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The Carl Gustav is the common name for the 84mm recoilless rifle anti-tank weapon from the Carl Gustav company in Sweden. The Carl Gustav was first introduced in 1946, and while similar weapons of the era have generally disappeared, the Carl Gustav remains in widespread use today, and is even being introduced into new roles. Troops often refer to it as the 84 or Carl G.

The Carl Gustav was first introduced into Swedish service in 1946, filling the same role as the US Army Bazooka, British PIAT and German Panzerschreck. Unlike these weapons, however, the Carl G used a rifled barrel for spin-stabilizing its rounds, as opposed to fins used on the other system. In addition, the use of the recoilless firing system allowed the Carl G to contain considerably more propellant, firing its rounds at 290 m/s, as opposed to about 105 m/s for the Panzerschreck or Bazooka.

The result is considerably better accuracy at longer ranges; the Carl G could attack targets at 700 metres, easily besting the Bazooka and PIAT, and only being matched in range by the Panzerschreck. At these ranges the weapon was only effective against large non-moving targets; the slow speed of the projectile made attacking moving targets something to be done at ranges out to 400m, still at least twice that of the competing systems.

The basic weapon consists of the main tube with the breech-mounted recoil damper, with two grips near the front and a shoulder plate. The weapon is fitted with iron sights, but is normally aimed with the attached 2x optical sight with a 17 degree field of view. Luminous front and rear adaptors are available for night work with the iron sights. The Carl G can be fired from the standing, kneeling or prone positions. When fired on flat surfaces the weapon is normally supported by a bipod attached in front of the shoulder piece. A small operating handle ("Venturi Lock") "cracks" the "Venturi" to one side for reloading. The weapon is normally operated by a two-man crew, one carrying and firing the weapon, the other carrying and reloading ammo.

The Carl Gustav was soon being sold around the world, and became one of the primary squad-level anti-tank weapons for most of the Western European armies. In 1964 an improved version, known universally as the M2, was introduced and quickly replaced the original version. An even newer M3 version was introduced in 1991, which used a thin steel liner containing the rifling, made strong by a carbon fibre barrel on the outside, and all external parts were replaced with aluminum or plastic versions. This reduced weight considerably, the empty weapon falling from the M2's 14.2kg to the M3's 8.5kg.

Improvements to the ammunition have been continuous, and while the HEAT rounds have less effect against modern armor, the weapon has found new life as a bunker-buster with a High Explosive Dual Purpose (HEDP) round with less armor piercing capability but much more explosive. Straight high explosive (HE), smoke and starshell (flare) ammunition is also available. Flares have to be fired at a very step angle, creating a danger for the gunner as the backblast from the propellant charge might burn him. For that reason several armies, including the Swedish, have retired the flare rounds.

In recent years the weapon has found new life in a variety of roles, the British and US special forces use the M3's in the bunker-busting role, while the German army maintains small numbers of M2's for battlefield illumination. Many armies continue to use it as an anti-armor weapon however, and against the majority of threats faced on the modern battlefield, namely 1950s and 60s era Soviet tank designs or even lighter vehicles, the weapon remains one of the world's best.

The Carl Gustav was used in the bunker-busting role by soldiers of Canada's famed Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment in anti-terrorist operations in Afghanistan. They developed a new system for firing at night, which involved a night-scope equipped spotter firing tracers at the target, the Carl G gunner then aiming at the spot where the tracer rounds hit. While practicing this technique several members were killed in a friendly fire incident by a bomb dropped from a USAF fighter.

Specifications
For M2:

Calibre: 84mm
Length: 1130 mm
Weight: 14.2 kg (18.5 kg loaded)
For M3:

Calibre: 84mm
Length: 1070 mm
Weight: 8.5 kg (12.5 kg loaded)
Ammunition:

(Canadian designations are used, others are similar, replacing the "FFV")

FFV441 is a HE Shrapnel round, useful in a "lobbed" trajectory to 1,000m, which can be fused to fire on impact or airburst.
FFV469 is a smoke round fired like the FFV441, with a range of about 1,300m.
FFV502 is a dual-use HEDP round.
FFV551 is the primary HEAT round, with a range of about 700m, effective against moving targets at up to 400m. Penetration is 400mm of rolled steel armor.
FFV552 is a practice round with the same balistics as the 551.
FFV545 is an illuminating starshell, fired straight up to 2,300m, providing 400m radius illumination.
FFV651 is a newer HEAT round using mid-flight rocket assistance for ranges up to 1,000m. In theory it has less penetration that the FFV551, but it includes a new stand-off probe for the fuse to improve performance against reactive armor.


