M72 LAW
Sign in to saveAlso known as M72, LAW, M72 rocket launcher, 66 mm rocket launcher M72, Light Anti-Tank Weapon, Light Anti-Armor Weapon
US antitank rocket launcher
Key facts
- Type
- Anti-tank Disposable rocket-propelled grenade launcher
- Place of origin
- United States
- In service
- 1963–present
- Used by
- See Operators
- Wars
- Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Laotian Civil War Sino-Vietnamese War , Lebanese Civil War Nicaraguan Revolution Falklands War Salvadoran Civil War Gulf War Bougainville Civil War Somali Civil War Bosnian War War in Afghanistan Iraq War Syrian Civil War Yemeni Civil War Russo-Ukrainian War Gaza war
- Designer
- FA Spinale, CB Weeks and PV Choate
- Designed
- Patent filed 1963
- Manufacturer
- Norway: NAMMO ( Raufoss , Norway) U.S.: NAMMO Defense Systems ( Mesa , Arizona ) Turkey: under license by MKEK
- Produced
- 1963–1980, 2004–present
- Mass
- 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) (M72A1–3) / 3.6 kg (7.9 lb) (M72A4–7)
- Length
- 630 mm (24.8 in) (unarmed), 881 mm (34.67 in) (armed)
- Caliber
- 66 mm (2.6 in)
- Muzzle velocity
- 145 m/s (480 ft/s)(M72A1–3), 200 m/s (660 ft/s)(M72A4–7)
- Effective firing range
- 200 m (660 ft), 220 m (720 ft) (A4–7)
- Detonation mechanism
- Point-initiated, base-detonated
via Wikipedia infobox
~20 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The M72 LAW (light anti-tank weapon, also referred to as the light anti-armor weapon or LAW as well as LAWS: light anti-armor weapons system) is a main-portable 66 mm (2.6 in) disposable unguided anti-tank weapon.
In early 1963, the M72 LAW was adopted by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps as their primary individual infantry anti-tank weapon, replacing the M31 HEAT rifle grenade and the M20A1 "Super Bazooka" in the U.S. Army. It was subsequently adopted by the U.S. Air Force to serve in an anti-emplacement and anti-armor role in airbase defense.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “M72 LAW” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.