The RPG-43 (ruchnaya protivotankovaya granata obraztca 1943 goda, meaning hand-held anti-tank grenade) was a

high-explosive anti-tank High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...

(HEAT) shaped charge hand

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

used by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It entered service in 1943, replacing the RPG-40; the RPG-40 used a simpler

high explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

(HE) warhead. The RPG-43 had a penetration of around of

rolled homogeneous armour Rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) is a type of vehicle armour made of a single steel composition hot-rolled to improve its material characteristics, as opposed to layered or cemented armour. Its first common application was in tanks. After World W ...

at a 90° angle. Later in the war, it was improved and became the RPG-6.

History

Prior to World War II, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

anti-tank weapons included the PTRD-41 and PTRS-41

anti-tank rifle An anti-tank rifle is an anti-materiel rifle designed to penetrate the vehicle armor, armor of armored fighting vehicles, most commonly tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles. The term is usually used for weapons that ca ...

s and the RPG-40 hand grenade, which were marginally effective against early German tanks, quickly becoming obsolete when the Germans started fielding heavier tanks to counter the Red Army

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

and KV tanks. The Soviets also relied on 45 mm anti-tank guns, which started to become obsolete mid-1942. In response, the Soviets developed the RPG-43 which had enough penetrating power to threaten German

Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III (Pz.Kpfw. III)'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Nazi Germany, Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was List of Sd.K ...

Panzer IV The IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, is a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panzer IV was the most numer ...

s, and StuGs, forcing the Germans to increase armor thickness in their designs and install

spaced armour Armour with two or more plates spaced a distance apart falls under the category of spaced armour. Spaced armour can be sloped or unsloped. When sloped, it reduces the penetrating power of bullets and solid shot, as after penetrating each plate ...

side plates to provide protection against these new grenades. It could also destroy a

Panther tank The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated Pz.Kpfw. V) with Sonderkraftfahrzeug, ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used in most European theatre of ...

if thrown against the thinly armoured turret roof or engine compartment. While the RPG-43 was succeeded by the RPG-6, both grenades remained in use during WWII against armoured vehicles and fortified positions, such as

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

s. In the post-war period, the Soviets continued using the RPG-43 and RPG-6 as late as 1960, being replaced by the RKG-3 which offered greater penetration against armour. They also supplied the grenade for several

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

allies, including

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Communist forces in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

made use of several stick grenades including the RG-43; During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

the

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

ese used grenades supplied by the Soviets; The grenade was also used by Egyptian troops during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

; and

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

forces such as the As-Sa'iqa during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

; In the 1990s, during the Georgian Civil War several paramilitary groups purchased ex-Soviet surplus grenades from Russian officers.

Description

The RPG-43 is a stick grenade with a shaped charge warhead filled with of TNT. When thrown a conical metal sleeve would open, revealing two strips of cloth to stabilise flight and ensure the head of the grenade would strike its target. It has an effective fragmentation radius of , and can penetrate of armour at a 90° angle. According to US military manuals, the RPG-43 can be thrown at a distance of approximately . The RPG-43 is heavy, making it awkward to use effectively. While it needed to be thrown at very close range, it produced no sound, smoke, or light when used, unlike other anti-tank weapons. Despite its shortcomings, Chinese troops considered the RPG-43 as the best anti-tank weapon at their disposal during the Korean War.

Users

* * As-Sa'iqa − Used during the Lebanese Civil War * * * − Used during the Yom Kippur War * − Used by Georgian military and militia units during 1990s period. * * RPG-43 Antitank Hand Grenade. North Korea Country Handbook MCIA-2630-NK-016-97. U.S. Department of Defense, May 1997. page A-102 * * *

References

Bibliography

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External links