The RPG-6 (Russian Ruchnaya Protivotankovaya Granata, "Handheld Anti-Tank Grenade") was a Soviet-era anti-tank hand grenade used during the late World War II and early Cold War period. It was superseded by the RKG-3 anti-tank grenade.
| RPG-6 (РПГ-6) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Anti-tank grenade[1] |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | October 1943 – |
| Used by | Soviet Union and Warsaw pact countries |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | M. Z. Polevikov[1] L. B. Ioffe[1] N. S. Zhitkikh[1] |
| Designed | 1943[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1.13 kg[1] |
| Length | 337 mm |
| Diameter | 103 mm |
| Filling | TNT shaped charge |
| Filling weight | 0.6 kg[1] |
Detonation mechanism | Impact fuze[1] |
History
editThe RPG-6 was designed as a replacement for the RPG-43 after the Battle of Kursk.[1]
It underwent testing in September 1943, and was accepted into service in October 1943.[1] First RPG-6 grenades were used against Axis troops in last week of October 1943.[2]
The weapon was a success and went into mass production in late 1943. During the war, RPG-6 grenades being used alongside the RPG-43.[1]
In the USSR, some grenades were kept in storage even after the end of the World War II.[1]
Design
editIt operated on the shaped charge Munroe effect principle, in which a metal-lined cone-shaped explosive charge would generate a very high speed, focused jet of metal that could penetrate armor-plate.[1]
It was a conical casing enclosing a shaped charge and containing 562 grams of trinitrotoluene (TNT), fitted with a percussion fuse and four cloth ribbons to provide stability in flight after throwing. It could penetrate approximately 100 millimeters of armour. The RPG-6 had a fragmentation radius of 20 metres from the point of detonation, and proved useful against infantry and tanks.
The RPG-43 had a large warhead, but was designed to detonate in contact with a tank's armour; it was later found that optimal performance was gained from a high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead if it exploded a short distance from the armour, roughly the same distance as the weapon's diameter. In the RPG-6 this was achieved by adding a hollow pointed nose section with an impact fuse in it, so that when the weapon detonated the warhead was at an optimum distance from the armour.
References
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