Another great idea for the Swedish military this new recoilless Rifle will serve the Swedish military well and nato members. The Carl Gustav (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkʰɑːɭ ˈɡɵ̞stɑːv]; also known as Carl Gustaf and M2CG) is an 84 mm man-portable reusable anti-tank recoilless rifle produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics (formerly Bofors Anti-Armour AB) in Sweden. The first prototype of the Carl Gustav was produced in 1946, and while similar weapons of the era have generally disappeared, the Carl Gustav remains in widespread use today.[citation needed] In its country of origin it is officially named Grg m/48 (Granatgevär or grenade rifle, model 48). British troops refer to it as the Charlie G, while Canadian troops often refer to it as the 84 or Carl G. In U.S. military service it is known as the M3 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWS) or Ranger Antitank Weapons System (RAWS), but is often called the Gustav or the Goose or simply the Carl Johnson by US soldiers. In Australia it is irreverently known as Charlie Gusto or Charlie Gutsache (guts ache, slang for stomach pain).[citation needed] Ammunition Improvements to the ammunition have been continual. While the older HEAT rounds are not particularly effective against modern tank armor, the weapon has found new life as a bunker-buster with an HEDP round. In addition, improved HEAT, high explosive (HE), smoke and illumination (star shell or flare) ammunition is also available. For full effectiveness, illumination rounds have to be fired at a very high angle, creating a danger for the gunner as the backblast from firing can burn him. For this reason several armies have retired the illumination rounds, while the U.S. Army requires that they be fired from a standing position. Note that the following are Canadian designations (other countries use similar terminology, replacing the "FFV") FFV441 is an HE round, useful in a "lobbed" trajectory to 1,000m, which can be fused to either detonate on impact or as an airburst. FFV441B is an 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.[7] 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.[7] FFV502 is an HEDP round with the ability to be set to detonate either on impact or one-tenth of a second afterwards. Effective range is 1,000 m against dispersed soft targets such as infantry in the open, 500 m against stationary targets and 300 m against moving targets. Minimum range is 15 to 40 m to arm the warhead. Penetration exceeds 150 mm of rolled homogeneous armour (RHA). Ammunition weight is 3.3 kg and muzzle velocity is 230 m/s.[7] FFV545 is an illuminating star shell, fired up to 2,300 m maximum range, but with an effective envelope of 300 to 2,100 m. Suspended by parachute, the star shell burns for 30 seconds while producing 650,000 candela, providing a 400 to 500 m diameter area of illumination. FFV551 is the primary HEAT round and is a rocket-assisted projectile (RAP). Effective range is up to 700 m (400 m against moving targets) and penetration up to 400 mm of RHA. Ammunition weight is 3.2 kg and muzzle velocity is 255 m/s.[7] 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 FFV551, 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.[7] HEAT 655 CS (Confined Spaces) "high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round that can be fired by the 84 mm Carl Gustaf recoilless weapon from within small enclosures"[10] Description The basic weapon consists of the main tube with the breech-mounted Venturi recoil damper, with two grips near the front and a shoulder mount. The weapon is fitted with iron sights, but is normally aimed with the attached 3x optical sight with a 17 degree (300 mrad) field of view. The most modern variants fielded to Swedish rifle companies have been fitted with the Swedish aimpoint sighting system. Luminous front and rear sight inserts are available for the iron sights when aiming at night, and an image intensification system may also be used. The Carl Gustav can be fired from the standing, kneeling, sitting or prone positions, and a bipod may be attached in front of the shoulder piece. An operating handle called the "Venturi lock" is used to move the hinged breech to one side for reloading. The weapon is normally operated by a two-man crew, one carrying and firing the weapon, the other carrying ammunition and reloading. Specifications[edit] Calibre: 84 mm rifled (24 lands, progressive twist)[7] Crew: 2 optimal, 1 minimal

• published: 16 Oct 2014
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