet RPG-7 Antitank Grenade Launcher—Capabilities and Countermeasures, the RPG-7 munition has two sections: a "booster" section and a "warhead and sustainer motor" section. These must be assembled into the ready-to-use grenade. The booster consists of a "small strip powder charge" that serves to propel the grenade out of the launcher; the sustainer motor then ignites and propels the grenade for the next few seconds, giving it a top speed of 294m/s (960ft/s). The TRADOC bulletin provides anecdotal commentary that the RPG-7 has been fired from within buildings, which agrees with the two-stage design. It is stated that only a 2 metres (6.6 feet) standoff to a rear obstruction is needed for use inside rooms or fortifications. The fins not only provide drag stabilization, but are designed to impart a slow rotation to the grenade.[citation needed]
Due to the configuration of the RPG-7 sustainer/warhead section, it responds counter-intuitively to crosswinds. A crosswind will tend to exert pressure on the stabilizing fins, causing the projectile to turn into the wind (see Weathervane effect). While the rocket motor is still burning, this will cause the flight path to curve into the wind. The TRADOC bulletin explains aiming difficulties for more distant moving targets in crosswinds at some length.
Ammunition
RPG-7 rocketsInside of an RPG's three sections. I) The head contains
trigger
conductive cone
aerodynamic fairing
conical liner
body
explosive
conductor
detonator
II) The rocket motor consists of
nozzle block
nozzle
motor body
propellant
motor rear
ignition primer
III) The booster charge includes
fin
cartridge
charge
turbine
tracer
foam wad
The RPG-7 can fire a variety of warheads for anti-armor (HEAT, PG-Protivotankovaya Granata) or anti-personnel (HE, OG-Oskolochnaya Granata) purposes, usually fitting with an impact (PIBD) and a 4.5second fuze. Armor penetration is warhead dependent and ranges from 300–600mm (12–24in) of RHA; one warhead, the PG-7VR, is a 'tandem charge' device, used to defeat reactive armor with a single shot.[citation needed] The Russian Ministry of Defense said in December 2023 that it has modified the RPG-7V grenade launcher in order to shoot 82-mm mines.[10]
Current production ammunition for the RPG-7V2 consists of four main types:
PG-7VL [c.1977] – improved 93mm (3.7in) HEAT warhead effective against most vehicles and fortified targets.[7]
PG-7VS1 [c.mid-1970s] – cheaper PG-7VS version capable of penetrating 360mm (14in) RHA.
GSh-7VT [c.2013] – anti-bunker warhead with cylindrical follow-through blast-fragmentation munition followed by explosively formed penetrator.[13]
OGi-7MA [unknown] – anti-personnel fragmentation munition developed for the Bulgarian ATGL-L. improved equivalent to the Soviet OG-7V. Compatible with RPG-7.[14]
A 1976 U.S. Army evaluation of the weapon gave the hit probabilities on a 5-by-2.5-metre (16.4ft ×8.2ft) panel moving sideways at 4m/s (13ft/s).[21] Crosswinds cause additional issues as the round steers into the wind; in an 11km/h (6.8mph) wind, firing at a stationary tank sized target, the gunner cannot expect to get a first-round hit more than 50% of the time at 180m (590ft).[22]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
History of use
The RPG-7 was first used in 1967 by Egypt during the Six-Day War, and by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, but it did not see widespread usage in Vietnam until the following year.[23]
The RPG-7 was used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2005, most notably in Lurgan, County Armagh, where it was used against British Army observation posts and the towering military base at Kitchen Hill in the town.[24] The IRA also used them in Catholic areas of West Belfast against British Army armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and Army forward operating bases (FOBs). Beechmount Avenue in Belfast became known as "RPG Avenue" after attacks on British troops.[25]
During the first and second Chechen wars, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria used RPG-7s which they had captured from Soviet bases and used them against Russian armored columns. During the first war, Russians may have lost 100 tanks and 250 armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) in Grozny.[28] The Chechens were able to knock out T-72s with three or four RPG-7 hits. Against T-72s with explosive reactive armor, the Chechens fired an RPG in close range (within 50m (160ft)) to detonate the armor and then followed this with RPG hits on the now exposed point of the tank, also from close range.[29] The RPG-7 was also effective against AFVs, buildings and personnel.[30]
The PG-7VR has been used by Iraqi insurgents.[31] On 28 August 2003, it achieved a mobility kill against an American M1 Abrams hitting the left side hull next to the forward section of the engine compartment.[32]
A map with users of the RPG-7 in blue and former users in redA Bulgarian soldier with an ATGL-L (Bulgarian copy of the RPG-7) equipped with a red dot reflex sight.A Romanian soldier with an AG-7 (licensed built RPG-7).Iranian manufactured RPG-7 launcher, uncovered in Lebanon, by the IDF.
↑ ИЗДЕЛИЕ 1ПН51 ТЕХНИЧЕСКОЕ ОПИСАНИЕ И ИНСТРУКЦИЯ ПО ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИИ[Product 1PN51 Technical Description and Operating Instructions] (in Russian). January 1992. pp.11, 16.
↑ ИЗДЕЛИЕ 1ПН58 ТЕХНИЧЕСКОЕ ОПИСАНИЕ И ИНСТРУКЦИЯ ПО ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИИ[Product 1PN58 Technical Description and Operating Instructions] (in Russian). February 1991. pp.5, 15.
↑ (U.S.), Infantry School; School, United States Army Infantry; Office, United States Army Infantry School Editorial and Pictorial; Dept, United States Army Infantry School Book (3 October 1998). "Infantry". U.S. Army Infantry School – via Google Books.
↑ Oppenheimer, A. R. (2009). IRA. The Bombs and the Bullets: A history of deadly ingenuity. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, p. 227. ISBN978-0-7165-2895-1, pp. 240–241.
↑ Lugosi, József (2008). "Gyalogsági fegyverek 1868–2008". In Lugosi, József; Markó, György (eds.). Hazánk dicsőségére: 160 éves a Magyar Honvédség. Budapest: Zrínyi Kiadó. p.389. ISBN978-963-327-461-3.
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