The M80 Zolja ( sr, Зоља, Zolja; "wasp") is a portable one-shot disposable 64 mm unguided
anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade, designed in the former
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. The M80 Zolja is still produced in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
and in
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
.
Description
Constructed from fibre-reinforced plastics, the M80 Zolja is designed to be used by an individual against
armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, ...
s or
fortifications
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
.
The M80 Zolja is a single-use
recoilless weapon
A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...
which is characterized by its simple operation and lightweight characteristics. The launcher and the container are incorporated into a single unit. The M80 Zolja is similar to the American
M72 LAW in both appearance and performance.
Launcher
The M80 Zolja launcher is telescoping which is intended for easier transportation. The launchers consists of a forward and rear tube made of
fibre-reinforced plastic, a firing mechanism, front and rear aiming sights, a carry handle, front and rear caps to keep debris out and a
sling.
Rocket
The 64mm anti-tank missile is located in the rear of the launcher. The missile consists of an explosive warhead, stabilizer wings and a solid fuel rocket.
The M80's warhead has the potential to penetrate 300 mm of solid steel at a 90-degree angle. The warhead may be fitted with an impact and piezoelectric blasting mechanism. A self-destruct mechanism is also integrated into the rocket which ensures that the rockets self-destruct if the target is not hit within 4 to 6 seconds of flight. The rocket propellant is only fired while in the tube, which propels the rocket to a speed of 190 m/s. This speed ensures that the rocket reaches its 240 m range at a 2.5 meter target.
Operation
The launcher is held in both hands. The operator opens the covers on both ends of the launcher, grasping the forward tube piece firmly with his left hand the operator pulls the back tube outwards with a sharp, hard pull. If the launcher has been successfully cocked, the back piece will not slide in. The operator assumes a correct firing position, keeping in mind the backblast zone of the launcher, takes aim through the flip up sights and squeezes the trigger to fire the rocket. Afterwards the empty tube is disposed of.
Use
The M80 was widely used in the
Yugoslav Wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
and
Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia
The 2001 insurgency in Macedonia was an armed conflict which began when the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group, formed from veterans of the Kosovo War and Insurgency in the Preševo Valley, attacked Macedonian sec ...
. Many units ended up in civilian hands and have been used in a number of violent incidents. The weapon has also been used by organized crime; one such incident was a November 1999 assassination attempt in downtown
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
, when the projectile
ricochet
A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...
ed off the target's
armored car and killed an innocent bystander. Members of the
Zemun Clan
The Zemun Clan (Serbian Cyrillic: Земунски клан) is one of the Belgrade clans of the Serbian mafia. It is named for the gang's base in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade. The peak of the clan's power and influence occurred between 199 ...
at one time considered using the M80 to attack the former Serbian Prime Minister
Zoran Đinđić
Zoran Đinđić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Ђинђић, ; 1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the mayor of Belgrade in 1997. Đinđi ...
's motorcade.
Bosnian Serb mercenaries in
Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
used some M80s against
Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo
The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFLC; french: Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaïre; AFDL) was a coalition of Rwandan, Ugandan, Burundian, and Congolese dissidents, disgruntl ...
in 1997 during the
first Congo War.
Specifications
Launcher
*Length:
**Extended: 1,200 mm.
**Closed: 800 mm.
*Weight:
**With rocket: 3 kg.
**Without rocket: 1.58 kg.
*Firing mechanism: Percussion.
*Front sight: reticle.
*Rear sight: peep sight.
Rocket
*Caliber: 64 mm
*Length: 664 mm
*Weight: 1.42 kg
*Muzzle velocity: 190 m/s
*Minimum range (combat): 10 m
*Maximum range: 1,280 m (3,300 ft)
*Penetration: 300 mm
Maximum effective range
*Stationary target: 220 m
Operators
Current operators
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Former operators
* - Withdrawn from use, replaced by Swedish made
AT4
The AT4 is a Swedish unguided, man-portable, disposable, shoulder-fired recoilless anti-tank weapon built by Saab Bofors Dynamics (previously Bofors Anti-Armour Systems and before that FFV Ordance). The AT4 is not considered a rocket launc ...
.
* - Withdrawn from use, replaced by German made
MATADOR
A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...
.
* - Passed on to successor states.
*
See also
*
M72 LAW
References
External links
Sloboda a.d. Čačak, Serbia
{{DEFAULTSORT:M-80 Zolja
Anti-tank rockets
Weapons of Yugoslavia
Military Technical Institute Belgrade
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s