Armbrust

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This article is about the anti-tank weapon. For the Kiddy Grade character, see List of Kiddy Grade characters.
Armbrust


A line drawing and photo of an Armbrust launcher (via Iraq OIG).
Type Anti-tank weapon
Place of origin Flag of West Germany West Germany
Service history
Used by Belgium, Cambodia, Chile, Croatia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Slovenia
Wars Croatian War of Independence
Production history
Designer Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB)
Manufacturer Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm, licensed in Belgium by PRB (Pouderies Réunies de Belgique) and Singapore by ST Kinetics
Variants Armbrust AT, Armbrust AP, Armbrust Ub, Armbrust SC
Specifications
Weight 6.3 kg
Length 850 mm
Width 126 mm
Height 140 mm
Caliber 67 mm
Action Recoilless weapon
Muzzle velocity 210 m/s
Effective range 300 m
Maximum range 1500 m
Feed system Single shot
Sights Reticle, externally illuminated for night

Armbrust (German: Crossbow) is a lightweight unguided anti-tank weapon developed by Germany, who later sold its manufacturing rights to Singapore. The Armbrust equips the Singapore infantry section with rudimentary anti-tank capability.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Comparing the ARMBRUST (top) and MATADOR (bottom)
Comparing the ARMBRUST (top) and MATADOR (bottom)
An Armbrust 67 mm projectile (via Iraq OIG)
An Armbrust 67 mm projectile (via Iraq OIG)

The Armbrust is a recoilless weapon, and its design is one of the few weapons of its kind that may safely be fired in an enclosed space. The propellant charge is placed between two pistons with the projectile in front of one and a mass of shredded plastic in the rear. Unlike most recoilless weapons it is a true countershot weapon, the mass of the projectile is equal to the mass of the counterweight and they are ejected from the barrel at the same initial velocity. When the weapon is fired the propellant expands pushing the two pistons out. The projectile is forced out the front and the plastic out the back. The plastic disperses upon leaving the back of the barrel, and is quickly stopped by air resistance. The pistons jam at either end of the barrel locking the hot gases inside.

Its warhead can penetrate up to 300 mm of armoured steel.

Armbrusts are gradually being replaced by the Singapore-German-Israeli co-developed MATADOR, starting 2004.

[edit] Combat Use

Slovenia and Croatia also acquired stocks of Armbrusts for use by local troops against the JNA in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s.

[edit] Users

[edit] References

Armbrust Technical Manual

[edit] External links

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Singapore-designed weapons
Small arms
Anti-tank weapons
Armbrust · MATADOR
Guns
Armoured vehicles
Naval vessels
Military-industrial complex
Singapore Armed Forces · Defence Science and Technology Agency · ST Kinetics
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