Talk:Rocket-propelled grenade

Distribution and cost

Anyone have data on distribution and/or typical costs. I think this info would give a good window into the users and what they might use it for. I'm thinking about 3rd world vs. 1st world combatants..... Dobbs 00:18 Sep 25, 2002 (UTC)

Launching

All RPG's DO use pressure to launch the round, just not high pressure. So I guess I'll re-write the part about being similar to a rifle to avoid confusion. The fact is, the front part of the warhead IS sealed in the front of the launcher. The rocket activates and pressurizes the warhead in the tube. This overpressure (both within the tube, and to the rear - the much higher temp of the exhaust gas provides a pressure differential to the rear as well), helps to push the rocket from the tube. Because of this overpressure - and resulting spurt of high speed not possible with such a short burn by the action of the rocket motors impulse alone - the rocket does not have to contiune burning past the forward lip of the launcher in order to gain enough speed to be stable at exit. This keeps the rocket from burning the user. Sorry for the confusion! Dobbs 16:01 Nov 21, 2002 (UTC)

I've edited the tactics section for South Africa to note that APCs drove in ever WIDENING circles, not narrowing, in order to defeat APC teams. So sayeth this well cited article we already link as a resource. Alereon 11:36, Oct 6, 2004 (UTC)

Name

StonewallJack 8/16/05

I have updated the description for the acronym RPG. The mistaken translation of "Rocket Propelled Grenade" is VERY prevalent, even amongst soldiers. I removed references to the U.S. LAW as an RPG as this is not an English acronym to begin with and it is not used in any other context other than referring to the Russian RPG and those copied, or built under license. I can't speak for all western militaries, but the U.S. and I'm assuming U.K. (same language, almost:) do not use the acronym RPG when referring to their own weapons of similar design. The word grenade has a different usage in the American military lexicon then in other countries. As an example, in German, a anti-tank round is called panzer granate and mortars are granate werfer (grenade launcher), where in the English it’s a "mortar" firing "rounds". Although the English dictionary definition for grenade fits the general meaning, the word grenade is exclusively used to describe hand throw explosives, or launched, unguided explosives of equivalent tactical use. This would not include an anti-tank weapon, which is referred to as "rocket" or "missile". The word missile is more or less the English equivalent for other languages usage of the word grenade. Enough semantics. I also changed the description of the tandem warhead. The purpose of the tandem warhead is to detonate reactive armor prior to impact, making it waste its energy prior to the primary warheads impact. It has nothing to do with composite armor as this works under a different principle. In laymen’s terms its spreads the highly directed energy of the shaped charge and diffuses it over a wider area. This is discussed briefly in the Army Times if anyone wants to look it up (I don't remember the link now, but will add later). Lastly, The tactical usage was far too simplistic. The most important aspect in the tactical usage and countering of any platform, weapon, unit etc., is the terrain it is being used in. One cannot simply say, "Well equipped armies do this". Long ranged weapons are not an effective solution in restrictive terrain. Also, the rules of engagement of any given combatant can also largely affect the tactical options available. Read Patton's recommended tactics on urban warfare, in his book "War As I Knew It" and think if this would be politically appropriate in Iraq.

I was a Non-Commissioned Officer and gunner in M1A1 MBT's for five years ending about a year ago. I don't speak Russian but an Army friend who was Military Intelligence, specialized as a Russian linguist, did the translation. I was also trained in the correct translation of RPG anyway as well as most of the information added/changed. For these reasons, I cannot be more specific with tactics or on their application in Iraq. My changes are more consistent with the general tactical employment of the RPG and it's relative counters; at least enough for the casual reader coming here for a general description of the RPG.

StonewallJack 8/16/05

Title?

If Rocket Propelled Grenade isn't the correct name for this, why is the article still there? If we're to stand by our words it seems we should move this to RPG, right? --Dvyost 06:20, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

I've expanded the issue a bit more in the introduction to both explain slightly better why it is an issue and why it still is a good term to use for this class of weapons (widespread layperson's term, if technically incorrect.)--Martin Wisse 20:16, 18 November 2005 (UTC)

Then make a redirect. Call it RPG (weapon)

I agree. MMad 08:48, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

handheld antitank grenade-launcher

Shouldn't this Page be turned into "handheld antitank grenade-launcher" or RPG (weapon/gun/something)? RPG does not stand for rocket propelled grenade.

RPG

I cleaned up the initial description a little. The term Rocket Propelled Grenade is "never" correct. It's like saying APC stands for "Army People Car". As a former soldier this is a pet peeve of mine. I can't speak for all militaries that use the English language, but this does not follow U.S. military naming convention. Everything follows the standardized naming convention of 1) What it is, and 2) What it does. The correct Russian translation follows this convention, I.e.. Handheld (you can carry it, its not vehicle mounted or crew served), Anti-tank (what it is for), Grenade Launcher (what it is). This tells everyone that it is A) A weapon system. (Not a piece of ammo, like a rocket, but the launcher etc.) B)It's for killing tanks and tank like targets. C) What it does(Grenade, in English, without anything more descriptive, would indicate a weapon designed for antipersonnel). Rocket Propelled Grenade does not have any meaning. It does not describe this weapon at all. It sounds like it is describing a piece of ammunition for another weapon system, like a Rifle Grenade or something similar. Think of it like calling a tank (MBT) a Self-propelled Gun (SPG). You could say that this is technically correct, however anyone who knows anything about modern warfare, knows there is a HUGE difference between the two. This is such a common mistake, I see it in the news all the time. Please don't perpetuate it here. It's almost as bad as calling anything with tracks a tank (as a former tanker, I hate this one with a passion, as do (should) all tankers). I have edited this article before (StonewallJack. Changed email, lost password), but it has been changed again. This article needs to be renamed, but I don't have the privileges necessary right now. If someone else wants to do it until I can, please do so.

