The Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher is intended primarily for the destruction of armored targets (direct fire), enemy personnel and firing positions, as well as creating smoke screens and illuminating the area.
Swedish engineers began developing a manual anti-tank weapons for shooting from the shoulder back in the early 1940s.
Their first development was 20 mm anti-tank rifle m/42, put into service in 1942, built on the recoilless principle and fired armor-piercing blanks. The effectiveness of such ammunition against tanks was already minimal by the middle of the Second World War, and therefore in the mid-forties the Swedes switched to a recoilless system that fired caliber armor-piercing ammunition with a cumulative warhead.
In 1948, the Swedish army adopted a single-shot dynamo-reactive (recoilless) grenade launcher m/48 of 84 mm caliber, the full name "Granatgevär 8.4 cm m/48 Carl-Gustaf".
In the second half of the 1950s, the production of RPGs under the name Carl-Gustaf M2 began at the FFV Ordnance enterprises.
In subsequent decades, the Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher (named after the Swedish king) became the most widely used in the world, thanks to its simple design and wide selection of ammunition.
In addition to anti-tank cumulative grenades for Carl-Gustaf, high-explosive fragmentation and shrapnel ammunition for combating enemy infantry, incendiary, smoke and illumination grenades, special training sub-caliber modules, etc. have been developed and produced around the world.
Ammunition for Carl-Gustaf is produced not only in Sweden, but also in Belgium and India.
In the mid-1980s, the Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher underwent its only more or less serious modification - the steel barrel was replaced with a much lighter composite one, consisting of a thin-walled steel liner and an outer shell made of fiberglass. And it was adopted in Sweden under the symbol m/86, and in the world as Carl-Gustaf M3.
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A modernized version - Carl-Gustaf M3 is produced by Bofors.
The Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher is a non-automatic weapon equipped with a recoilless rocket launcher system.
when charging
For loading, the breech with the nozzle is tilted up and to the left around the longitudinal axis; if the breech is not completely closed, a shot is impossible.
Recoillessness is achieved thanks to the appropriate design of the cartridge case and the opening (during the shot) of the breech of the barrel.
The barrel has a thin-walled steel rifled liner, which is the leading part of the barrel bore (the RPG M2 version uses a steel barrel).
Under the barrel there are two pistol grips (front for holding and rear for fire control), a portable handle (absent in the M2 version), a mechanical shock- trigger with manual safety, shoulder rest and bipod support.
when shooting
The breech and nozzle are steel, and most other elements of the weapon are made of aluminum or plastic.
WITH right side The barrel contains a mechanical type trigger that fires a shot.
On the left side of the barrel there is a folding open sight in the form of a front sight and rear sight for aiming at distances from 50 to 900 m, as well as a bracket for mounting optical sight(2X magnification for Carl-Gustaf M2 and 3X for Carl-Gustaf M3), equipped with a laser rangefinder.
The effective firing range of an anti-tank cumulative grenade is 700 m; high-explosive fragmentation grenade - 1100 m.
The grenade launcher can be fired from prone, kneeling or standing positions.
For firing, unitary shots are used, consisting of a grenade and an aluminum casing. The cartridge case in the rear part has a knock-out plastic bottom, which first provides the necessary boost pressure when firing, and then the outflow of powder gases from the barrel back through the nozzle for recoilless shooting. Primer for ignition powder charge located on the side surface of the cartridge case at the bottom, to ensure alignment of the primer with the striking mechanism in the barrel, there is a special chamfer on the rim of the cartridge case, allowing it to be loaded into the barrel in only one position.
in a modern design
To increase the effective firing range in last decades For Carl-Gustaf M3 grenade launchers, active-reactive rounds were developed that have an additional rocket accelerator for the grenade, which is turned on after the shot at a distance of 10-30 meters from the shooter.
84-mm Carl Gustaf grenade launchers have become widespread in dozens of countries around the world due to their simple design and ease of use wide range ammunition.
Carl Gustaf grenade launchers are in service in dozens of countries around the world, such as Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, India, Sweden and Israel, special forces USA and several other countries.
