The Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher is designed primarily to destroy armored targets (direct fire), enemy personnel and firing positions, as well as create smoke screens and illuminate the terrain.
Swedish engineers began to develop 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 a recoilless principle and fired with armor-piercing blanks. The effectiveness of such ammunition against tanks by the middle of World War II was minimal, 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) m / 48 grenade launcher 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 an RPG called Carl-Gustaf M2 began at the FFV Ordnance factories.
In the following decades, the Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher (named after the Swedish king) became the most widespread in the world, thanks to its simple design and a wide range of ammunition.
In addition to anti-tank cumulative grenades for Carl-Gustaf, high-explosive fragmentation and shrapnel ammunition for fighting enemy infantry, incendiary, smoke and lighting grenades, special training sub-caliber modules, etc. have been developed and produced in the world.
Carl-Gustaf ammunition is produced not only in Sweden, but also in Belgium and India.
In the mid-1980s, the Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher underwent the only more or less serious modification - the steel barrel was replaced by a much lighter composite barrel, consisting of a thin-walled steel liner and an outer shell made of fiberglass. And it was adopted in Sweden under the m / 86 index, and in the world as the Carl-Gustaf M3.
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The modernized version - Carl-Gustaf M3 is produced by Bofors.
The Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher is a non-automatic weapon equipped with a recoilless missile throwing system.
when loading
For loading, the breech with a nozzle is tilted up and to the left around the longitudinal axis; when the breech is not completely closed, a shot is impossible.
Recoillessness is achieved due to the appropriate design of the sleeve and the opening (during the shot) of the breech of the barrel.
The barrel has a thin-walled steel threaded liner, which is the leading part of the barrel (in the RPG M2 version, a steel barrel is used).
Two pistol grips are fixed under the barrel (front for holding and rear for fire control), a portable handle (in the M2 version was absent), a mechanical shock trigger with manual safety, shoulder rest and two-legged bipod support.
when shooting
The breech with the nozzle is steel, and most of the other elements of the weapon are made of aluminum or plastic.
WITH right side the barrel is a mechanical-type trigger that produces 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(multiplicity 2X for Carl-Gustaf M2 and 3X for Carl-Gustaf M3), equipped with a laser rangefinder.
Effective range of anti-tank cumulative grenade - 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 sleeve. The sleeve in the rear part has a knock-out plastic bottom, which first provides the necessary boost pressure when fired, and then the outflow of powder gases from the barrel back through the nozzle for recoilless shooting. Ignition capsule powder charge is located on the side surface of the sleeve at the bottom, to ensure the alignment of the capsule with the percussion mechanism in the barrel, there is a special chamfer on the edge of the sleeve, which allows it to be loaded into the barrel in only one position.
in modern design
To increase the effective firing range in recent decades For Carl-Gustaf M3 grenade launchers, active-reactive shots were developed, having an additional rocket accelerator of the grenade, which is activated after the shot at a distance of 10-30 meters from the shooter.
Carl Gustaf 84-mm grenade launchers have spread in dozens of countries around the world due to their simple design and applicability 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 much larger than that of its main competitor, the Soviet RPG-7 grenade launcher. In addition, breech loading makes it much more difficult for one person to use Carl-Gustaf grenade launchers. The staff of the grenade launcher consists of two people - the shooter and the loader.
- Weapons »Grenade Launchers» Sweden
- mercenary 9411 1
The Swedish company Saab Dynamics, which includes some structural units the former Bofors, has completed the creation of a new modification of the Carl Gustaf hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher. , indexed 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 with the use of the new Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher took place at the training ground in the city of Karlskoga. During this event, the grenade launcher of the new model 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 the previous systems, but several new technical solutions were applied to its design. The purpose of the modernization, as before, was to improve the characteristics of the grenade launcher to ensure greater efficiency of use. According to official data, the grenade launcher of the new model is lighter and more compact than its predecessors, and is also more convenient to operate and maintain.
