Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifle

The Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifle (sometimes spelled Carl Gustav) is an 84mm anti-tank weapon developed in 1946 by Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors Carl Gustaf AB (now part of SAAB-Bofors Dynamics), based on their work in 1940-42 on the 20mm Pansarvärnsgevär m/42, a shoulder-fired recoilless anti-tank rifle that was obsolete by the time it was ready for production, with only around 1,000 being manufactured. The larger 84mm launcher was intended as an equivalent to WW2 shaped-charge anti-tank launchers such as the Bazooka, Panzerschreck and PIAT. Unlike these weapons, it is a rifled gun firing a spin-stabilised projectile. The 84mm caliber is said to have been a result of the design team using barrels from four old m/1894-06 8.4cm rifled cannons from a fortress in Tingstäde, Gotland in their initial prototypes.
As a recoilless rifle, on firing the weapon discharges material (in this case, propellant gas) from its rear venturi tube of equal mass to the projectile, resulting in a net force close to zero. A host of different projectiles are available for different applications, with various antitank HEAT rounds including standoff rod and tandem-charge rounds for defeating explosive reactive armour, anti-personnel HE and anti-personnel / light vehicle / fortification HEDP rounds, and tactical smoke and parachute flare rounds.
The initial M1 version was adopted by the Swedish military in 1948 as the 8,4 cm Granatgevär m/48 (Grg m/48), and the first export version, the M2, was first produced in 1964. Since then it has been adopted by numerous countries and been through two further revisions, with the lightened M3 (m/86 domestically) entering production in 1991 and the shorter M4 being produced in 2014: the United States Army is currently evaluating the latter under the name M3E1 as a possible replacement for their stocks of M3s. Japanese arms manufacturer Howa produces a licensed copy of the M2, the Howa 84 RR.
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==Specifications==
(1946-1964 (M1), 1964-present (M2), 1991-present (M3), 2014-present (M4))
Type: Recoilless rifle / rocket launcher (HEAT RAP round is rocket-assisted)
Caliber: 84x246mm R
Length: 42in (1065mm) (M1/M2), 44in (1,130mm) (M3), 37in (950mm) (M4)
Weight Unloaded: 31 lb (M1/M2), 22 lb (M3), 15 lb (M4), + 2 lb for optional bipod
Feed System: Manual single-shot loading via hinged venturi tube
Fire Modes: Single shot
Crew: Typically 2
The Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle can be seen in the following films, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
==Carl Gustaf M2==
The M2 was the first export version of the Carl Gustaf, introduced in 1964 and replaced by the M3 in 1991. A variant called the M2-550 featured a new optic scope which included a laser rangefinder; this was also compatible with the original M2's scope bracket mount, and is no longer marketed as a separate model.
=== Film ===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Notation 	Date
Men of War 	Dolph Lundgren 	Nick Gunar 	 	1994
Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris 	 	JGSDF personnel 	Howa 84RR 	1999
Battlefield Earth 	Kim Coates 	Carlos 	 	2000
LOC Kargil 	 	Indian Army soldiers	 	2003
LOC Kargil 	Sunil Shetty 	Sepoy Sanjay Kumar 	 	2003
War of the Worlds 	 	US Army soldiers 	 	2005
Samurai Commando: Mission 1549	 	JGSDF 	Howa 84RR 	2005
Postal 	 	 	Seen in bunker arsenal	2007
Terminator: Genisys 	Arnold Schwarzenegger	Terminator 	 	2015
=== Anime ===
Film Title 	Character 	Notation 	Date
Patlabor: The Movie	JGSDF soldiers 	Howa 84RR	1989
Mad Bull 34 	NYPD ESU officers	 	1990
Saikano 	JGSDF soldiers 	Howa 84RR	2006
The Skull Man 	 	 	2009
Canaan 	 	 	2009
Coppelion 	Oyakata Kurobe 	 	2013
Coppelion 	Ibara Naruse 	 	2013
=== Video Games ===
Game Title 	Appears as 	Mods	Notation 	Release Date
Tomb Raider III 	Rocket Launcher 	 	 	1998
Operation Flashpoint 	 	 	 	2001
Time Crisis 3 	 	 	Unusable 	2003
World in Conflict 	 	 	 	2007
Far Cry 2 	Carl G Rocket Launcher	 	Incorrectly shown firing laser-guided ammunition with manual detonation capability	2008
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker 	Carl G 	 	Fires HEAT, HE or "Fulton" rounds 	2010
Squad 	Carl Gustav M2 	 	 	2015
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades	Carl Gustaf 	 	 	2016
Caliber 	 	 	 	2019
==Carl Gustaf M3==
The M3 is a broad package of improvements to the Carl Gustaf including a new lightweight carbon-fibre tube replacing the older model's steel, a new scope bracket design, redesigned iron sights, and an integral carry handle. Adopted by the United States military as the M3 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS) or Ranger Anti-tank Weapons System (RAWS).