However, even in the modification Carl-Gustaf M3 has total weight the system is significantly larger than that of its main competitor, the Soviet RPG-7 grenade launcher. In addition, breech loading makes Carl-Gustaf grenade launchers much more difficult to use by one person. The standard crew of a grenade launcher consists of two people - a shooter and a loader.
- Weapons» Grenade launchers» Sweden
- mercenary 9411 1
The Swedish company Saab Dynamics, which includes some structural units former Bofors, completed the creation of a new modification of the Carl Gustaf hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher. , designated M4, is a further development of the line of anti-tank grenade launchers developed since the mid-forties. On September 24 and 25, demonstration firing took place at a training ground in the city of Karlskoga using the new Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher. During this event, a new model grenade launcher was shown to the military and representatives of 20 foreign countries.
The new M4 grenade launcher was developed on the basis of the previous model of the M3 family, created in the early nineties. The weapon retained the main features of previous systems, but several new technical solutions were used in its design. The purpose of the modernization, as before, was to improve the characteristics of the grenade launcher to ensure greater efficiency. According to official data, the new model grenade launcher is lighter and more compact than its predecessors, and is also more convenient to operate and maintain.
The main features of the grenade launcher remain the same. The Carl Gustaf M4 has an 84mm rifled barrel. This weapon architecture has been preserved since the very first model, but it has been repeatedly proposed to use new materials. Thus, the M3 grenade launcher received a steel barrel, and the “pipe” of the new M4 is made of titanium. The nozzle for removing powder gases is made of carbon fiber. New materials have made it possible to reduce the weight of the weapon. The M4 grenade launcher barrel is 1.1 kg lighter than the M3. In a similar nozzle comparison, the new M4 has an advantage of 0.8 kg.
Updating weapons and ammunition made it possible to reduce the barrel length. It is alleged that the length of the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher does not exceed one meter. Unloaded, the weapon weighs just 6.7 kg versus about 9 kg for the M3. The length of the new grenade launcher has been reduced by 70 mm compared to the previous modification. Thanks to this, as the manufacturer assures, the new modification of the grenade launcher is much more convenient to use than the Carl Gustavs of previous models.
The general appearance of the external “body kit” of the barrel remains the same. However, some major changes have been made to improve the ergonomics of the weapon. Thus, the sight and front handle are mounted not on special mounts, but on universal Picatinny rails. Thanks to this, the M4 grenade launcher can use sights various types. In addition, if necessary, the grenade launcher can be installed on any combat vehicle. In this case, the lower Picatinny rail for the handle is used to mount the system remote control launch.
The front lower Picatinny rail also allows the handle to be moved forward and backward. With its help, the grenade launcher can set the handle in the most convenient position, taking into account the peculiarities of his anatomy. The shoulder rest in the middle part of the weapon is adjusted in a similar way. The fire control handle remains stationary, but the movement of the front handle and shoulder rest fully compensates for this.
The ease of use of the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher in combat conditions is ensured by two innovations. Now the fighter has the opportunity to carry the weapon while loaded, since it is equipped with a new double safety lock that protects against accidental discharge. The resource of the titanium barrel is 1000 shots. To monitor the condition of the barrel, a mechanical counter is installed on the grenade launcher, with the help of which the grenade launcher can determine the need to clean or replace the weapon.
Since the late forties it was created a large number of ammunition for grenade launchers of the "Carl Gustav" family. Currently, the customer can choose from 11 types of grenades for various purposes. Available as cumulative or fragmentation grenades, and training or smoke. Thus, new grenade launcher, capable of using all existing 84 mm ammunition, has the same high flexibility of use as the previous weapons in the family.
In the future, Saab Dynamics plans to develop several new ammunition for the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher. It is planned to create and put into series fragmentation grenades with programmable detonation. For effective use For such ammunition, a special sight with a range finder and a system for entering commands into grenade fuses will also be created. In addition, the plans of Swedish specialists include a family of small-sized guided missiles Ultra-Light Missile, which will be equipped with homing heads and will be able to perform various tasks. Through the use of guided missiles, grenade launchers will be able to attack targets at a distance of up to 1.5-2 km.
