Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1115818
Carl GustaF M3 and M4 The Carl Gustaf M3 is an 84-mm (version m/86) recoilless rifle weighing 9.5 kg and measuring a total of 1,130 mm in length. It features a rifled barrel with 24 lands following a progressive twist, ending with a steel breech with a nozzle, which uncovered the tube of the barrel after being tilted 180° along the longitudinal axis (hinged structure). The external surface of the barrel is reinforced with a plastic layer containing fiber- glass, acting also as thermal insulation. There's also a carrying handle fixed to the top of the rifle. The weapon is designed to be fired supported on the right shoulder since the optical sight and the emergency mechan- ical sight are found on the left side, like an additional insulation panel fixed at the height of the shoulder and the head of the gunner. This makes it possible to use the weapon despite the barrel tube being heated up as a result of firing. The Carl Gustaf features a pistol grip with a trigger and a mechanical thumb safety on its left side. There is an additional front grip in front of it, and a shoulder rest with an attached aluminum bipod support behind it. Shots are fired by means of a simple and du- rable mechanism with a cocking lever within the reach of the thumb of the right hand, which operates the trigger. Releasing the trigger causes a longitudinal movement of a pin moving in a separate aluminum case found below the barrel, going all the way from the pistol grip to the bar- rel breech, and of the cocking piece fixed perpendicularly before it. The forced travel of the pin translates into the travel of the firing pin, which releases the primer of 84-mm ammo. Opening the breech locks the pin automatically in a position that makes it impossible to force the firing pin to travel. The CG M3 features emergency folding open sights scaled to up to 200 m. The main sighting element is the 557B (M10) weighing 0.7 kg, measuring 250 mm in length, offering a 12° field of vision, and a fixed magnification of 3x. The sight is fitted on a MIL-STD-1913 rail, and thus can be substituted with other models. The total life of the weapon is estimated to handle 1,000 rounds, but the CG M3 comes with a facto- ry warranty for 500 rounds to be fired safely. Depending on the type of ammunition used, the effective firing range according to the manual is: firing at an immobile target using smoke rounds – 1,000 m, using a HE round – 700 m, using a fragmentation time-set round – 500 m, and in the case of firing at mobile targets using a HEAT round, it's 150 m when the target moves transversely and 200 m when the target moves straight. The Carl Gustaf M4, apart from the already mentioned modifications in- volving shortening the weapon by over 13 cm and slimming it down to 6.7 kg, offers much improved user ergonomics. The front grip and the shoulder rest are fixed on short universal mounting rails, which makes it possible to adjust them depending on the gunner's build and equipment carried. The M4 offers also a precise electronic round counter. But the biggest change is the feature of an additional safety lock which makes it possible to carry the weapon loaded. The rate of fire ranges from 6 to 10 rounds per minute, and depends on the assumed shooting position, the type of ammo, and the fatigue of the crew. What makes the CG so flexible is the range of ammo it can be used with – it's really impressive, spanning as many as 16 types, although the num- ber of types available depends on the user's country, of course – e.g. the Swedish forces use only five types of standard-issue weapons and three types of training weapons. High explosive anti-tank ammunition: Ä HEAT 751 – a 3.9-kg tandem-warhead round with a high-ex- plosive shaped charge with a precursor. Precursor is an advanced solu- tion with a thickened liner with a broad dilation angle. Its design makes it produce an unusual shaped charge jet, becoming something between a HEAT and an EFP, highly effective against the vast majority of ERA, including the 4s22 Kontakt 5. The primary warhead is a typical shaped charge, penetrating 500 mm of steel, which in the case of an 80-mm shaped charge liner gives 6.25 of its diameter – which is a decent re- sult. It's not enough to combat primary armors of modern tanks from the front, but it is definitely enough to pierce through MBT guards by hitting the front bottom plate of the hull, roof of the turret or the side of the hull and the turret – even if they're screened by means of a typical ERA. The current technical potential makes it possible to get as much as 800 mm RHA out of this caliber at the expense of a several times increase in the round price and a decreased service life; Ä HEAT 551C RS – a round with a warhead with an aluminum shape charge liner, offering an improved post-penetration effect. A very interesting type of ammunition. Its slightly lower penetration potential is made up for by the absence of the typical deficiency of shape charge www.fragoutmag.com