[GZG] Fun with RPGs - Re: Slightly OT - Hypothetical weapon question

The IRA fired RPG-7s on occasion at police stations. One case I remember
was a warhead that went through at least one brick wall and probably a
security screen as well and failed to detonate. Of course it might have been a
dud – I doubt if storage had been ideal, it might have been past its sell by
date or it might have been a cheap copy and the end user may well have messed
up – the IRA always seemed a more professional terrorist organisation
(rather like saying a more efficient cancer) than their protestant equivalents
but even they must have had their share of muppets. Â Then of course there
seems to be that trick from Afghanistan that made
them useable as a crude form of anti-aircraft weapon. Was that trick
previously covered on this list or another one? I think what impressed me the
most was the account from Grozney of them being used like artillery – a
barrage of them being fired at a very high angle to land in another street if
I understand it correctly. Human ingenuity, especially when looking for ways
to kill other humans, is astounding. Â

On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 4:38 AM, Michael R. Blair <pellinoire@yahoo.com>
wrote:
> The IRA fired RPG-7s on occasion at police stations. One case I

A substantial proportion of the RPGs I got a good look at in Iraq still had
the safety pins in the warhead. Others just failed to
detonate.  It's manufactured by Russians under Soviet-era quality
control, and those are the "good" RPGs. You might have one made by Chinese
slave labor or worse.

> Then of course there seems to be that trick from Afghanistan that made

What trick, pointing them in the air, launching a lot of them, and praying to
Allah while really relying on the fact that with enough launches SOMEONE will
get lucky?

> one? I think what impressed me the most was the account from Grozney of
Human ingenuity, especially when looking for ways to kill other humans, is
astounding.

It's just a rocket. 122mm and 107mm rockets are sometimes hooked up to car
batteries, laid against a dirt berm, and launched at US installations. If you
know the characteristics of your rocket, it's a fairly simple problem to get a
rough angle to launch them at. It's not precise by any means, but it is "good
enough" if you aren't worried about precision.