M67 recoilless rifle
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The M67 recoilless rifle is a 90 mm (3.55 inch)
anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...
recoilless rifle 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 ...
made in the United States and later in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. It could also be employed in an anti-personnel role with the use of the M590 antipersonnel round. It was designed to be fired primarily from the ground using the bipod and monopod, but could also be fired from the shoulder using the folded bipod as a shoulder rest and the monopod as a front grip. The weapon was air-cooled and breech-loaded, and fired fixed ammunition. It is a direct fire weapon employing stadia lines to allow simple range finding, based on a typical tank target bridging the lines once in range.


History and use

Adopted in 1959 in
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
service, the M67 was used in the
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together with the much larger 106 mm M40. The M67 proved an effective weapon, though it was primarily used against personnel in combat, and saw little or no use against armor and even against fortifications. While troops praised its effectiveness, the M67 came under heavy criticism due to the weapon's weight and length as well as its backblast, which often precluded its use in offensive operations. Because of these disadvantages, the Marine Corps units continued to use the old M20 ''Super Bazooka'' in preference to the M67. It was largely replaced in Army service by the
M47 Dragon The M47 Dragon, known as the FGM-77 during development, is an American shoulder-fired, man-portable anti-tank guided missile system. It was phased out of U.S. military service in 2001, in favor of the newer FGM-148 Javelin system. The M47 Drago ...
anti-tank missile system starting in 1975. The M67 was also issued to anti-armour platoons of 1 ATF (Australian/New Zealand Task Force) during the Vietnam war, being used near the perimeter of the defense bases due to its weight. The M67 was issued in lieu of the standard issue Carl Gustav for these armies. This may have been to simplify logistics, or it may be that ammunition for the Carl Gustav could not be sourced due to Swedish opposition to the war in Vietnam. The M67 was not completely withdrawn from infantry service. Instead, it was retained as a substitute standard antitank weapon for special tasks or battle environments. Since the batteries of the Dragon and the wires of the
TOW Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. Th ...
could fail due to extremely low temperatures, the M67 was used for units deploying to arctic environments and remained in many infantry units in West Germany, such as the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division. Also, VII Corps Combat Engineer Battalions were using the M67 as their main anti-armor weapon during the mid-1980s. Heavy Physical Security Military Police Companies used the M67 on Special Weapons Sites in West Germany as an anti-vehicular weapon. These weapons were issued 6 per company, 2 per platoon for each combat engineer company. Until the 1990s, the 6th Light Infantry Division in
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
was still using the M67 in its special weapons platoons. Two M67s were used by C Co 5/87th (Lt Infantry) 193rd Infantry Brigade during
Operation Just Cause Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
in the Republic of Panama in 1989, using the M590 Antipersonal ammunition. Similarly, the urban environment of
West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
prompted the Army to keep the weapon with the 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions of the 502nd Infantry Regiment,
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, as late as winter 1991; the M47 Dragon replaced it in January 1992. The Army Rangers retained the M67 in their weapons platoons until the 1990s, when it was replaced by the 84 mm M3 Carl Gustav; Ranger M67s played a key role in knocking out two
BTR-60 The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen in public for the first time in 1961. BTR stands for ''Brone ...
APCs of the People's Revolutionary Army in
Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
during
Operation Urgent Fury The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...
in 1983. Lastly, Combat Engineer units used the M67 as a demolition gun to destroy bunkers and other hard point targets as part of their MTOE (Modified Table Of Organization & Equipment) at least as late as 1990. The
Salvadoran Army The Salvadoran Army (Spanish: ''Ejército Salvadoreño'') is the land branch and largest of the Armed Forces of El Salvador. Conflicts The Football War The Football War (also called The Soccer War or 100-hours War) was a term coined by Po ...
received 379 M67s between 1981 and 1992 and used them in urban warfare against the FMLN rebels. The Argentine Army also fielded some M67s during the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
.
Royal Saudi Land Forces Royal Saudi Land Forces ( ar, القُوَّاتُ البَرِّيَّةُ المَلَكِيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة, Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah as-Su'udiyah) is the land warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Ara ...
fielded M67s against Iraq during
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
. In February 2011, it was reported that stocks of surplus M67 recoilless rifles were reintroduced to the
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
for limited combat service in Afghanistan. Numbers of these weapons were issued to the 506th Infantry Regiment, "Currahee", 4th Brigade Combat Team, for use against fortifications, and concentrations of enemy personnel. The M67 was issued in response to a demand for a reloadable shoulder-fired weapon to be used in static defensive positions as well as ambushes. In particular, the
flechette A flechette ( ) is a pointed steel projectile with a vaned tail for stable flight. The name comes from French , "little arrow" or "dart", and sometimes retains the acute accent in English: fléchette. They have been used as ballistic weapons sinc ...
anti-personnel round saw common usage. The M67s were eventually phased out again as the Army expanded issuing of the M3 Carl Gustav recoilless rifle to regular infantry units.


Production

It was designed by the
Midwest Research Institute MRIGlobal is an American independent, not-for-profit, contract research organization based in Kansas City, Missouri, with regional offices in Virginia and Maryland. In addition to its own research laboratories, MRIGlobal operates research faciliti ...
in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
. It was also produced in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
by
Kia Motors Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...
, while rounds were manufactured by . Additionally, a licensed version was made in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, the ''EM-67''.