The main features of the grenade launcher remained the same. The Carl Gustaf M4 has an 84 mm rifled barrel. A similar architecture of weapons has been preserved from the very first model, however, it has been repeatedly proposed to use new materials. So, the M3 grenade launcher received a steel barrel, and the "pipe" of the new M4 is made of titanium. The nozzle for the removal of powder gases is made of carbon fiber. New materials have reduced the weight of the weapon. The barrel of the M4 grenade launcher is 1.1 kg lighter than that of the M3. In a nozzle comparison like this, the new M4 has an advantage of 0.8 kg.
Updating weapons and ammunition for him made it possible to reduce the length of the barrel. It is claimed that the length of the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher does not exceed one meter. An unloaded weapon weighs only 6.7 kg versus about 9 kg for the M3. The length of the new grenade launcher has been reduced by 70 mm in comparison with the previous modification. Thanks to this, as the manufacturer assures, the grenade launcher of the new modification is much more convenient in operation than the "Carla Gustavs" of the previous models.
The general appearance of the external "body kit" of the barrel remained the same. However, some major changes were made to it aimed at improving the ergonomics of the weapon. So, the sight and the front handle are not installed on special mounts, but on universal Picatinny rails. Thanks to this, the M4 grenade launcher can use scopes different 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 attach the system remote control start-up.
The front lower Picatinny rail also allows you to move the handle back and forth. 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 of the weapon is adjusted in the same way. The fire control handle remains stationary, but the movement of the front handle and shoulder rest fully compensates for this.
Ease of operation of the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher in combat conditions is provided by two innovations. Now the fighter has the ability to carry the weapon in a loaded state, since it is equipped with a new double safety device that protects against accidental firing. The resource of the titanium barrel is 1000 rounds. To monitor the state of the barrel, a mechanical counter is installed on the grenade launcher, with which the grenade launcher can determine the need for cleaning or replacing the weapon.
Since the late forties, it has been 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 frag grenades, and training or smoke. In this way, new grenade launcher, capable of using all existing 84 mm ammunition, has the same high flexibility as the previous weapon of the family.
In the future, Saab Dynamics plans to develop several new ammunition for the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher. It is supposed to create and put into a series of fragmentation grenades with programmable detonation. For effective use of such ammunition, a special sight with a rangefinder and a system for introducing commands into grenade fuses will also be created. In addition, the plans of the 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, a demonstration shooting 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 that, 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 planned to be completed only next year. The start of serial production is scheduled for 2016. It is noteworthy that for some time the grenade launchers of the Carl Gustav family of the M4 and M3 models will be produced in parallel. The reason for this is the relatively high cost of the new weapon and the temporary lack of accurate information about its prospects.
Currently, Saab Dynamics is actively involved in the subject of grenade launchers. In addition to the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher, during the recent demonstration firing, a modification of the AT4 disposable grenade launcher with an increased range and a warhead of greater power, an NLAW grenade launcher and a new MAPAM mortar mine were shown. At the same time, however, the greatest attention was paid to the Carl Gustaf M4 grenade launcher, since the weapons of this family have long been business card firms 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 hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher manufactured by the Swedish Saab AB group (in the USA 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 ILC, which always gets scraps from weapons), and among the most elite parts, like the 101st Air Assault Division and SOCOM - received a Swedish craft as a grenade launcher. The American military-industrial complex is no longer able to make a simple anti-tank grenade launcher.
Remember the epic nadroch of Ukrainians on Javelins? So - the Americans themselves are changing high-tech Javelins for old Swedish pipes, with which Dolph Lundgren ran in the action films of the late 80s. Worse, this grenade launcher entered service in 1948. Yes, yes - in 1948, Karl.
"Karl Gustaf" (full name of the Swede. Granatgevär m / 48 Carl Gustaf, literally the 1948 grenade launcher "Karl Gustaf") 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 rifle from the Second World War - Carl Gustaf Pvg m / 42.
