Carl Gustav Recoiless Rifle

The global reach of the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle emphasizes the popularity of the weapon, appearing in three major variants and in use by standard military and special forces alike for some sixty years. The system has been noted from the start for its accuracy, impressive range and firepower since appearing with the Swedish Army in 1948. The system earned its distinct name from the production facility from whence the initial rifles were produced - Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori in Sweden - a facility now owned by Bofors.

The Carl Gustav recoiless rifle design is a popular and widely used multi-purpose weapons platform appearing with various military groups across the globe.

When introduced, the Carl Gustav was similar in most respects to weapons such as the American Bazooka, British PIAT or German Panzerschreck anti-tank weapons. The Carl Gustav was a recoilless rifle design featuring a rifled barrel which instantly differentiated itself from its contemporaries. The rifled barrel allowed for stabilization of the ammunition to occur through the barrel, negating the need for spring-loaded fins to be used once the projectile reached flight (a popular feature in other systems). This operation allowed the Carl Gustav's projectile greater range and firepower and quickly made it a favorite amongst its users.

Since its inception, the Carl Gustav went on to become a pivotal offensive arm of military forces around the globe (even seeing license-production in Japan with Sumitomo).

The M1 appeared in 1948 and was followed by the improved Carl Gustav M2 in 1964. The M3 followed decades later in 1991 and featured a host of improvements, chief among these being a reduction in overall weight in part to the replacement of internal steel components. The Carl Gustav remains in operational service in its varied forms and is a particular favorite with special forces groups including the United States Special Operations COMmand (USSOCOM) units.

The rifle can fire all types of ammunition beyond its primary anti-armor projectiles and include illumination, anti-structure, smoke, practice and anti-personnel (flechette) projectiles.

A crew of two is required for optimal service though the simplicity of the system allows for a single operator/firer at the cost of rate of fire. Optical, laser rangefinder and image intensification sights (along with the standard iron sights) can be mounted and greatly improve the weapon for a variety of specialty roles as needed. Ammunition is reloaded through a hinged breech on the side of the tube. The basic main tube features a pistol grip, a forward grip, shoulder strap and optional bipod along with standard iron sights.



Variants
M1 - Production beginning 1946; entered Swedish Army service in 1948.
M2 - Appeared in 1964; "improved" M1 model.
M3 - Appeared in 1991; reduced overall weight; alloy/plastic construction replacing steel components; reinforced outer sleeve.
M3 MAAWS - US Special Forces Designation of Carl Gustav M3 model.
Panzerfaust Carl Gustaf / Leuchtbuchse 84mm - German designation.
Sumitomo FT-84 - Japanese license-production Carl Gustav designation.




Specifications for the Carl Gustav

Action: Hinged Breech; Percussion Firing Mechanism
Cartridge: 84mm / 8.4cm
Feed System: 1
Cyclic Rate-of-Fire: 6rds/min
Overall Length: 1130mm (44.49in)

106mm Self-propelled Rifle M50A1 Ontos

106mm Self-propelled Rifle M50A1 Ontos

The impressive-looking M50 Ontos (in the Greek meaning "The Thing") was built to a United States Marine Corps tank destroyer specification. With five prototypes built, and each fitted with differing calibers of recoilless rifles, the T156 design was born. No fewer than 24 of the type were ordered for further trials, each armed with six of the powerful 106mm recoilless rifle type. From the T156 trials emerged the T156E2 which gave rise to the production M50 - each slightly modified from the predecessor. A switch to a Chrysler-based petrol engine produced 294 models of the M50A1 series, which in itself included evermore modifications to the system.

At it's core, the M56 was fitted with a common turret mounting six of the M40A1C recoilless rifles. Additionally, the top four 106mm mounts were fitted with 4 x 12.7mm (.50 caliber) heavy machine guns to act as spotters when aligning the main guns. The use of the spotting machine guns was directly after optical sighting was completed. The spotter machine guns were then fired to accurize contact. Shortly thereafter, the recoilless rifles could be fired with some degree of accuracy.

Photo of an Ontos at the National Museum of the Marine Corps taken in August 2007.

All weapon systems on the M50 were limited in ammunition-carrying capacities. The 106mm recoilless rifles were limited to just 18 projectiles spread across the six guns. The 12.7mm spotting machine guns were limited to just 80 rounds of ammunition. Not to be left high and dry against advancing enemy infantrymen, an additional 7.62mm machine gun was mounted to the top of the turret for self-defense.

Besides the limited ammunition situation, crew quarters once inside the machine were cramped at best. Additionally the weapon systems could only be reloaded from outside the vehicle, exposing the crew to dangerous enemy fire. The system saw action in South Vietnam and in the hands of the United States Marines. No longer in service with the Marine Corps, no replacement vehicle was selected to succeed the M50 Ontos on the modern battlefield, the assumption being that other weapon systems are more likely up to the task of tank destroyer than a similar self-propelled recoilless rifle design like the Ontos.