Author: Hong Photography Kursk
Britain designed a very interesting single-soldier bazooka in the 1970s, called LAW-80 (Lao-80) 94mm single-soldier anti-tank bazooka . Interestingly, a 9mm observation test gun is bound under the rocket launcher. Before firing the rocket, you need to shoot a tracer bullet at the target. If it hits, then pull the trigger to launch the rocket. Otherwise, ballistic correction will be performed, which can ensure a higher shooting accuracy. Of course, the shooter's position was actually exposed before the launch, which is a rather bizarre design.
Picture: Sectional view of Lao-80 bazooka, where the 1 mark is the test-fire observation gun.
This weapon is one of the main anti-tank weapons and equipment of the British army infantry in the 1980s. It is also equipped with Royal Armored Forces, Royal Artillery, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force Airport Guard Regiment, etc., to replace the M72 66mm bazooka and Carl Gustav 84mm recoilless cannon equipped by the British army at that time. The British asked the Lao-80 anti-tank bazooka to be able to deal with the Soviet T-64 and T-72 main battle tanks , and also required to penetrate the front armor of the Soviet Union's latest T-80 main battle tank at close range. This indicator is very difficult.
Picture: Promotional Photo of Lao-80 Bazooka
The Royal British Institute of Weapons began the development of a new single-soldier bazooka in 1972, proposed the RCS-5 bazooka design plan. In February 1977, the development contract was officially signed with British Army , and designated Hengqian Company as the main contractor. In December 1978, Hengqian Company was approved for mass production, and in December 1980, he conducted live-fire shoulder-firing tests in Korkulet, Scotland for the first time. In October 1986 and February 1987, troops were conducted in Warmingt and Stamford respectively. In the second half of 1987, British troops were equipped and sold to Jordan , Thailand, Malaysia and other countries, with a unit price of 2,000 to 3,000 pounds.
Picture: Lao-80 bazooka, where the position of the mark 3 is the 9mm test-fire observation gun.
This rocket launcher consists of two parts: launcher and rocket . The launch cylinder is a pull-out suit structure, and the outside of the cylinder is equipped with a firing mechanism, a safety device, an observation test gun, a sight, a shoulder support, a handle and a strap.
launch cylinder is made of Kevlar fiber dip-coated epoxy resin wrap, with porous polystyrene protective sealing covers at both ends to buffer accidental impacts that may be encountered during transportation. During launch, the inner cylinder is pulled out from behind, and the rocket inside the cylinder is limited in place by a small fixture. As the inner cylinder is pulled out, the firing rod spring is in a compressed state. Open the safety and pull the trigger. The firing pin in the firing rod assembly strikes the fire cap and can eject the rocket.
Picture: Infantry uses the Lao-80 bazooka, pay attention to the circular hole below the launch port, which is to observe the muzzle of the test gun.
To eliminate the human error caused by targeting and improve the probability of starting hit, the bazooka installed an observation test gun under the launcher. The entire gun is installed in a plastic molded seat and becomes part of the outer cylinder. The gun barrel is made of aluminum alloy material and anodized and has a diameter of 9 mm. Before launch, you must fire a shot to calibrate and then launch the rocket.
The range of this bazooka is 300 meters, and the range can reach 500 meters when using the observation calibration gun.
Picture: During the Cold War, British soldiers needed to carry this bazooka to resist the charge of Soviet tank clusters.
Lao-80 bazooka hit rate and its power are relatively high, and its armor-breaking thickness can reach 700 mm, but the British soon discovered that both T-64, T-72, and T-80 have begun to install explosion reactive armor , which makes the Lao-80, which only has the energy-concentrating charge armor-breaking warhead, unable to effectively deal with the main battle tank equipped with reactive armor.
Picture: The British envisioned using the Labor-80 bazooka to block the Soviet tank cluster, which is an impossible task
In addition, the launch characteristics of this weird bazooka are too obvious. You have to fire a shot before launching the rocket. This is basically a reminder to the enemy, I am going to hit you.Then when launching the rocket, the flash and rear-breathing flames are very large, and cannot be used in limited spaces such as bunkers or buildings. It is also easy to expose the launcher's position when used in the wild.
It can be foreseen that if a war really occurs, it may be difficult for the Lau-80 bazooka launcher to hunt Soviet tanks within 300 meters. On the contrary, because of its obvious launch characteristics, it is easy to become the target of crushing Soviet tank clusters.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-