On September 24-25, demonstration firing took place in Sweden, during which a new grenade launcher was shown. The official presentation of the new weapon will take place a little later, in mid-October at the AUSA exhibition in Washington (USA). After this, Saab Dynamics will begin negotiations with potential buyers of the new weapon.
Despite the upcoming presentation, tests of the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher have not yet been completed. They are scheduled to be completed only next year. The start of serial production is planned for 2016. It is noteworthy that for some time the Carl Gustav family of grenade launchers, models M4 and M3, will be produced in parallel. The reason for this is the relatively high cost of new weapons and the temporary lack of accurate information about their prospects.
Currently, Saab Dynamics is actively involved in the topic of grenade launchers. In addition to the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher, recent demonstration firings included a modification of the AT4 disposable grenade launcher with an increased range and a more powerful warhead, the NLAW grenade launcher and the new MAPAM mortar mine. At the same time, however, the greatest attention was paid to the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher, since weapons of this family have long been business card Bofors and then Saab.
Based on materials from sites:
http://saabgroup.com/
http://janes.com/
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/
Believe it or not, the US Army has officially adopted the Carl Gustaf M3 84-mm rifled hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher produced by the Swedish Saab AB group (in the US it is called the M3 Multirole Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System MAAWS). An official order to this effect (Conditional Materiel Release - CMR) was issued to the US Army at the end of 2015.
Once again, for those who did not understand the importance of this epoch-making event, I will explain. The US Army (not some kind of Marine Corps, which always gets leftovers from weapons), and is among the most elite units, like the 101st Air Assault Division and SOCOM - received a Swedish handicraft as a grenade launcher. The American military-industrial complex is no longer able to make a simple anti-tank grenade launcher.
Remember the epic jerking off of crests to Javelins? So, the Americans themselves are replacing high-tech Javelins with old Swedish pipes, the same ones Dolph Lundgren used in action films of the late 80s. Even worse, this grenade launcher was put into service in 1948. Yes, yes - in 1948, Karl.
“Carl Gustav” (full name Swedish: Granatgevär m/48 Carl Gustaf, literally grenade launcher of the 1948 model “Carl Gustav”) is a Swedish hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher, named after the company that produced it, Bofors Carl Gustaf AB. The weapon was developed on the basis of a dynamo-reactive anti-tank gun from the Second World War - Carl Gustaf Pvg m/42.
- Carl Gustaf M1 - the base model of 1948, which had a mass in combat position of 16.35 kg;
- Carl Gustaf M2 is a more advanced model developed in 1964, its weight was reduced to 14 kg. Has a 2x optical sight;
- Carl Gustaf M3 (Carl Gustaf m/86) is the third model of grenade launcher developed in 1991. The steel barrel was replaced with a thin-walled liner (rifled steel liner) in a fiberglass casing, which made it possible to reduce the weight of the weapon to 10 kg. It has a carrying handle (similar to the M-16 rifle) and a 3x optical sight.
- Carl Gustaf M4 is the fourth, improved model of the gun, introduced in 2014. The weight of the new model is less than 7 kg, achieved through the use of a titanium liner and a carbon fiber casing, the length of the gun is less than 1000 mm.
You will laugh - but for the M4 model our dear USA They didn’t come out with their snout, it’s too expensive for them.
Effective firing range:
- against stationary targets - 700 m,
- against moving targets - 150 m,
- against stationary targets with an active-reactive grenade - 1000 m
Nothing fundamentally has changed in the grenade launcher since 1948 - the changes are purely cosmetic, they lightened the tube, added optics, and after 50 years of operation they even thought of a carrying handle. Holy shit.
In general, Carl Gustaf was considered obsolete even when our designers invented the RPG-7. It weighs almost twice as much as the RPG-7, its grenade is weaker, loading from the breech (and also requiring the rear nozzle to be folded back) is very inconvenient, after firing it is necessary to remove the spent cartridge case, which greatly reduces the rate of fire. Advantages? Yes, practically none.
And now the United States is adopting it, following advanced countries like Botswana, Burkina Faso and Honduras.
It’s funny that the United States itself has been in service with the M67 grenade launcher similar to Carl Gustav since, scary to say, 1957. Then it was removed from service and stored. And so - in 2011, there were cases of the use of the M67 in Afghanistan by units of that same elite US 101st Airborne Division.
