The AC 58 (Anti-Char, 58 mm) is an anti-armour
rifle grenade
A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand.
The practice of projecting grenades with rifle-mounted launchers was first widely used du ...
used by the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
. Its official French Army designation is ''Grenade à fusil antichar de 58 mm Mle F1 PAB''.
Design
The AC 58 comprises a body with a
shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, init ...
warhead and a tail fitted with stabilizing fins. Detonation is initiated by a nose impact and a base fuse. Luchaire designed it at the end of the 1970s to replace the existing
STRIM 65 rifle grenade design dating from 1961 that had become obsolete.
The AC 58 uses a bullet trap that allows the use of ball cartridges, rather than the older method that required a blank cartridge to propel the grenade.
Use
To launch, the AC58 is placed over the muzzle of a FAMAS or any NATO rifle with a STANAG muzzle device. Then the rifle is pointed at the target and fired. The impact of the bullet striking the bullet-trap and the expanding gases launches and arms the grenade, which explodes on impact.
The AC58 is used in direct fire. Under an optimal angle, the AC 58 is capable of piercing 350 mm of armour.
FAMAS
The FAMAS (''Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne'', "Assault Rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory") is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS in 1978, a year after the Austrian Steyr ...
provides a built in an
alidade
An alidade () (archaic forms include alhidade, alhidad, alidad) or a turning board is a device that allows one to sight a distant object and use the line of sight to perform a task. This task can be, for example, to triangulate a scale map on site ...
-type device for aiming to 75 to 100 metres.
The Luchaire
Wasp 58
The Wasp 58 is a 58-mm rocket launcher antitank weapon developed in France in the late 1980s. The weapon was, originally, privately developed by the French firm Luchaire SA, subsidiary of GIAT.
History
In the early 1980s, Luchaire's sales depa ...
individual antiarmour-assault weapon also uses the AC58's warhead.
See also
*
APAV40
The APAV 40 (''anti-personnel/anti-véhicule'', 40mm) is a 40 mm dual purpose rifle grenade used by the French Army.
Design
The APAV 40 is a dual purpose, anti-personnel (AP) and anti-vehicle (AV), 40 mm rifle-grenade. It has a mass of 4 ...
Sources and references
TTA 150, p. 109
External sourcesArticle (in Spanish) with reference to several French rifle grenades
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ac58
Grenades of France
Rifle grenades
Anti-tank grenades