Bazooka is a portable launcher for firing missiles

What does the word bazooka mean? This designation of the type of weapon or the term can be used in another context? Bazooka for many is associated with a recoilless gun of small size or a large-caliber gun of a special design. But the history of the emergence of the name of the famous grenade launcher is associated with music.

Bazooka meanings

So called the primitive wind instrument of the 30s of the XX century. You can say that Bazooka is a very simplified version of the trombone. At one time he even popularized in the narrow circles of jazz performers. His inventor was the then well-known comedian Bob Burns. In his speeches, he used a straight telescope slide (with the telescope principle) with a bell on the end. Changing the total working length of the instrument (it could reach several feet), the comic on the way out received sounds of different tonalities, which they originally used in their shows.

Control of the sliding part was carried out with the help of a bracket fixed to the socket. The material for the instrument was sheet copper. For convenience, it was possible to install a mouthpiece, which, like the instrument itself, was made by handicraft method. The principle of action remotely resembled a game on a trombone.

Bazuka: meaning and interpretation of the word

The invention of Bob Burns was not in vain. American designers, developing a new type of weapons, noticed the similarity of the wind instrument to the prototype of its hand grenade launcher and gave it the working title "Bazooka". It was a device for launching missiles designed to engage enemy armored vehicles. In fact, the bazooka is a hollow guide tube. This is how the word bazuin is translated from Dutch. In Turkish it is bazuka, and in Spanish it is bazuca.

The M1 grenade launcher of the 1942 model had a clear similarity to the Bob Burns bazooka. In length it was 1.3 m, weighed about 8 kg. A hollow cylindrical tube 60 mm in diameter was steel, and at the rear end had a wire fence of slightly larger diameter, remotely resembling a bell. But he had a completely different purpose. So it was more convenient to load a grenade. The bell still served as a stop for the stop of the installation on the ground. With its use the clogging of the trunk was prevented.

History of invention

The prototype of the M1 "Bazooka" reactive portable installation was developed by American designers to replace the grenades that existed at the time. They were shot using a muzzle device on a rifle. The high return of the high-explosive charge negatively affected both the weapon and the arrow itself. During the experiments, a hollow tube model was proposed. And the charge itself was combined with a simplified version of the rocket engine.

Lieutenant E. Yul and Captain L. Skinner were among the inventors of a hand-held rocket-propelled grenade launcher. The name "Bazooka" was taken because of the external similarity of the construction with the pipe of B. Burns. According to another version - the whistle of a flying grenade with a shot remotely resembled the sound of his instrument in a certain key.

Operating principle

What is the "Bazooka" in terms of design features? The smooth-bore pipe was necessary for the safe start-up of the grenade and the assignment of the desired direction. The calculation of the launcher consisted of two people. One loaded a grenade, the second aimed, directed and fired at the target. The peculiarity of the launch was the need to control the territory behind the arrow. The jet of exhausted gases could cause damage to people, equipment and ammunition. For the same reason, it was impossible to fire from an ordinary trench.

To retain the grenade launcher, two handles and a shoulder stop were provided. In its cavity initially housed batteries for electric ignition of the charge of the grenade. On the trunk was an aim frame and flies for different distances. There was also a shield to protect the shooter from the flames of a grenade that had flown. He was especially relevant in the cold season, when the charge did not have time to completely burn in the pipe and after the departure could cause serious harm.

Features of modifications in different countries

What is the difference between "Bazooka" and the usual RPG (RPG)? In fact, they are different names for one class of weapons for launching shells without using a tripod or carriage. RPG - this is a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher. Initially it was designed to counter the enemy's armored vehicles. But after a while, they began to produce and ammunition fragmentation, as well as lighting and smoke grenades.

After the appearance of the American "Bazooka" M1 in the USSR, they decided not to develop this armament direction because of the impossibility of using a grenade launcher at negative temperatures. In Germany, after acquaintance with the captured M1 samples, the designers decided to upgrade their weapons and created a grenade launcher of a larger caliber.

The German bazooka is "Ofenror" and "Pantsershrek". The first prototypes appeared in 1943 and had a greater striking ability. In the USSR, a grenade launcher of this type was designed and adopted after the war. The caliber of the RPG-2 barrel was 40 mm, but the over-caliber head part of its grenade was 80 mm in diameter. In the aftermath it was modified and a more advanced, simple in design and reliable RPG-7 installation appeared. Its grenades, according to the principle of action, were not the same as in RPG-2 with a starting powder charge, but with an active-jet engine.

Application

What is Bazooka in terms of striking ability? The upgraded American "Bazooka" M-20 with a caliber of 88.9 mm could pierce 280 mm of armor. A grenade weighing 4 kg flew up to 830 m. The target range of shooting on a moving target was 185 m, and on a fixed target - 275 m. The unit was calculated from 2 people. With well-coordinated work, it was theoretically possible to produce up to 18 rounds per minute.

The device had a collapsible structure. With a total length of 1.5 m, the trunk consisted of two parts and weighed about 6 kg. The steel pipe used in the M1 models was replaced with an aluminum alloy. Improved shoulder stop and ignition device based on an induction generator. The bazooka was equipped with an optical sight.

The design of the "Super-Bazooka" M20A1B1 was the most successful modification, it became widespread all over the world and was used in many military conflicts as an effective infantry weapon in the fight against armored vehicles of the enemy.