Now, apparently, the reserves of M67 have run out - we had to buy their ancient pipes from the Swedes.
According to the army order mentioned at the beginning, one M3 RPG is being introduced into service each infantry platoon American army. Thus, the current infantry brigade The US Army will regularly have 27 M3 RPGs. The RPG must have a crew of two people - a grenade launcher (gunner) and an assistant gunner (assistant gunner), since reloading this grenade launcher alone is extremely inconvenient.
Some kind of cretinism, by God. Russian army switched to disposable grenade launchers - specifically to get rid of the loader and facilitate the massive use of grenade launchers, and the United States returned to the WW2 breech-loading tube.
Even worse. As it now turns out, the United States polymerized grenade launchers a long time ago - the Carl Gustaf M3 RPG has been used by the Force Command for quite some time special purpose USA, where it entered service with the 75th Ranger Regiment back in 1987, SEAL units in 1997, and subsequently other special forces units. And now the collapse of the military-industrial complex has reached the linear parts of the “exceptional nation”.
In 1946, two Swedish designers developed the Carl Gustav hand grenade launcher. For 70 years after four modifications, it has served in the armies of 40 countries.
In 1946, two Swedes, Hugo Abramson and Harald Jentzen, developed a hand grenade launcher designed to destroy armored targets, manpower and enemy firing positions, as well as to create smoke screens and illuminate the area. In 1948, the grenade launcher went into production. Then it seemed that this was another version of the bazooka.
Most systems similar to "Carl Gustav" fell out of use in subsequent years with the advent of anti-tank missiles. However, after 70 years, the Swedish development remains in service and is already used in modern military conflicts, including the war of the international coalition in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and civil wars in Libya and Syria. Currently, "Carl Gustav" is in service in 40 countries around the world.
What is the reason for the longevity of the Swedish grenade launcher from the middle of the last century? Abramson and Jenzen developed this weapon as an anti-tank weapon, but it also proved effective against infantry due to its range, cheapness and variety of ammunition. US special forces were armed with several "Carl Gustavs", but the Americans liked the Swedish product so much that they began to equip ordinary ones with it. ground troops.
wikipedia.org
Of course, over the course of 70 years, the Carl Gustav has undergone several modifications that have improved its performance. latest model Thanks to the titanium liner and carbon fiber casing, the M4 weighs only 7 kg, which is more than double less weight 1948 model.
The war in Afghanistan especially showed the benefits of longevity. The militants usually fired at the Americans from long distances and from behind cover. Spending $80,000 a shot on Javelin missiles on them was a big waste. A single Carl Gustav shot costs only $2,400 for the same range and destructive power.
The modernized M4 model is equipped with many modern “smart devices”. Soldiers can now program projectiles to explode at a specific point in their trajectory. In addition, the M4 has a shot counter installed in order to promptly replace the grenade launcher, the resource of which is almost exhausted. Previously, grenade launchers had to record every shot in notebooks. The Carl Gustav M4 is currently undergoing extensive testing by the US Army. Most likely, a sample of the new old Swedish grenade launcher will begin to enter service next year.
Despite such long term service, the most popular hand grenade launcher in the world remains not the “Carl Gustav”, but our RPG-7, which began its triumphal march with the RPG-2 model almost at the same time as its Swedish counterpart in 1949. In the West, the RPG-2 was not taken seriously, considering it a copy of the German Panzerfaust. In Vietnam, the Americans were convinced of the error of their underestimation, and the RPG-7, released in 1966, became a real scourge of armored vehicles.
wikipedia.org
The surprising thing about this story is that the American military-industrial complex, despite the demand for hand-held grenade launchers, is not engaged in their production. The US Army has to buy these weapons from Sweden. And our GNP “Basalt” continues to develop and improve this class of weapons. The outdated RPG-7 was replaced by the RPG-29 “Vampire”, which is supplied not only to our army, but also to the armies of other countries.
Evgeniy Sizov
Anti-tank grenade launcher Carl Gustaf M3
Carl Gustaf M2 anti-tank grenade launcher, breech with nozzle folded back for loading
Two of the many types of ammunition developed for Carl-Gustaf grenade launchers - on the left is a high-explosive fragmentation grenade (HE-FRAG) with remote fuse, both developed by the Belgian company Mecar.