===Film===
Title 	Actor	Character	Notation	Release Date
The Last Stand	 	 	 	2013
=== Video Games ===
Game Title 	Appears as 	Mods 	Notation 	Release Date
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat 	Carl-Gustaf M3 	 	EU faction 	2005
Battlefield: Bad Company 	 	 	 	2008
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 	M2 Carl Gustav AT	 	shown with fictitious homing capabilities	2010
ArmA II 	M3 MAAWS 	 	Operation Arrowhead expansion 	2009
SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs 	MAAWS 	 	Pick-up weapon only 	2011
Call of Duty: Ghosts 	MAAWS 	w/ laser sight	Incorrectly holds 2 guided rockets 	2013
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare 	 	w/ laser sight	 	2014
Far Cry 4 	 	 	Used as menu icon for "LK-1018" weapon 	2014
Squad 	M3 MAAWS 	 	 	2015
Far Cry 5 	"RAT4" 	 	 	2018
House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn	Rocket Launcher 	 	With built-in crosshair 	2018
Insurgency: Sandstorm 	M3 MAAWS 	 	 	2018
Far Cry New Dawn 	 	 	Scope and SACLOS functionality 	2019
Ghost Recon Breakpoint 	 	 	 	2019
==Carl Gustaf M4==
The latest version of the Carl Gustaf, this variant is shorter and lighter than the M3 (and less than half the weight of the M2). It is designed for connectivity with "intelligent" computerized sighting units and future programmable ammunition, and includes an automatic round counter to simplify maintenance of the weapon's bore liner. The M4 was adopted by the Slovak Republic in 2015 and is currently undergoing trials with the US Army under the name "M3E1" as a possible replacement for their existing stocks of M3s. 
In September 2017, the US Army purchased 1,111 M3E1 launchers and issued an Urgent Material Release to field them as soon as possible, with the US Marine Corps following suit in November with a plan to acquire 1,200 launchers, with one to be fielded by each USMC infantry squad. The USMC is also considering the weapon as a replacement or supplement for the Mk 153 SMAW in combat engineer units.
=== Film ===
Title 	Actor	Character 	Notation	Release Date
Civil War	 	Federal soldiers	 	2024
=== Video Games ===
Game Title 	Appears as 	Mods 	Notation 	Release Date
ArmA III 	"MAAWS Mk4" 	Mod 0 variant with optical sight, Mod 1 variant with fire control system	Added in 2018 update 	2013
Far Cry 5 	"RAT4" 	Grips reversed, M3-style front sight 	Incorrectly fires guided missiles	2018
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 	"Strela-P" 	 	 	2019
Battlefield 2042 	"Recoilless M5"	 	 	2021
Far Cry 6 	"RAT4" 	 	Scope and SACLOS functionality 	2021
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II	"Strela-P" 	 	 	2022
= See Also =
* Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärfaktori - A list of weapons built by Carl Gustafs.
* Howa - A list of all weapons manufactured by Howa.
Category:Gun
Category:Missile Launcher