Carl Gustav anti-tank weapon in action With the Irish Army.

The Carl Gustav is the common name for the 84mm recoilless rifle anti-tank weapon from Bofors Anti Armour AB in Sweden. The Carl Gustav was first introduced in 1946, and while similar weapons of the era have generally disappeared, the Carl Gustav remains in widespread use today, and is even being introduced into new roles. British troops refer to it as the Charlie G. Canadian troops often refer to it as the 84 or Carl G. US troops often refer to is as the RAAWS or Ranger Anti-Armor Weapon System, the Gustav or simply the goose. In Australia it is irreverently known as Charlie Gutsache (guts ache, slang for stomach pain). In its country of origin it is officially named Grg m/48 (Granatgevär, meaning grenade rifle, model 48) and sometimes nicknamed Stuprör (drainpipe) due to the fact that the weapon mainly consists of a long tube. Image File history File links Carl_Gustaf. ... The word calibre (British English) or caliber (American English) designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. ... (for paintball markers also)Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Irish Army (Irish: Arm na hÉireann) is the main branch of the Irish Defence Forces[1] (Óglaigh na hÉireann). ... M67 recoilless rifle. ... Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ... Bofors is an iron works, cannon maker, and defence industry located in Karlskoga, Sweden. ... Upper and Lower gastrointestinal tract The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract), also called the digestive tract, or the alimentary canal, is the system of organs within multicellular animals that takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining waste. ... Aceh (pronounced Ah-chay) is a special territory (daerah istimewa, or special autonomy) of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Dutch colonists and the current Indonesian government. ... Look up Tube in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

History

The Carl Gustav was developed by Hugo Abramson and Harald Jentzen at the Royal Swedish Arms Administration (KAFT). It was first introduced into Swedish service in 1948 as the 8,4 cm Granatgevär m/48 (Grg m/48), filling the same role as the US Army Bazooka, British PIAT and German Panzerschreck. Unlike these weapons, however, the Carl Gustav uses a rifled barrel for spin-stabilising its rounds, as opposed to fins as used by the other systems. In addition, the use of the recoilless firing system allows the Carl Gustav to contain considerably more propellant, firing its rounds at 290 m/s, as opposed to about 105 m/s for the Panzerschreck or Bazooka and about 135 m/s for the PIAT. The United States Army is the largest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... For other uses, see Bazooka (disambiguation). ... PIAT in Canadian War Museum The PIAT, for Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank, was one of the earlier anti-tank weapons based on a HEAT (high-explosive anti-tank) projectile. ... Panzerschreck team The Panzerschreck (German: tank terrorizer; lit. ... Rifling is the means by which a firearm gyroscopically stabilizes a projectile. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

The result is considerably better accuracy at longer ranges; the Carl Gustav can attack targets at 700 metres. At these ranges the weapon was only effective against large non-moving targets; the slow speed of the projectile made attacking moving targets something to be done at ranges out to 400m. In the fields of science, engineering, industry and statistics, accuracy is the degree of conformity of a measured or calculated quantity to its actual (true) value. ... A projectile is any object sent through space by the application of a force. ...

The Carl Gustav was soon being sold around the world, and became one of the primary squad-level anti-tank weapons for most of the Western European armies. In 1964 an improved version, known as the M2, was introduced and quickly replaced the original version. A newer M3 version was introduced in 1991, which used a thin steel liner containing the rifling, made strong by a carbon fibre barrel on the outside, and all external parts were replaced with aluminium or plastic versions. This reduced weight considerably, the empty weapon weight falling from the M2's 14.2kg to the M3's 8.5kg. Carbon fiber composite is a strong, light and very expensive material. ... General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Standard atomic weight 26. ...

In recent years the weapon has found new life in a variety of roles, the British Special Air Service, US special forces and United States Army Rangers use the M3s in the bunker-busting and anti-vehicle roles, while the German army maintains small numbers of M2s for battlefield illumination. Many armies continue to use it as an anti-armour weapon, and against the majority of threats faced on the modern battlefield, namely 1950s and 60s era Soviet tank designs or even lighter vehicles, the weapon delivers adequate performance. The Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) is the principal special forces unit of the British Army. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The 75th Ranger Regiment—also known as the United States Army Rangers—is an elite light infantry special operations force of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC); with headquarters in Fort Benning, Georgia. ...

The Carl Gustav was used in the bunker-busting role by soldiers of Canada's Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment in operations in Afghanistan. They developed a new system for firing at night, which involved a night-scope equipped spotter firing tracers at the target, and the Carl Gustav gunner then aiming at the spot where the tracer rounds hit. Bunkers in Albania A bunker is a defensive military fortification. ... Cap Badge Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry is one of the most decorated regiments in the Canadian Armed Forces. ... An American soldier simulates using a weapon mounted night vision device A night vision device (NVD) is an optical instrument that allows images to be produced in levels of light approaching total darkness. ... There are several uses for Tracer: Tracer ammunition Tracer isotope or radioactive tracers as used in positron emission tomography, SPECT and autoradiography. ...