A soldier loads a Carl-Gustaf M3 grenade launcher
Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher rounds
Carl-Gustaf M3 while loading
Carl-Gustaf M3 during firing
Carl-Gustaf M3 in a modernized version
developed by the Belgian company Mecar.| Carl Gustaf m/48 - M2 | Carl Gustaf m/86 - M3 | |
| Caliber | 84 mm | 84 mm |
| Type | dynamo-reactive (recoilless) | dynamo-reactive (+ rocket booster on some types of grenades) |
| Length | 1130 mm | 1130 mm |
| Weight (with optical sight) | 14 kg | 9.5 kg |
| Effective firing range | 700 meters against stationary targets |
150 meters against moving targets 700 meters against stationary targets 1000 meters against stationary targets using active-reactive grenades |
| Armor penetration | up to 400 mm | more than 500 mm + dynamic protection |
Swedish engineers began developing hand-held, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons in the early 1940s. Their first development was the 20mm m/42 anti-tank rifle, which was put into service in 1942, built on the recoilless principle and fired armor-piercing blanks. The effectiveness of such ammunition against tanks was already minimal by the middle of the Second World War, and therefore in the mid-forties the Swedes switched to a recoilless system that fired caliber armor-piercing ammunition with a cumulative warhead. In 1948, the Swedish army adopted a single-shot dynamo-reactive (recoilless) grenade launcher m/48, 84mm caliber, full name "Granatgevär 8.4cm m/48 Carl-Gustaf". In subsequent decades, the Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher (named after the Swedish king) became the most widely used in the world, thanks to its simple design and wide selection of ammunition. In addition to anti-tank cumulative grenades for Carl-Gustaf High-explosive fragmentation and shrapnel ammunition to combat enemy infantry, incendiary, smoke and illumination grenades, special training sub-caliber modules, etc. have been developed and produced throughout the world. In the mid-1980s, the Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher underwent the only more or less serious modification - the steel barrel was replaced with a much lighter composite one, consisting of a thin-walled steel liner and an outer shell made of fiberglass. However, even in this version, adopted in Sweden under the symbol m/86, and in the world known as Carl-Gustaf M3, the total weight of the system is significantly greater than that of its main competitor, the Soviet RPG-7 grenade launcher. In addition, breech loading makes it much more difficult to use grenade launchers. Carl-Gustaf by one person - the standard crew of a grenade launcher consists of two people, a shooter and a loader. However, grenade launchers Carl-Gustaf are in service in dozens of armies around the world, including Belgium, the USA, India and many others. Ammunition for Carl-Gustaf are also produced not only in Sweden, but also in Belgium and India.
Grenade launcher Carl-Gustaf is a single-shot dynamo-reactive weapon with a rifled barrel. The barrel at the rear is open and equipped with a hinged breech with an exhaust nozzle. For firing, unitary shots are used, consisting of a grenade and an aluminum casing. The cartridge case in the rear part has a knock-out plastic bottom, which first provides the necessary boost pressure when firing, and then the outflow of powder gases from the barrel back through the nozzle for recoilless shooting. The primer for igniting the powder charge is located on the side surface of the cartridge case at the bottom; to ensure alignment of the primer with the striking mechanism in the barrel, there is a special chamfer on the rim of the cartridge case, allowing it to be loaded into the barrel in only one position. For loading, the breech with the nozzle is tilted up and to the left around the longitudinal axis. If the breech is not completely closed, a shot is impossible. Under the barrel there are two pistol grips (front for holding and rear for fire control), a mechanical trigger mechanism with a manual safety, a shoulder rest and a bipod support. On the left side of the barrel there is a folding open sight in the form of a front and rear sight, as well as a bracket for mounting an optical sight (2X magnification for Carl-Gustaf M2 and 3X for Carl-Gustaf M3).
To increase the effective firing range, in recent decades, active-reactive rounds have been developed for Carl-Gustaf M3 grenade launchers, which have an additional rocket grenade accelerator, which is turned on after the shot at a distance of 10-30 meters from the shooter.
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