This led to the concept of anti-tank guns, a form of artillery specifically designed to destroy armored fighting vehicles, normally from static defensive positions (that is, immobile during a battle). The first dedicated anti-tank artillery began appearing in the 1920s, and by World War II was a common appearance in most armies.
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. Anti-tank guns deployed during World War II were manned by specialist infantry rather than artillery crews, and issued to infantry units accordingly.
The anti-tank guns of the 1930s were of small caliber; nearly all major armies possessing them used 37mm ammunition, except for the British Army, which had developed the 40mm Ordnance QF 2-pounder.
As in all arms races, these developments in armor countermeasures have led to the development of RPG rounds designed specifically to defeat them, with methods such as a tandem-charge warhead, which has two shaped charges, of which the first is meant to activate any reactive armor, and the second to penetrate the vehicle. == Weapons by country == === United States === The United States Army developed a lightweight antitank weapon (LAW) in the middle 1950s.
By 1961, the M72 LAW was in use.
For example, during the June 19, 1986 overrun of the San Miguel Army base, FMLN sappers dressed only in black shorts, their faces blacked out with grease, sneaked through barbed wire at night, avoiding the searchlights, they made it to within firing range of the outer wall.
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. == Design == The RPG warhead being used against tanks and other armor often has a shaped charge explosive warhead.
forces during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 were downed by RPG-7s. == See also == MANPATS Bazooka Grenade launcher Rifle grenade Panzerfaust 3 Type 69 RPG Yasin (RPG) AT4 == References == == External links == Most Valuable Weapon: the RPG, Gary Brecher on the history and use of the RPG Anti-tank rockets Soviet inventions Modern thermobaric weapons of Russia Modern incendiary weapons of Russia Explosive weapons Rocket weapons Cold War weapons of the Soviet Union
In the 2000s, they were still being used widely in conflict areas such as Chechnya, Iraq, and Sri Lanka.
The round is a 105-mm tandem shaped charge with a weight of 10.3-kg (22.7-lb) and has a range of 200 meters and a stated penetration capability in excess of 600-mm (24-in) rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) (after ERA), 1500-mm reinforced concrete, 2000-mm brick and 3700-mm of soil.
An earlier anti-aircraft kill by the Taliban occurred during Operation Red Wings, on 28 June 2005 when a Chinook helicopter was destroyed by unguided rocket propelled grenades. In the period following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the RPG became a favorite weapon of the insurgent forces fighting U.S.
CH-47 Chinook helicopters in June 2005 and August 2011; and Somali militiamen shot down two U.S.
An earlier anti-aircraft kill by the Taliban occurred during Operation Red Wings, on 28 June 2005 when a Chinook helicopter was destroyed by unguided rocket propelled grenades. In the period following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the RPG became a favorite weapon of the insurgent forces fighting U.S.
It is capable of penetrating MBTs, such as the M1 Abrams, older model Mark II version of the Merkava, Challenger 2 and T-90. In August 2006, in al-Amarah, in Iraq, a Soviet RPG-29 damaged the front underside of a Challenger 2 tank, detonating ERA in the area of the driver's cabin.
Newer RPG-7 rounds are more capable, and in August 2006, an RPG-29 round penetrated the frontal ERA of a Challenger 2 tank during an engagement in al-Amarah, Iraq, and wounded several crew members. RPGs were a main tool used by the FMLN's guerrilla forces in the Salvadoran Civil War.
The incident was not made public until May 2007; in response to accusations, the MoD said "We have never claimed that the Challenger 2 is impenetrable." Since then, the ERA has been replaced with a Dorchester block and the steel underbelly lined with armor, as part of the 'Streetfighter' upgrade, which was a direct response to this incident.
In May 2008, The New York Times disclosed that an American M1 tank had also been damaged by an RPG-29 in Iraq.
CH-47 Chinook helicopters in June 2005 and August 2011; and Somali militiamen shot down two U.S.
The most noteworthy use of RPGs against aircraft in Afghanistan occurred on 6 August 2011 when Taliban fighters shot down a U.S.
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