Ruchnaya Protivotankovaya Granata ("Hand Anti-Tank Grenade")

Not all RPG's use the pressure of an expelling or propelling charge to propel the High-Explosive, Anti-Tank (HEAT) warhead to the target. The World War II Ruchnaya Protivotankovaya Granata ("R=Hand, P=Anti-Tank, G=Grenade") Model 43 or RPG-43 (External link here) and RPG-6 are two hand thrown grenades with HEAT heads. They are thrown, by hand, high into the air over a target and deploy streamers to orient the head of the grenade downward so that the shaped charge of the HEAT warhead strikes the, normally thinner armor, top of an armored vehicle. They work well in a MOUT setting when vehicles are moving on the streets and soldiers are throwing these hand grenades from the windows or the roof tops of buildings. Also there is not always a rocket motor involved with the more common RPG's seen on television news casts or in the movies. The PG-2 has no rocket motor whatsoever. Only the propelling charge, connected just behind the fins, drives the projectile to the target. The PG-7 does in fact have a rocket motor however it does not ignite when the trigger of the launcher is pulled. This would injure the firer. When the launchers trigger is pulled the expelling charge is ignited, the round leaves the tube, and then, only after it is a safe distance from the firer, the rocket motor ignites and propels the round to the target. The PG-2 and PG-7 only become RPG-2 or RPG-7 when the round is loaded in the "hand held" launcher.

The Russian designation for hand thrown HEAT grenades is now identified as Ruchnaya Kumulyativnaya Granata (R=Hand, K=Shaped Charge, G=Grenade). See the RKG-3. The "P" has been changed to "K" but the use and results are the same.

Addtitional information.--Eod1sg 01:15, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Cite sources

I came across this discussion when looking for information on a different RPG. It is interesting; I'm not a military guy, and never heard this before. As a Wikipedian, I would advise citing a reliable source. While it does have the ring of truth, individual statements and suppositions are not acceptable here. In particular, given that all but one of the existing sources in the "External Links" section use the term Rocket Propelled Grenade, and the other one simply gives the Russian expansion without contrdicting the English expansion, the introduction appears to contradict the article's existing sources. That's no good. --DragonHawk 21:15, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Effective tactic?

The "Tactics" section contains the following as the last paragraph:

In Iraq, U.S. anti-insurgent operations developed another effective tactic. In misty, dusty or night-time situations, advanced optics, such as infrared telescopes, permit helicopter gunships to surveil convoys from beyond human-visible range, and still attack insurgents with inexpensive anti-personnel fire. This approach is more economical than area-denial. Protecting as little as 20% of the convoys rapidly depletes an area of active insurgents.

There are a lot of absolutes in there that at best sound like estimates, if not propaganda. Moreover, terms like "depleting an area of active insurgents" are not neutral encyclopedic style, but rather euphemisms. Given that the Iraq "insurgency" shows no significant cool down, is there any evidence that the paragraph is more than propaganda and wish-fulfillment? --Stephan Schulz 12:21, 17 August 2005 (UTC)

• I agree. This article was the first edit I've done and I didn't want to change everything. I personally thought most of the entries under tactics a little questionable.

StonewallJack 8/16/05

• The tactics section is indeed filled to some extent with trivial info that goes beyond RPG/light AT-warfare. Should be cleaned up. Scoo 11:48, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

I agree, also. The "Tactics" section should probably look something like this:

• Intended employment of RPGs as light antitank weapons, including ambush tactics
• Usefulness for antipersonnel and bunker-busting
• Adoption by guerillas and insurgents
• Notable information about tactics in particular wars: Israeli wars, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq

The extensive discussion of anti-insurgent warfare in Iraq should be pared down—perhaps it can be moved to Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–2005#Iraqi insurgency, or one of the referred sub-articles there, and this article can refer to that. —Michael Z. 2005-12-11 16:58 Z

Last anonymous edit

I'ver taken out the text of the last anonymous edit and moved it here, as it did not fit the text at that point. I'm not knowledgable enough to see if the point made is correct, so could somebody who is please take a look at this? --Martin Wisse 20:16, 18 November 2005 (UTC)

[EDIT: this explanation is quite incorrect. What you've described here is a recoilless rifle. With early anti-tank rocket systems, like the Bazooka or Panzerschreck, the rocket is burning as it leaves the tube, and the user often needs a shield or facemask and hood to avoid being burned. Modern systems usually have a small initial charge to blow the rocket out of the tube, and the main engine only ignites once it is a safe distance downrange. See RPG-7.]

реактивный противотанковый гранатомёт

I've changed the incorrect term: "Ручной противотанковый гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot" to the correct one: Reaktivniy Protivotankniy Granatomyot (реактивный противотанковый гранатомёт), "rocket anti-tank launcher". I will change the other RPG sites as I have time. For those who would doubt this I include a link to a Russian language site that uses th correct term: http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl02-r.htm. A quick review of the Russian RPG Wiki sites show them to also inaccurate and with several different variations on РПГ. Nathan Arnold 25 APR 2007