RPG-43
| RPG-43 | |
|---|---|
Warsaw pact countries | |
| Wars |
|
| Production history | |
| Designer | N. P. Belyakov[1] |
| Designed | 1942–1943[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1.247 kg[1] |
| Diameter | 95 mm |
| Filling | TNT shaped charge |
| Filling weight | 0.610 kg[1] |
Detonation mechanism | Inertial impact fuze |
The RPG-43 (ruchnaya protivotankovaya granata obraztca 1943 goda, meaning hand-held anti-tank grenade) was a
History
During the early days of
Description
The RPG-43 externally was shaped like an oversized stick grenade with a 95 mm HEAT warhead on the end. It weighed 1.247 kilograms (2.75 lb) of which 0.612 kilograms (1.35 lb) was high explosive. When thrown, a cylindrical metal cone was released from the rear of the grenade and held by fabric strips to stabilise flight and increase the likelihood of a 90 degree hit. Its range was limited by how far a user could throw it, and was obviously shorter than the contemporary rocket-propelled US Bazooka and recoilless German Panzerfaust, so that the user had to get closer and was in more danger of being seen. However, it was much smaller than rocket weapons and produced no sound, smoke, or light when launched, and thus did not betray a thrower's position. Despite its limits, it was cheap and fast to manufacture, allowing it to become the main Soviet infantry anti-tank weapon of World War II.
Tactics
Overall the RPG-43 was an awkward and difficult weapon to use effectively. To use it, the user had to get within throwing range of an enemy tank, which was often dangerous. Despite having a powerful warhead, it took a skilled user to make the most of it as, like all shaped-charge weapons, it was effective only if the striking angle was close to 90 degrees. It also had to hit hard enough to detonate the impact fuse, or it would bounce harmlessly off the tank.
Users
Soviet Union[1]
DPRK[3]
German Democratic Republic[4]
Georgia - used by Georgian military and militia units during 1990s period.[5]
See also
- Panzerwurfmine
- List of Russian weaponry
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Оружие Победы / колл. авт., отв. ред. В. Н. Новиков. 2-е изд., пер. и доп. М., "Машиностроение", 1987. стр.427 (in Russian).
- ^ such as the 45 mm anti-tank gun M1937 (53-K)
- ^ RPG-43 Antitank Hand Grenade. North Korea Country Handbook MCIA-2630-NK-016-97. U.S. Department of Defense, May 1997. page A-102
- ^ Artillerie des Einzelkämpfers // "Armeerundschau", № 6, 1968. s.66-67
- ^ Demetriou, Spyros (November 2002). "Politics from the Barrel of a Gun: Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia (1989–2001)". Small Arms Survey (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 12, 2011.