INFO ONLY. NOT FOR SALE. P88-1
Type Anti-tank
Place of origin United States
Production history
Designer FA Spinale, CB Weeks and PV Choate
Designed Patent filed 1963
Manufacturer Talley Industries and under license by Raufoss Ammunisjonsfabrikker A/S, Norway
Unit cost 923.5$
Specifications
Weight 2.5 kg
Length less than 1 m
Caliber 66 mm
Muzzle velocity 145 m/s
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 Frank Spinale et al while with the Hesse-Eastern Division of Norris Thermadore, produced by Nammo Raufoss AS in Norway.
The LAW replaced the bazooka as the United States 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.
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.
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. A training variant used by the Finnish armed forces fire 9mm tracer rounds.
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.
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.[1] The M72 LAW is also extensively used in the Finnish Army (some 70,000 pieces), where it is known under the designations 66 KES 75 (M72A2, no longer in service) and 66 KES 88 (M72A5). The British Army used the Norwegian built version of the M72 under the designation "Rocket 66mm HEAT L1A1" which was replaced by LAW 80
