Carl Gustav - 84mm Recoiless Rifle

The M2 Carl Gustav is the primary section level anti-tank recoilless rifle used by Canada's Land Force which employs two kinds of ammunition for the weapon. The primary round is the High Explosive Anti-Tank commonly referred to as HEAT. The HEAT round is used to destroy enemy main battle tanks. The effective range of this round of ammunition is 700 meters. The second round of ammunition employed is the High Explosive Dual Purpose Round (HEDP). This round was specifically designed to destroy bunkers and fortified positions. The effective range for this round is 500 meters.

The Carl Gustav is best served by a two man crew. One fires the recoilless rifle and the other carries ammunition and loads. The weapon is fitted with iron sights, and it is equipped with a 2 power optical sight with a 17 degree field of view. This is fitted with a temperature correction device, and luminous front and rear adaptors are available for night work.

The Carl Gustav can be fired from the standing, kneeling or prone positions. When fired on flat surfaces the weapon is supported by a flexible bipod immediately in front of the shoulder piece.

For training, the Carl Gustav can be used with a sub calibre training device (SCTD - old type)     The SCTD fires a 6.5 mm Tracer round especially designed to match the ballistics of the HEAT round. This will permit training on the Carl Gustav on a conventional rifle range and it helps reduce the cost of training. The latest sub calibre training device (SCTD - new type)     uses a 7.62mm cartridge for its' adapter. Both of these SCDT's are in use today and can be used in either system.

 

CHARACTERISTICS


Statistics M2
Recoilless rifle length 113 cm
Recoilless rifle weight 14.2 kg
Total 18.5 kg
Year procured 1965
The following information details some additional ammunition, and a sight system, trialed by the CF for the 84 mm. I am not sure which of the ammunition types were in fact retained for use with this weapon.

 

 

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