M72 LAW

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The M72 LAW in extended position ready to be fired. Picture taken at Fort Benning in 1960.

The M72 LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weapon, also referred to as the Light Anti-Armor Weapon or LAW) is a portable one-shot 66 mm anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Talley Defense Systems, produced by Nammo Raufoss AS in Norway.

The LAW replaced the bazooka as the US Army's primary anti-tank weapon after the Korean War. It was intended that it would be replaced in service by the FGR-17 Viper (which would also replace the FGM-77 Dragon), but this program was cancelled and the M136 AT4 was introduced in its place.

1 Description
2 Ammunition
3 Service History
4 Surplus Demand
5 Demonstration
6 Other Variants
7 Specifications
8 Other weapons
9 See also
10 External links

[edit] Description

The weapon consists of a rocket packed inside of a launcher made up of two tubes, one inside the other. While closed, the outer assembly acts as a watertight container for the rocket and the percussion cap-type firing mechanism that activates the rocket. The outer tube contains the trigger, the arming handle, front and rear sights, and the rear cover. The inner tube contains the channel assembly which houses the firing pin assembly, including the detent lever. When extended, the inner tube telescopes outward toward the rear, guided by the channel assembly which rides in an alignment slot in the outer tube's trigger housing assembly. This causes the detent lever to move under the trigger assembly in the outer tube, both locking the inner tube in the extended position and cocking the weapon. Once armed, the weapon is no longer watertight even if the launcher is collapsed into its original configuration.

When fired, the propellant in the rocket motor completely combusts before leaving the tip of the launcher, producing gases around 1,400 °F (760 °C). The rocket propels the 66 mm warhead forward without significant recoil. As the warhead emerges from the launcher, six fins spring out from the base of the rocket tube, stabilizing the warhead's flight.

Once fired the launcher is no longer useful and may be discarded. Due to the single use nature of the weapon, it was issued as a round of ammunition by the Canadian Army and the US Army.

[edit] Ammunition

The M72 LAW was issued as a prepackaged round of ammunition. Improvements to the launcher and differences in the ammunition were differentiated by a single designation. The most common M72 LAWs came prepacked with a rocket containing a 66 mm HEAT warhead which is attached to the inside of the launcher by the igniter. The warhead is activated by an impact sense sensor in the nose cone which is connected to the fuse. The fuse then detonates a booster which sets off the main charge. The force of the main charge forces the copper liner into a directional jet that is capable of penetrating up to 0.3 m (1 ft) of steel plate, 0.6 m (2 ft) of Reinforced concrete, or 1.8 m (6 ft) of soil.

A training variant of the M72 LAW, designated the M190, also exists. This weapon is reloadable and uses the 35 mm M73 training rocket. A subcaliber training device that uses a special tracer cartridge also exists for the M72.

[edit] Service History

Although generally thought of as a Vietnam War era weapon which has been superseded by more powerful and sophisticated designs such as the SMAW and AT4, the M72 LAW has found a new lease of life in the ongoing (2006) operations in Iraq by the US Army and Afghanistan by the Canadian Army. The low cost and light weight of the LAW, combined with a proliferation of lightly-armored targets, make it ideal for the type of urban combat seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[edit] Surplus Demand

A deactivated M72A2 LAW tube in a private collection.

Expended LAW tubes may be found on the US military surplus and gun show market, and purchased by militaria collectors.

[edit] Demonstration

A fairly accessible demonstration of the use of this rocket (including a good reason for not standing behind one when it goes off) features in the Clint Eastwood film The Enforcer.

[edit] Other Variants

Designation	Description
M72	66 mm Talley single shot disposable rocket launcher; pre-loaded w/ HEAT rocket
M72A1	M72 variant; improved rocket motor
M72A2	M72 variant; improved rocket motor
M72A3	M72A1/A2 variant; safety upgrades
M72A4	M72 variant; rocket optimised for high-penetration; uses improved launcher assembly
M72A5	M72A3; uses improved launcher assembly
M72A6	M72 variant; rocket w/ low penetration, improved blast effect; uses improved launcher assembly
M72A7	M72A6 variant; US Army M72A6 variant for US Navy
M72E8	M72A7 variant; Fire-From-Enclosure (FFE) capable rocket motor; uses improved launcher assembly
M72E9	M72 variant; rocket w/ improved anti-armour capability; uses improved launcher assembly
M72E10	M72 variant; HE-Frag rocket; uses improved launcher assembly

[edit] Specifications

[edit] Launcher

Length:
- Extended: less than 1 m (54.97 in).
- Closed: 0.67 m (24.8 in).
Weight:
- Complete M72A2: 2.3 kg (8.1 lb).
- Complete M72A3: 2.5 kg (8.5 lb).
Firing mechanism: Percussion.
Front sight: reticle graduated in 25 m range increments.
Rear sight: peep sight adjusts automatically to temperature change.

[edit] Rocket

Caliber: 66 mm (2.6 in)
Length: 508 mm (20 in).
Weight: 1.8 kg (4 lb).
Muzzle velocity: 145 m/s (475 ft/s).
Minimum range (combat): 10 m (33 ft).
Minimum arming range: 10 m (33 ft).
Maximum range: 1,000 m (3,300 ft).

[edit] Maximum effective ranges

Stationary target: 200 m (220 yd)
Moving target: 165 m (180 yd)
Beyond these ranges, there is less than a 50 % chance of hitting the target.

[edit] Other weapons

The British Army used the Norwegian built version of the M72 under the designation "Rocket 66mm HEAT L1A1" which was replaced by LAW 80.

The US Army tested other 66 mm rockets based on the M54 rocket motor used for the M72, including the M74 and XM96. These rockets were used with the XM191 and M202 Flash 4 tube launchers.

The design of the Soviet RPG-18 is widely believed to be directly copied from the LAW.