- Carl Gustaf M1 - the base model of 1948, which had a mass in the firing position of 16.35 kg;
- Carl Gustaf M2 is an improved model developed in 1964, its weight has been reduced to 14 kg. Has a 2x optical sight;
- Carl Gustaf M3 (Carl Gustaf m / 86) is the third model of the grenade launcher developed in 1991. The steel barrel was replaced with a thin-walled liner (steel threaded liner) in a fiberglass casing, which made it possible to reduce the weight of the weapon to 10 kg. Has a carrying handle (like an M-16 rifle), 3x optical sight.
- The Carl Gustaf M4 is the fourth, improved gun model introduced in 2014. The weight of the new model is less than 7kg, achieved through the use of a titanium liner and a carbon fiber jacket, the length of the implement is less than 1000 mm.
You will laugh - but for the M4 model our dear usa snout did not come out, it is too expensive for them.
Effective firing range:
- for stationary targets - 700 m,
- on moving targets - 150 m,
- on stationary targets with an active-rocket grenade - 1000 m
In the grenade launcher, nothing has fundamentally changed since 1948 - the changes are purely cosmetic, they made the pipe lighter, added optics, after 50 years of operation they even thought of a carrying handle. Fuck.
In general, Carl Gustaf was considered obsolete even when our designers were inventing the RPG-7. It weighs almost twice as much as the RPG-7, its grenade is weaker, loading from the breech (and even requiring the rear nozzle to be thrown back) is very inconvenient, after the shot it is required to remove the spent cartridge case, which greatly reduces the rate of fire. Advantages? Practically none.
And now the United States is adopting it, following the leading countries like Botswana, Burkina Faso and Honduras.
It's funny that the United States itself had an M67 grenade launcher similar to Carl Gustav since, scary to say, 1957. Then it was removed from service and stored. And now - in 2011, there were cases of the use of the M67 in Afghanistan by units of the same elite US 101st Airborne Division.
Now, apparently, and stocks of M67 ended - they had to buy their ancient pipes from the Swedes.
According to the army order mentioned at the beginning, one RPG M3 is being put into service. each infantry platoon American army... Thus, the current infantry brigade the US Army will have 27 M3 RPGs as standard. The RPG must have a crew of two people - a gunner and an assistant gunner, since it is extremely inconvenient to reload this grenade launcher alone.
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.
Better than that. As it now turns out, the United States has polymerised grenade launchers for a long time - 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. And now the collapse of the military-industrial complex has sunk to the linear parts of the "exclusive nation."
In 1946, two Swedish designers developed the Carl Gustav hand grenade launcher. For 70 years, after four modifications, he has been serving 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 terrain. In 1948, the grenade launcher went into series. Then it seemed that this is another version of the bazooka.
Most of the systems similar to "Karl Gustav" fell out of use in the following years with the advent of anti-tank missiles... However, the Swedish development remains in service 70 years later 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 "Karl Gustav" is in service with 40 countries of the world.
What is the reason for such a longevity of the Swedish grenade launcher in the middle of the last century? Abramson and Jentzen developed these weapons as anti-tank weapons, but they also proved effective against infantry due to their firing range, cheapness and variety of ammunition. The US Special Forces was armed with several Karlov Gustavs, but the Americans liked the Swedish product so much that they began to arm them with conventional ground troops.
wikipedia.org
Of course, over 70 years, "Karl Gustav" has undergone several modifications that have improved its performance. latest model The M4, thanks to its titanium liner and carbon fiber jacket, weighs only 7 kg, which is more than double less weight 1948 model.
The war in Afghanistan has particularly shown the benefits of long-liver. The militants usually fired at the Americans from long range and from behind cover. Spending $ 80,000 worth of Javelin rockets on them was a waste of money. A single shot of the Karl Gustav costs only $ 2,400 for the same range and destructive power.
