The basic design of this RPG was developed by the Soviets shortly after World War II in the form of the RPG-2, which is similar in function to the bazooka and the Panzerfaust.Ī World War II Panzer IV tank with turret skirts and wire-mesh side-skirts.Īn early method of disabling shaped charges developed during World War II was to apply thin skirt armor or meshwire at a distance around the hull and turret of the tank. The Soviet Union-developed RPG-7 is the most widely distributed, recognizable and used RPG in the world. Research occasioned by World War II produced such weapons as the American bazooka and German Panzerfaust, which combined portability with effectiveness against armored vehicles such as tanks. The development of practical rocketry provided a means of delivering such an explosive. The RPG has its roots in the 20th century with the early development of the explosive shaped charge. The projectile of RPG launchers is similarly designated PG, (PG-7, etc.), which similarly stands for противотанковая граната, "anti-tank grenade".Ī Luftwaffe soldier using a Panzerfaust, a forerunner of modern day RPGs. There were Soviet weapons preceding the rocket-propelled grenade that were also designated with the "RPG" acronym ( RPG-40, RPG-43 and RPG-6) but those were anti-tank hand grenades, and the acronym stood for ручная противотанковая граната, or "hand-held anti-tank grenade", they were not launchers. Thus, "rocket-propelled grenade" is an acronym. RPG is an initialism from the Russian language РПГ or ручной противотанковый гранатомёт ( transliterated as "ruchnoy protivotankovy granatomyot"), meaning "hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher".
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |