Easel grenade launcher: history of creation, performance characteristics and review

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:42

The emergence of any new weapons in the early stages greatly affects the course of hostilities. After some time, military designers are given samples of tools, the task of which is to adequately resist the new weapon. So it was with the tanks that first appeared on the battlefield in the First World War. As experience has shown, the use of barbed wire and machine guns against these vehicles turned out to be ineffective. For such military equipment, more serious field artillery was required. Soon, an easel grenade launcher was created for the needs of the infantry. Due to the fact that the tanks had bulletproof armor, the "land battleship" could easily be knocked out with a high-explosive fragmentation projectile. You will learn more about the easel grenade launcher, device and technical characteristics from this article.

SPG-9 Spear

Is Sovietanti-tank mounted grenade launcher (SPG) with the GRAU index - 6G6. Among the military, it is also called the "boot". In service with the Red Army since 1963. Soon, a fragmentation anti-personnel grenade was developed for this field artillery. According to military experts, this easel grenade launcher could be disassembled in order to be moved over a long distance. Once assembled, it was moved over short distances. For example, when it was necessary to change the firing position. There are 4 fighters in the combat crew, namely: a gunner, an ammunition carrier, a loader and a commander. After the field tests successfully passed in 1962, the LNG was adopted by the Soviet army.

About the history of creation

In 1959, employees of Department No. 16 of GSKB-47 in the city of Krasnoarmeysk carried out research work, during which it was shown that a direct shot from a grenade launcher complex could be fired at a distance of up to 600 m. Soon, within the framework of the project " Spear "they sought to increase this indicator to 800 m. Dubrovin E. I. and Topchan P. P. supervised the work. The gun itself was designed at the Central Design and Research Bureau in the city of Tula under the leadership of V. I. Silin. a probabilistic deviation of 0.46 m. In 1964, the leading designers were awarded the Lenin Prize. In 1971, fragmentation grenades OG-9V were created for LNG. Its initial speed was 315 m/s. A marching jet engine for such ammunition was not provided. In 1973 chief designerDubrovin E. I. developed the armor-piercing PG-9VS.

Device

Like the RPG (hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher), the Spear LNG is presented as a system in which the initial velocity is transferred to the grenade as a result of the combustion of a gunpowder charge in the barrel channel. When the starting charge burns out, the resulting gases begin to put pressure on the grenade, the maximum speed of which is then provided by its jet engine. The mounted grenade launcher fires PG-9 grenades. This ammunition with a caliber warhead, which has a piezoelectric fuse and a jet engine. The latter contains a six-bladed stabilizer and two tracers. The starting charge is completed with a metal charger in the form of a perforated tube, a weight of gunpowder based on nitroglycerin, a booster assembly and an igniter charge of the DRP, which uses an electric igniter.

TTX

The mounted anti-tank grenade launcher "Spear" has the following performance characteristics:

• Weighs 47.5 kg.
• Equipped with a 12 kg tripod loom.
• Total length is 211cm, stem is 85cm.
• Grenade (PG-9V) has an initial speed of 435 m/s, OG-9V - 316 m/s.
• The projectile moves towards the target with a maximum speed of 700 m/s.
• The indicator of the maximum combat range for an anti-tank grenade is 1300 m, for an anti-personnel grenade - 4500 m.
• A direct shot is possible at a distance of 800 m.
• PG-9V projectile penetrates thick armor3 cm, PG-9VS - 4 cm.
• LNG can fire 6 shots within a minute.

About modifications

The spear grenade launcher has been repeatedly modernized. As a result, the line of grenade launchers based on SPG-9 is represented by the following options:

• SPG-9 landing grenade launcher. In the technical documentation, it is listed under the index GRAU-6G7.
• Upgraded SPG-9M (6G13).
• Modernized landing SPG-9DM (6G14).
• PGN-9 grenade launcher using a night vision scope.

Soon, these sights were equipped with landing and modernized landing guns: SPG-9DN, SPG-9N, SPG-9DMN and SPG-9MN. The modernized LNG also served as the basis for the design of the Grom 2A28 smoothbore gun, which was armed with the crew of BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles.

About the Flame mounted grenade launcher

With the help of this weapon, the enemy's manpower and firepower located outside the shelters are destroyed. These can be open trenches, trenches, hollows and ravines. The weapon is a 30 mm automatic mounted grenade launcher (AGS) No. 17.

Developed since 1968 by Soviet designers OKB-16. A. F. Kornyakov supervised the work. In 1970, the design was completed. The AGS-17 easel grenade launcher entered service with the USSR army in 1971. The workers of the Vyatka-Polyansky machine-building plant "Molot" produce the weapon. Shooting from the AGS-17 is carried out from a special tripod SAG-17 (GRAU - 6T8). If you want to destroy the target at a largedistance, the military installs PAG-17 optics on an automatic easel grenade launcher. This illuminated optical sight has a 2.7x magnification. The target within a radius of 7 m is destroyed by fragmentation VOG ammunition: 17, 17M and 30. Projectiles in the amount of 87 pcs. are contained in three boxes.

Special shatterproof shells VUS-17 were created for training shooting. They have a distinctive red stripe on their body. Where a non-fragmental grenade falls, orange smoke will form.

About the characteristics of AGS-17

This tool has the following characteristics:

• Refers to the type of automatic mounted grenade launchers.
• AGS caliber 30 mm weighs 18 kg, with a mounted sight and tripod - 31 kg.
• The ammo box weighs 14.5 kg.
• The total length of the AGS-17 is 84 cm, the barrel is 30.5 cm.
• In combat crew 2-3 soldiers.
• Single firing within one minute from 50 to 100 shells from a grenade launcher, burst - up to 400.
• A projectile fired from the barrel channel moves towards the target at a speed of 185 m/s.
• The aiming range is 1700 m.

Upgraded variants

Based on the basic infantry version of the AGS-17 Plamya grenade launcher, the following upgraded guns were created:

• "Flame-A" AP-30. It is an aviation option. Unlike analogue, this model has an electric trigger, a shot counter,the rifling pitch in the bore has been reduced from 715 to 600 mm. 500 grenades can be fired per minute. Such improvements were reflected in the design of the grenade launcher, namely, because of the high rate of fire, the developers had to install a massive radiator to cool the barrel. The AP-30 entered service with the Soviet army in 1980.
• AG-17D. The gun is equipped with Terminator combat vehicles.
• AG-17M. It is a marine modification. It has an enlarged radiator for the barrel. Place of installation of AG-17M steel turret installations of boats.
• KBA-117 and KBA-119. These Ukrainian analogues were developed by the Artillery Armament design bureau. Designed for combat modules in armored personnel carriers and armored boats.

AGS-30

The automatic mounted grenade launcher was developed in the early 1990s. engineers of the Design Bureau of Instrument Engineering in the city of Tula. The designers were tasked with creating a new grenade launcher to replace the AGS-17 model. Serial production has been carried out since 2008 at the enterprise of KZTA JSC. Automatic grenade launcher works due to the energy of the rollback of the shutter. In order to give the gun stability during firing, a special tripod was developed for it.

According to experts, AGS-30 can be used from any surface and from an unprepared position. You can disassemble the grenade launcher for transportation in 3 minutes. A weapon with an optical and mechanical sight. Also, AGS can be connected to a portable radar system. Long range shootingis carried out with the use of PAG-17 optical sights, which are characterized by a 2.7-fold increase. For the grenade launcher, 350-gram VOG-17 rounds are provided. The explosive mass is 36 g. At the point where the grenade falls, the area is affected within a radius of 70 m². The upgraded VOG-17M shots are equipped with fuses with self-liquidators. This mechanism begins to work 25 seconds after the shot under the influence of a pyrotechnic retarder. In VOG-30, the weight of explosives has been increased to 185 g.

In an effort to increase the destructive impact of fragments, designers in the production process use the method of cold volumetric deformation. Thus, already semi-finished fragments are formed on the inner surface of the body. In VOG-30, the presence of a fragmentation jacket as a separate part is not provided. As a result of the increase in the explosive, the area of damage increased - 110 m². This indicator was increased to 131 m² with the GPA-30 with a total mass of 340 g and explosives of 185 g. During testing, it was noted that drag and ballistics were almost halved. This, in turn, had a positive effect on the range of the projectile. Such a grenade can hit a target at a distance of no more than 2200 m. In addition, the accuracy of the battle has been improved by one and a half times.

Specifications

The characteristics of the model are as follows:

• AGS-30 belongs to the type of automatic mounted grenade launchers.
• Producing country - Russia.
• In service with1995.
• Produced at the factory. Degtyareva.
• The body weight of the gun together with the tripod is 16 kg. A box of shots (30 pieces) weighs 13.7 kg.
• The total length of the 30 mm AGS-30 is 84 cm, the barrel is 29 cm.
• Fires 30 x 29mm projectiles.
• The grenade launcher can fire up to 425 shots per minute.
• The muzzle velocity of the projectile is 185 m/s.
• Ammunition is supplied from a box of 30 grenades.
• Aimed shooting is possible at a distance of up to 1700 m.

About combat use

According to military experts, the AGS-30 can be considered a worthy replacement for the 17th model of an automatic grenade launcher. Like the AGS-17, the new model was used by the Russian Armed Forces in two Chechen wars, in the armed South Ossetian conflict in 2008 and in the civil war in Syria.