The upgraded M4 model is equipped with many modern smart devices. Soldiers can now program projectiles to detonate at a specific point on the trajectory. In addition, a shot counter is installed on the M4 in order to replace the grenade launcher in time, 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 in 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 massive hand grenade launcher in the world remains not "Karl Gustav", but our RPG-7, which began its triumphant 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 erroneousness of their underestimation, and the RPG-7, released in 1966, became a real scourge of armored vehicles.
wikipedia.org
What is surprising in 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.
Evgeny 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, an active-reactive armor-piercing grenade (HEAT), on the right, a high-explosive fragmentation grenade (HE-FRAG) with remote fuse, both developed by the Belgian company Mecar.
Soldier loading Carl-Gustaf M3 grenade launcher
Shots for the Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher
Carl-Gustaf M3 when loaded
Carl-Gustaf M3 when shooting
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 |
| A type | dynamo-reactive (recoilless) | dynamo-reactive (+ rocket booster on some types of grenades) |
| Length | 1130 mm | 1130 mm |
| Weight (with telescopic sight) | 14 Kg | 9.5 kg |
| Effective firing range | 700 meters on stationary targets |
150 meters on moving targets 700 meters on stationary targets 1000 meters on stationary targets when using active-rocket grenades |
| Armor penetration | up to 400 mm | more than 500 mm + dynamic protection |
Swedish engineers began developing handheld shoulder-firing anti-tank weapons back in the early 1940s. Their first development was the m / 42 20mm anti-tank rifle, which entered service in 1942, built on a recoilless principle and fired with armor-piercing blanks. The effectiveness of such ammunition against tanks by the middle of World War II was minimal, 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, caliber 84mm, full name "Granatgevär 8.4cm m / 48 Carl-Gustaf"... In the following decades, the Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher (named after the Swedish king) became the most widespread in the world, thanks to its simple design and a wide range of ammunition. In addition to anti-tank cumulative grenades for Carl-gustaf high-explosive fragmentation and shrapnel ammunition for fighting enemy infantry, incendiary, smoke and lighting grenades, special training sub-caliber modules, etc. have been developed and are being produced in the world. In the mid-1980s, the Carl-Gustaf grenade launcher underwent the only more or less serious modification - the steel barrel was replaced by a much lighter composite barrel, consisting of a thin-walled steel liner and an outer shell made of fiberglass. However, even in this version, which was put into service in Sweden under the m / 86 index, and in the world known as the Carl-Gustaf M3, the total weight of the system is much greater than that of its main competitor, the Soviet RPG-7 grenade launcher. In addition, breech loading makes the use of grenade launchers much more difficult. Carl-gustaf one person - a regular crew of a grenade launcher consists of two people, a shooter and a loader. However, grenade launchers Carl-gustaf are in service with dozens of armies around the world, including Belgium, 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 sleeve. The sleeve in the rear part has a knock-out plastic bottom, which first provides the necessary boost pressure when fired, and then the outflow of powder gases from the barrel back through the nozzle for recoilless shooting. The capsule for igniting the powder charge is located on the side surface of the sleeve at the bottom; to ensure the alignment of the capsule with the percussion mechanism in the barrel, there is a special chamfer on the edge of the sleeve, which allows it to be charged into the barrel in only one position. For loading, the breech with a nozzle is tilted up and to the left around the longitudinal axis. when the breech is not completely closed, a shot is impossible. Under the barrel there are two pistol grips (front for holding and rear for controlling fire), a mechanical trigger with a manual safety lock, 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 sight and rear sight, as well as a bracket for mounting an optical sight (2X for Carl-Gustaf M2 and 3X for Carl-Gustaf M3).
To increase the effective firing range in recent decades, active-reactive shots have been developed for Carl-Gustaf M3 grenade launchers, which have an additional rocket grenade accelerator, which is activated after firing at a distance of 10-30 meters from the shooter.
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