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We picked up this weapon to replace the M-69 (90mm) RR. The M-3 version serves with the 75th Ranger Regiment at the company level.

A list of users I came up with...

UK, Canada, Denmark, India, Venezuela, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, USA, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal

Swedish soldiers with M-2
Gurkha soldiers in Indian service with M-2
Indian soldiers with M-2
M-3 system

Attached Images

	Sweden M-2 00.jpg (44.3 KB, 278 views)
	India M-2 05.jpg (51.6 KB, 273 views)
	India M-2 01.jpg (56.2 KB, 271 views)
	m3_cg_300.jpg (25.7 KB, 272 views)

FlyingCaddy

Im confused does it use a rocket or gun powder proprellant? Second is it similar to a missle or a bullet?

sniperdude411

It's more similar to a missile (but 290 m/s is very fast), and rocket propellant and gunpowder is very similar, so it uses both.

Shek

Think of it as the Western equivalent to the RPG-7.

sniperdude411

It'd be a bullet if it was a KE projectile.

hammerhead2

The Carl Gustav is actually a recoiless rifle. the round's propellant charge is completely consumed before the projectile leaves the launcher, as opposed to other types of antitank weapons which tends to be rocket-propelled.

The 84's versatility is its ability to use different types of ammunition under different operational circumstances, However 84 rounds are bulky and heavy and that limits its operational capability unless in a static mode. (RPG gunners can carry their own ammo - at least 4-6 rounds - without the need for an ammo carrier) The launcher is also heavy and bulky and lugging one around (together with your personal arm) is a chore. The enormous and very strong backblast it creates on firing is definitely a minus as this makes it unsuitable for urban warfare (the gunner can be fried if there is insufficient open space behind the launcher venturi to disperse the backblast) Actual tests has shown that the backblast is strong enought to shatter wooden crates within 1-2 metres from the launcher venturi. In other combat situations, the distinctly visible backblast helps the enemy pinpoint the gunner location for elimination!!

During my operational days, one of the 84 rounds we are trained to fire is the HE "star-burst". This round is actually a HE round for general soft-skin targets, but when fused to fire and explodes in the air and over the targets, it spews out steel bearing to hit troops hiding behind cover.

Otherwise, the 84 is a blast!

Bob Jones

Oh its a blast alright, right in your face if you happen to be the unlucky No 2 who looks behind the firer to make sure no one is in the back blast area, first time we fired them I was acting the No2 not prepared for the smack in the face I was about to receive, huge shock wave, felt like I`d been punched in the nose by a heavyweight boxer,

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Ex1 RTR MIB

braindead

As I´ve only witnessed shooting the Gustaf from 50metres , I wonder is it true or urban legend - that shooting of an RPG/gren.launcher by a man who has caught cold the ´vacuum´immediately after shot will remove all snot from shooters nasal cavities ?

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entropy

The quick removal of a ratther big quantity of muscous substance would tear your nasal cavities away.

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If memory serves...

braindead

hte original story went like this : a NCO was giving training on B-300 rocket launcher , had caught horrible cold and after the shot his nose was clear and all ´muscous substance´ was in a nice lump 3 metres away . Nose was reportedly still on it´s original position .

entropy

That is possible. If we are talking about the nose only, it is most likely that it will happen.

But if one catches more severe cold, like sinusitis, the majority of the slime will reside in your upper air channels, between your eyes and up/inwards. Having those slimes quickly removed would not do good. Take a thin empty plastic bottle, hold it onto your mouth so no air can escape and breathe in. The bottle will shrink in. That would happen with your scull is everything is removed at once!

Gun Grape

Urban Legend. The B-300 is the same as the SMAW. I have fired it with a cold and the above didn't happen. And honestly, I've got a big schnoz, so if it was going to happen, it would have happened to me

braindead