RPG-16
Encyclopedia
The RPG-16 is a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher for anti-tank warfare. The RPG-16 was developed in 1968, and adopted by the Red Army
in 1970 for special operation teams and the Soviet airborne troops (VDV
). These were deployed during the Soviet-Afghan war in 1979-1989, and saw service in several battles in that theatre.
The RPG-16 has a 58 mm barrel with a HEAT
warhead and has a smoothbore
recoilless
launch using a rocket
booster. Its overall length is 1,104 millimetres when ready to fire. It is 645 millimetres long when taken apart for carry or airdrop
. Its weight is 9.4 kilograms when unloaded, when it has its optical sight the RPG-16 weighs 12.4 kilograms (when loaded and ready to fire). The RPG-16's effective range is up to 800 meters (about 2,500 ft). The RPG-16's armor penetration is 300 mm of rolled homogeneous armour
. The RPG-16 is triggered to launch by an electric current activated by a trigger on the pistol grip. Once fired, the rocket booster engages as soon as the warhead is propelled safely away from the operator.
Compared to its main counterpart, the RPG-7
, the RPG-16 has a smaller calibre warhead and a more powerful rocket booster, which made the RPG-16 more accurate over long ranges. Unlike the RPG-7, the warhead does not stick out of the launcher since it has exactly the same diameter as the tube and fits entirely inside the tube. The smaller warhead does however sacrifice firepower when compared to the PG-7VL round used in the RPG-7. (Which has 500mm RHA penetration, as opposed to the 300mm penetration the RPG-16 provides.
In Soviet service, the launcher was issued to special operation teams in pairs. One man, the grenadier, carried the launcher and two PG-16 HEAT warheads. Another man, the assistant, carried three more warheads.
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in 1970 for special operation teams and the Soviet airborne troops (VDV
VDV
The Russian Airborne Troops or VDV is a military branch of service of the Russian Military, on par with the Strategic Rocket Forces and the Russian Space Forces...
). These were deployed during the Soviet-Afghan war in 1979-1989, and saw service in several battles in that theatre.
The RPG-16 has a 58 mm barrel with a HEAT
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
warhead and has a smoothbore
Smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...
recoilless
Recoilless rifle
A recoilless rifle or recoilless gun is a lightweight weapon that fires a heavier projectile than would be practical to fire from a recoiling weapon of comparable size. Technically, only devices that use a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles. Smoothbore variants are recoilless guns...
launch using a rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
booster. Its overall length is 1,104 millimetres when ready to fire. It is 645 millimetres long when taken apart for carry or airdrop
Airdrop
An airdrop is a type of airlift, developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, who themselves may have been airborne forces. In some cases, it is used to refer to the airborne assault itself. Early airdrops were conducted by dropping or pushing padded bundles from...
. Its weight is 9.4 kilograms when unloaded, when it has its optical sight the RPG-16 weighs 12.4 kilograms (when loaded and ready to fire). The RPG-16's effective range is up to 800 meters (about 2,500 ft). The RPG-16's armor penetration is 300 mm of rolled homogeneous armour
Rolled homogeneous armour
Rolled homogeneous armour is a type of steel which is used to armour vehicles.-Composition:Armoured steel must be hard yet impervious to shock in order to resist high velocity metal projectiles. Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size and...
. The RPG-16 is triggered to launch by an electric current activated by a trigger on the pistol grip. Once fired, the rocket booster engages as soon as the warhead is propelled safely away from the operator.
Compared to its main counterpart, the RPG-7
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
, the RPG-16 has a smaller calibre warhead and a more powerful rocket booster, which made the RPG-16 more accurate over long ranges. Unlike the RPG-7, the warhead does not stick out of the launcher since it has exactly the same diameter as the tube and fits entirely inside the tube. The smaller warhead does however sacrifice firepower when compared to the PG-7VL round used in the RPG-7. (Which has 500mm RHA penetration, as opposed to the 300mm penetration the RPG-16 provides.
In Soviet service, the launcher was issued to special operation teams in pairs. One man, the grenadier, carried the launcher and two PG-16 HEAT warheads. Another man, the assistant, carried three more warheads.
Other Russian rocket propelled grenades
- RPG-2RPG-2The RPG-2 was the first rocket-propelled grenade launcher designed in the Soviet Union.-Development:The RPG-2 , was a man-portable, shoulder-launched rocket-propelled grenade anti-armor weapon...
- RPG-7RPG-7The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
- RPG-18RPG-18The RPG-18 Mukha is a Russian short-range, disposable light anti-tank rocket launcher.-History:The RPG-18 is very similar to the US M72-series LAW anti-tank rocket and was developed after the Soviet military obtained M72s from its allies in Vietnam...
- RPG-22RPG-22The Soviet RPG-22 Netto is a one-shot disposable anti-tank rocket launcher first deployed in 1985, based on the RPG-18 rocket launcher, but firing a larger 72.5 mm fin stabilised projectile. The weapon can be prepared to fire in around 10 seconds, and can penetrate 400 mm of armour, 1.2 meters of...
- RPG-26RPG-26The RPG-26 Aglen is a disposable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by the Soviet Union. It fires a single-stage rocket with jack-knife fins, which unfold after launch...
- RPG-27RPG-27The RPG-27 is a Soviet disposable rocket launcher.-History:The RPG-27 Tavolga was developed by the State Research and Production Enterprise, Bazalt as a modern anti-tank grenade launcher designed to defeat modern and future tanks with advanced reactive and composite armor as well as fortified...
- RPG-28RPG-28The RPG-28 is a Russian handheld anti-tank rocket launcher.-History:The RPG-28 was unveiled in 2007 at IDEX Abu Dhabi by the State Research and Production Enterprise, Bazalt as a modern anti-tank rocket launcher designed to defeat modern and future tanks with advanced reactive and composite armour...
- RPG-29RPG-29The RPG-29 is a Russian rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Adopted by the Soviet Army in 1989, it was the most recent weapon of its type to be adopted by the Russian military before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The RPG-29 has since been supplemented by other rocket-propelled systems, such...
- RPG-32RPG-32The RPG-32 Hashim is a Russian hand held anti-tank grenade launcher.The RPG-32 multipurpose grenade launcher was developed between 2005 and 2007 by Russian state-owned FGUP 'Bazalt' organization on request and under contract from Jordan...
- RPO-A