The Destructive Power of the B41 Anti-Tank Gun

18 Juli 2015

Vietnamese soldier with B41 anti tank grenade (all photos : BaoDatViet)

Whatever is produced from the Soviet era, but today, gun RPG-7 (Vietnam called B41) is a nightmare for any heavy tank.

From the time they were accepted in the military Soviet so far has nearly 53 years of use, but the value of B41 has not diminished.

The main battle tank which faces B41 are M-48, M-60 ......  at that time has been replaced by M1A2, Challenger-2, Leopard-2A6, Merkava-IV. However, even the world's most modern tank B41 still beat as often.

B41 guns can not beat the aforementioned tank if a frontal assault from the front but if attacked from two sides with power armor piercing warhead of up to 750mm tank is not can survive.

B41 anti-tank guns have very simple structure, size 40mm tubular structure, length 950mm, weighs 7kg. The RPG-7 munition has two sections: a "booster" section and a "warhead and sustainer motor" section. The booster consists of a "small strip powder charge" that serves to propel the grenade out of the launcher; the sustainer motor then ignites and propels the grenade for the next few seconds.

On the body of the gun can be mounted viewfinder PGO-7, or PGO-7V1 type for extra heavy or viewfinder bullet night to cater for night combat beaten. B41 is designed with a variety of anti-armor ammunition increases, anti-infantry ammunition, out of the bullets.

Typically, the PG-7V ammunition brought into use in 1961 with mobile target range of 250m, 260mm thick armor; 2 bullet warhead PG-7VR launched in 1988 has the ability to destroy tanks fitted with explosive reactive armor ERA; TGB-7V fuser cartridge specializes in destroy infantry bunker, which was launched in 1988.

In addition to destroying tanks, armored vehicles, B41 can also be used to shoot down the helicopters operating at low altitudes. At least three helicopters UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by B41 in the US military operation in Somalia in 2003.

Following the recording of the main battle tank of the US M1A2 assault by B41 in the Iraq war in 2003, although the warhead can not penetrate the armor of tanks from the front, but the attack was damage tanks and forcing it to abandon the mission.

Also, type main battle tank which is called as the world's best of Israeli Merkava-IV has continued to previous losses by the B41 attack from Hezbollah, and Islamic forces Hamas ... During the Vietnam war, B41 has become a nightmare for the armored forces of the US and the Republic of Vietnam.

(BaoDatViet)