Description

The basic weapon consists of the main tube with the breech-mounted recoil damper, with two grips near the front and a shoulder plate. The weapon is fitted with iron sights, but is normally aimed with the attached 2x optical sight with a 17 degree field of view. Luminous front and rear adaptors are available for night work with the iron sights. The Carl Gustav can be fired from the standing, kneeling, sitting or prone positions. When fired on flat surfaces the weapon is normally supported by a bipod attached in front of the shoulder piece. A small operating handle ("Venturi Lock") "cracks" the "Venturi" to one side for reloading. The weapon is normally operated by a two-man crew, one carrying and firing the weapon, the other carrying and reloading ammunition. A telescopic sight is a device used to give an accurate point of aim for a firearm. ...

Specifications

• Calibre: 84mm rifled (24 lands/progressive twist).^[1]
• Crew: 1 minimum, 2 optimal.
• Weights: 14.2 kg (M2); 8.5 kg (M3); 0.8 kg (mount)
• Length: 1,065 mm.
• Breech: Hinged.
• Rate of fire: 6 rounds per minute.
• Sights: Telescoped optical 3x; laser range finder; image intensification system.

A laser range-finder, or LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging), is a device which uses a laser beam in order to determine the distance to an opaque object. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

M3 MAAWS

The M3 MAAWS is the US designation for the Carl Gustav M3 recoilless rifle. It is primarily used by USSOCOM forces such as the United States Army Special Forces, 75th Ranger Regiment, United States Navy SEALS, Delta Force, and DEVGRU. Emblem of the United States Special Operations Command. ... The United States Army is the largest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... The United States Army Special Forces—or simply Special Forces (capitalized)—is an elite Special Operations Force of the United States Army trained for unconventional warfare and special operations. ... The 75th Ranger Regiment—also known as the United States Army Rangers—is an elite light infantry special operations force of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC); with headquarters in Fort Benning, Georgia. ... USN redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D) —commonly known as Delta in the U.S. Army, Delta Force by civilians, and Combat Applications Group by the Department of Defense— is a Special Operations Force (SOF) and an integral element of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). ... SEAL Team SIX patch The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group; otherwise known as NAVSPECWARDEVGRU, the NSWDG, or simply as DEVGRU; is the premier Navy SEAL unit and the United States Navys primary Counter-Terrorism and covert operation unit. ...

The M3 MAAWS fires the following Ammunition

• High Explosive Dual Purpose (HEDP) round
• High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) round
• High Explosive (HE) round
• Illumination round
• Smoke round
• Area Defence Munition (ADM) flechette round

A HEAT round. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... The word flechette is French and means dart (literally, little arrow). It is a projectile having the form of a small metal dart, usually steel, with a sharp-pointed tip and a tail with several vanes to stabilize it during flight. ...

Ammunition

Improvements to the ammunition have been continual, and while the HEAT rounds have less effect against modern armor, the weapon has found new life as a bunker-buster with a High Explosive Dual Purpose (HEDP) round with less armour piercing capability but much more explosive. Straight high explosive (HE), smoke and illumination (starshell or flare) ammunition is also available. For full effectiveness, illumination rounds have to be fired at a very steep angle, creating a danger for the gunner as the backblast from the propellant charge might burn him. For that reason several armies have retired the illumination rounds. The US Army requires firing them from a standing position. For other uses, see Heat (disambiguation) In physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is energy transferred from one body or system to another as a result of a difference in temperature. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... A World War I-era parachute flare dropped from aircraft for illumination. ...

(Canadian designations are used, others are similar, replacing the "FFV")

• FFV441 is a HE Shrapnel round, useful in a "lobbed" trajectory to 1,000m, which can be fused to fire on impact or airburst.
• FFV441B is a HE round with an effective range against personnel in the open of 1,100 m. The round arms after 20 to 70 m of flight, weighs 3.1 kg, and is fired at a muzzle velocity of 255 m/s^[1].
• FFV469 is a smoke round fired like the FFV441, with a range of about 1,300 m. The 3.1 kg round is also fired at 255 m/s^[1].
• FFV502 is a HEDP round with the ability to be set to detonate on impact or one tenth of a second afterwards. Effective range is 1,000 m against broad soft targets such as infantry in the open, 500 m against stationary targets, and 300 m against moving targets. Minimum flight is 15 to 40 m to arm the warhead. Penetration exceeds 150 mm of armour. Ammunition weight is 3.3 kg and muzzle velocity is 230 m/s.^[1]
• FFV545 is an illuminating starshell, fired up to 2,300 m maximum range, but with an effective envelope of 300 to 2,100 m. Suspended by parachute, the 650,000 candle power illumination burns for 30 seconds, providing a 400 to 500 m diameter area of illumination.
• FFV551 is the primary HEAT round, it is rocket-assisted, with an effective range of about 700 m (400 m against moving targets) and penetration up to 400 mm of rolled steel armour. Ammunition weight is 3.2 kg and muzzle velocity is 255 m/s.^[1]
• FFV552 is a practice round with the same ballistics as the 551.
• FFV651 is a newer HEAT round using mid-flight rocket assistance for ranges up to 1,000m. In theory, it has less penetration than the FFV441, but it includes a stand-off probe for the fuse to improve performance against reactive armour.
• FFV751 is a tandem-warhead HEAT round with an effective range of 500 m and ability to penetrate more than 500 mm of armour. Weight is 4 kg.^[1]