Description

The M67 is shaped like a long tube with the sight assembly and trigger offset to the side in opposite directions about halfway along the barrel. Under this point is the monopod, with the bipod halfway back from there. The weapon requires a crew of three to operate it; a gunner, assistant gunner (loader) and ammunition bearer. The breech is hinged on the right side, and has to be swung open to load the round. It is then swung closed and when the rifle is fired, the rear end of the shell case breaks up and is blown out of the back of the breech block. On the left side of the barrel, near the sight and trigger assemblies, is an asbestos heat shield to protect the gunner's shoulder and neck from the heat of the barrel when firing. It is capable of maintaining a sustained fire rate of one round per minute, but the weapon could also be rapid fired at an increased rate of one round every six seconds (10 rpm) by a well trained crew. The rapid firing is limited to five rounds, with a mandatory 15 minute cool-off period afterward. The M49A1 sub-caliber device, which uses NATO 7.62 mm rounds, is typically used for zeroing the sight and for qualifying purposes. The sight is visually zeroed by setting crossed strings over the gun barrel opening (a rubber loop and notches at the end of the barrel facilitate holding the string in the correct position), then looking through the barrel of the sub-caliber device (and crossed strings) and setting the fixed
stadia Stadia may refer to: * One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums" * The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes''). * Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey * Stadi ...
, reticle sight to the same target. The sub-caliber rounds can then be used to further refine the zero and to qualify.


Ammunition

Ammunition for the 90 mm rifle was issued in complete fixed cartridges. The term "fixed" means that the projectile and the cartridge case are crimped together. This ensures correct alignment of the projectile and the cartridge case. It also permits faster loading because the projectile and the cartridge case are loaded as one unit. The rear end of the cartridge case is made of frangible material that is completely destroyed when fired. The projectiles used are pre-engraved with a rifling band, that is, the rotating bands are cut to engage the rifled bore both to trap gases and to spin-stabilize the projectile.


TP M371 practice round

The TP M371 is a practice round for the M371A1 HEAT round. It has the high explosive filler replaced with inert ballast to keep it at the same weight and flight properties. The nose cap contains a smoke pellet to mark the point of impact. * Cartridge weight: 9.25 lb (4.2 kg) * Cartridge length: 28.10 in (714 mm) * Projectile weight: 6.75 lb (3.06 kg) * Muzzle velocity: 700 ft/s (213 m/s) * Maximum effective range: 437 yd (400 m) * Fuse: PIBD M530A1


M371A1 HEAT round

The M371A1 round utilizes a special fin-stabilized projectile which employs the
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 ...
principle to defeat armor. It does not depend upon the warhead's velocity at the moment of impact for its effect, relying instead on the focusing effect of the shape of its explosive filler. The explosive charge collapses a conical metal liner inside the warhead into an extremely high-velocity superplastic jet. This superplastic jet is capable of penetrating steel armor to a depth of seven or more times the diameter of the explosive charge. The end of the projectile is a long and narrow stand-off of a length that allows the
HEAT In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
warhead to achieve maximum effect against the target. The M371A1 HEAT round is used primarily against armor. It can also be used against secondary targets such as gun emplacements and pillboxes with excellent results. It is capable of penetrating 1.15 ft (350 mm) of
armor plate Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fighti ...
(
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
), 3.5 ft (1.1 m) of packed
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
, or 2.5 ft (0.8 m) of
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
. * Cartridge weight: 9.25 lb (4.2 kg) * Cartridge length: 28.10 in (714 mm) * Projectile weight: 6.75 lb (3.06 kg) * Muzzle velocity: 700 ft/s (213 m/s) * Maximum effective range: 437 yd (400 m) * Fuse: PIBD M530A1


M590 Antipersonnel Canister

The ''Antipersonnel (Canister) Cartridge M590 (XM590E1)'' or M590 cartridge is a flechette round designed for close-in defense against massed infantry attacks. The cartridge consists of an aluminum cartridge case crimped to an aluminum canister. The canister consists of a thin-walled, deep-drawn, aluminum body that contains a payload of 2,400 eight-grain (0.5 g), low-drag, fin-stabilized, steel-wire flechettes. When the canister leaves the muzzle, the pressure ruptures the canister along inscribed score marks to release the flechettes, which disperse in a cone angle of approximately 8 degrees. * Cartridge weight: 6.79 lb (3.08 kg) * Cartridge length: 19.19 in (487 mm) * Projectile weight: 3.97 lb (1.8 kg) * Muzzle velocity: 1,250 ft/s (381 m/s) * Maximum effective range: 328 yd (300 m) * Fuse: none


M591 Antipersonnel round

The ''M591'' is an HE round with a muzzle velocity of .


Performance relative to comparable weapons

''Data is from'' Jane's Infantry Weapons 1984–85


Users


Current

* * *


Former

* * * * * * * * * *


See also

*
M18 recoilless rifle The M18 recoilless rifle is a 57 mm shoulder-fired, anti-tank recoilless rifle that was used by the U.S. Army in World War II and the Korean War. Recoilless rifles are capable of firing artillery-type shells at reduced velocities comparable to t ...


References and notes

* (JIW) Hogg, Ian. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 1984–85'', London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1984.


External links

{{Commons category, M67 recoilless rifle
M67 Field Manual at globalsecurity.org



Vietnam war info

ArmyRanger.com
Cold War weapons of the United States Recoilless rifles of the United States Military equipment introduced in the 1960s