HISTORY
The RKG-3 was one of the last anti-tank grenades to be designed. It entered service after World War 2 and has seen widespread use. It is better than the RPG-42, RPG-43 and RPG-6. In Russia, China and Eastern Europe it has replaced all previous anti-tank grenades. Only the RPG-6 is sometimes retained to be used as a life training round or for use against infantry. In the rest of the world, especially the Middle East and Asia, it is used in large numbers besides other anti-tank grenades. RKG stands for Ruchnaya Kumulyativnaya Granata, Russian for shaped charge hand grenade.
DESIGN
The RKG-3 has the same layout as its predecessors. The RKG-3 weighs just over 1 kilo. The shaped warhead is fitted on a stick. A spring is fitted inside the stick to open the drogue. The four panelled fabric drogue is folded into the stick. The drogue makes sure that the shaped warhead is pointed in the direction of the armour. The drogue makes it also possible to throw the grenade in an arc on top of the weaker roof armour of the target. The drogue is loosely attached to the bottom of the stick. When the safety pin is removed and the grenade is thrown the spring pushes the drogue out of the stick. The pull disconnects the internal safety device and arms the warhead. The warhead is set off instantaneous on impact. The improved RKG-3M has a longer warhead with copper liner, increasing the overall length. The further improved RKG-3T also has a different cone liner. There is a training round designated UPG-8. UPG stands for ‘Uchebnaya Protivotankovaya Granata’, which is Russian for ‘training anti-tank grenade’.
PERFORMANCE
Overall performance
The RKG-3 proved to be a reliable and safe anti-tank grenade. If the Asian production models or the decades old models surviving today are still safe is not known. For an anti-armour weapon the RKG-3 is very cheap. Its size and low costs allow it to be widespread. Due to its weight and method of operation the throwing range is only 15 to 20 meters. The fragmentive effect has a range of 20 meters. Therefore it is necessary to find cover immediately after throwing the grenade. As with all anti-tank grenades the main drawback is the range. The soldier must be very close to the enemy tank. In urban situation that is not too hard, but in the open desert it is. Only at short distances the RKG-3 can be effectively used. When thrown from longer distances it is harder to hit the target and most of the time the warhead is set of at an angle decreasing its effectiveness. Combat performance
The RKG-3 and its variants were used extensively by the Arab forces in the 1973 October War. The post World War 2 tanks of the Israeli Army proved capable of withstanding the RKG-3. The RKG-3 could only do serious harm to light armoured vehicles and old tanks like the M4 Sherman. Furthermore it proved difficult for Arab soldiers to come into throwing range of the Israeli tanks, which tried to avoid getting near enemy infantry. The penetration of the RKG-3 series is much better than the previous RPG-43, RPG-42 and RPG-6. However, even modern mechanized infantry fighting vehicles are capable of withstanding these grenades and their current use is limited to fighting light armoured and unarmoured vehicles. The RKG-3 can still be of some limited use in today's warfare. When used against armoured personnel carriers, cargo trucks and light vehicles like the HMMWV during an ambush it may prove a cheap and effective way to destroy a more powerful enemy force. Furthermore the RKG-3 is easier to conceal and can be more widespread than RPG's. Soft targets
Like other anti-tank grenades it can also be used against infantry. The blast has a lethal radius of about 2 meters, but the fragmentation effect can reach out to 20 meters. The fragmentation effects are not as powerful as those of the RPG-6. Although the RKG-3 produces the same fragmentive effect as a fragmentation grenade it is less reliable and effective while the fragments are not scattered in all directions. It is impossible to predict which parts of the fragment radius will be showered with fragments.
The RKG-3 was one of the last anti-tank grenades to be designed. It entered service after World War 2 and has seen widespread use. It is better than the RPG-42, RPG-43 and RPG-6. In Russia, China and Eastern Europe it has replaced all previous anti-tank grenades. Only the RPG-6 is sometimes retained to be used as a life training round or for use against infantry. In the rest of the world, especially the Middle East and Asia, it is used in large numbers besides other anti-tank grenades. RKG stands for Ruchnaya Kumulyativnaya Granata, Russian for shaped charge hand grenade.
DESIGN
The RKG-3 has the same layout as its predecessors. The RKG-3 weighs just over 1 kilo. The shaped warhead is fitted on a stick. A spring is fitted inside the stick to open the drogue. The four panelled fabric drogue is folded into the stick. The drogue makes sure that the shaped warhead is pointed in the direction of the armour. The drogue makes it also possible to throw the grenade in an arc on top of the weaker roof armour of the target. The drogue is loosely attached to the bottom of the stick. When the safety pin is removed and the grenade is thrown the spring pushes the drogue out of the stick. The pull disconnects the internal safety device and arms the warhead. The warhead is set off instantaneous on impact. The improved RKG-3M has a longer warhead with copper liner, increasing the overall length. The further improved RKG-3T also has a different cone liner. There is a training round designated UPG-8. UPG stands for ‘Uchebnaya Protivotankovaya Granata’, which is Russian for ‘training anti-tank grenade’.
PERFORMANCE
Overall performance
The RKG-3 proved to be a reliable and safe anti-tank grenade. If the Asian production models or the decades old models surviving today are still safe is not known. For an anti-armour weapon the RKG-3 is very cheap. Its size and low costs allow it to be widespread. Due to its weight and method of operation the throwing range is only 15 to 20 meters. The fragmentive effect has a range of 20 meters. Therefore it is necessary to find cover immediately after throwing the grenade. As with all anti-tank grenades the main drawback is the range. The soldier must be very close to the enemy tank. In urban situation that is not too hard, but in the open desert it is. Only at short distances the RKG-3 can be effectively used. When thrown from longer distances it is harder to hit the target and most of the time the warhead is set of at an angle decreasing its effectiveness. Combat performance
The RKG-3 and its variants were used extensively by the Arab forces in the 1973 October War. The post World War 2 tanks of the Israeli Army proved capable of withstanding the RKG-3. The RKG-3 could only do serious harm to light armoured vehicles and old tanks like the M4 Sherman. Furthermore it proved difficult for Arab soldiers to come into throwing range of the Israeli tanks, which tried to avoid getting near enemy infantry. The penetration of the RKG-3 series is much better than the previous RPG-43, RPG-42 and RPG-6. However, even modern mechanized infantry fighting vehicles are capable of withstanding these grenades and their current use is limited to fighting light armoured and unarmoured vehicles. The RKG-3 can still be of some limited use in today's warfare. When used against armoured personnel carriers, cargo trucks and light vehicles like the HMMWV during an ambush it may prove a cheap and effective way to destroy a more powerful enemy force. Furthermore the RKG-3 is easier to conceal and can be more widespread than RPG's. Soft targets
Like other anti-tank grenades it can also be used against infantry. The blast has a lethal radius of about 2 meters, but the fragmentation effect can reach out to 20 meters. The fragmentation effects are not as powerful as those of the RPG-6. Although the RKG-3 produces the same fragmentive effect as a fragmentation grenade it is less reliable and effective while the fragments are not scattered in all directions. It is impossible to predict which parts of the fragment radius will be showered with fragments.