Rocket launcher is a portable anti tank weapon that launches rockets. It is mainly used to launch rocket armor piercing shells, rocket propelled grenades or other rockets, which are used to attack tanks and armored vehicles at close range, destroy fortifications and kill living targets.
The rocket launcher consists of rocket and launcher. According to the launch propulsion principle, it is divided into rocket type and recoilless gun type. During World War II, there were two kinds of anti tank Rockets: one was the 60mm M1 rocket rocket rocket rocket equipped by the United States in 1942, which was named because it looked like a trumpet instrument bazuka. "Bazuka" adopts a steel launcher opened at both ends. The rocket movement is driven by the thrust generated by the rocket engine in the rocket. The gunpowder and gas discharged by the engine are ejected from the back of the barrel, so that the weapon has no recoil. The other is the "iron fist" recoilless rocket launcher equipped by Germany in 1943. It launches a 150 mm super caliber armour piercing projectile. The projectile body is driven by the pressure of gunpowder gas formed by the combustion of the launching charge in the steel launch barrel opened at both ends, and the recoil of the barrel is eliminated by using the reaction force generated by the gunpowder gas ejected from the back of the barrel. The effective range of the two rockets is 100 ~ 250m, the vertical armor breaking thickness is 120 ~ 200mm, and the weapon system weighs 7 ~ 8kg.
The powerful 89mm M20 rocket launcher made in the United States adopts aluminum alloy launcher, with an effective range of 110m and a vertical armor breaking thickness of 280mm. Since the 1960s, many countries have developed many new rocket launchers. Such as M72 in the United States and M72 in the former Soviet Union ПГ- The weight of the weapon system is less than 7 kg, the vertical armor breaking thickness is 280 ~ 310 mm, and the effective range to moving targets is 150 meters. The former Soviet Union, Sweden, the Federal Republic of Germany, etc. developed the rocket launcher on the basis of the recoilless rocket launcher ПГ- 7. M2-550 kalgustav, pzf44 "spear" and other rocket launchers. The weight of this kind of rocket launcher system is 9 ~ 18kg, the vertical armor breaking thickness is 300 ~ 400mm, and the effective range to moving targets is 300 ~ 700m. In the early 1970s, the Federal Republic of Germany developed a "bow and crossbow" rocket launcher. The rocket launcher is a one-time use type, with a system weight of 7.29 kg, an effective range of 300 meters and a vertical armor breaking thickness of 300 mm. It can be launched in a narrow space without smoke, light and rear fire.
There are two types of rockets developed by China: 40mm anti tank rocket launcher and 69 type rocket launcher. 40mm anti tank rocket launcher is a light anti tank weapon, which is mainly used to destroy tanks, self-propelled guns, armored vehicles, reinforced concrete fortifications and so on. The rocket launcher has a total length of 910mm and a weight of 5.6kg. It can launch ordinary rockets and grenades. The direct range is 300m, the maximum range is 1500m, the firing speed is 4 ~ 6 rounds / min, and the armor breaking thickness is 100 ~ 180mm at an angle of 65 °. Type 69 rocket launcher is a light anti tank weapon used by infantry. It is mainly used to destroy armored targets such as tanks and light field fortifications. The rocket launcher has a caliber of 40mm, a length of 0.99M, a weight of 7kg, and a range of 500m for fixed targets and 300m for moving targets. The armor breaking thickness is 120 mm at a 65 degree angle. In addition, in the 1970s, China developed a * type anti tank rocket launcher with a caliber of 62 mm, a barrel length of 1200 mm and a barrel weight of 1.4 kg, which can launch armor breaking rockets. The latest equipment is the pf98 120mm anti tank rocket launcher known as "China's iron fist".