FFV AT4

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Soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division of the US Army with the AT4
US soldier instructs a Bundeswehr soldier in the handling of the AT4

The FFV AT4 is a recoilless anti-tank handgun produced by the state-owned Swedish weapons manufacturer Förenade Fabriksverken (FFV) in Eskilstuna . The company has now merged into Saab Bofors Dynamics. The weapon is produced for the US Army by Alliant Techsystems as the M136 AT4 .

The term AT4 comes from a pun on the caliber of 84 mm, in English eighty-four ( "AT = eighty"), but can also serve as A NTI T be interpreted ank.

Like the FFV Carl Gustaf, the FFV AT4 is a weapon for anti-tank combat in caliber 84 mm. The AT4, developed from 1976 and weighing 6.7 kg, is only intended for single use and cannot be reloaded. With the weapons delivered from 1985 onwards, the FFV Miniman was to be replaced by the Swedish army. The total requirement is said to have been 450,000 pieces.

During demonstrations, the manufacturer showed that the weapon can also be ignited using pull wires and thus used as a vehicle / anti-tank mine .

Firing a normal AT4 from a closed room can be dangerous due to the hot gases escaping. If there is a wall or other solid object within 15 meters of the firing soldier, the recoil flame can also strike back at the soldier. For this reason, especially for the urban warfare version AT4 CS (Confined Spaces) developed. This uses a counter-mass of salt water to dampen the recoil flame. The cost of an AT4 CS in 2004 was $ 2,700.

Technology and structure

AT4 84 mm

The 1020 mm long weapon consists of a fiberglass tube with an aluminum exhaust nozzle. In the barrel is the 1.8 kg grenade with the propellant charge . Otherwise the weapon only consists of a folding shoulder rest, a simple sight and the trigger mechanism. At least in the US version, a telescopic sight or another optical aiming aid, for example a residual light amplifier, can also be mounted.

variants

  • AT4 HEAT : For fighting armored vehicles. Armor penetration +350 mm RHA . Operating distance 20–400 m.
  • AT4 HP : For fighting armored vehicles. Armor penetration +500 mm RHA. Operating distance 20–300 m.
  • AT4 RS : For fighting armored vehicles. Armor penetration +350 mm RHA. Operating distance 20–300 m.
  • AT4 ER : For fighting armored vehicles. Armor penetration +400 mm RHA. Operating distance 20–500 m.
  • AT4 AST : For combating building structures. Operating distance 20–400 m.
  • AT4 HE : Version with fragmentation warhead. Operational distance 20–1,000 m.

Technical specifications

(According to FAS.org and Inetres.com)

  • Length: 1,020 mm
  • Total weight: 6.7 kg
  • Caliber: 84 mm
  • Length of the grenade: 440 mm
  • Weight of the bullet: 1.8 kg
  • Weight of the shaped charge: 0.44 kg
  • Muzzle velocity: 285 meters per second
  • Penetration capacity: over 356 mm RHA
  • Minimum shooting distance: 10 m
  • Maximum effective range: 300 m
  • Total range: 2100 m
  • Optical visor with 50 m graduation

Users

  • ArgentinaArgentina Argentina
  • Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • BrazilBrazil Brazil
  • ChileChile Chile
  • DenmarkDenmark Denmark - Local name PVV M / 95 (Panserværnsvåben Model 1995)
  • EstoniaEstonia Estonia
  • FranceFrance France - Local name ABL (Anti Blindé Léger)
  • GreeceGreece Greece
  • IraqIraq Iraq - The US supplied the AT4 by the thousands to the Iraqi military, which needed armor-piercing weapons to stop suicide bombers who used improvised armored car bombs in the narrow streets of the city against advancing coalition forces in the Battle of Mosul in late 2016 .

literature

  • Günter Wollert, Reiner Lidschun, Wilfried Copenhagen : small arms . (1945-1985). In: Illustrated encyclopedia of rifles from around the world . 5th edition. tape 1 + 2 . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-89488-057-0 , weapons, p. 365-366 .

Web links

Commons : FFV AT4  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f AT4 Shoulder-launched Weapons. (PDF) In: Saab Bofors Dynamics. saab.com, accessed March 23, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Technical data of the AT4 on FAS.org (accessed on January 7, 2009)
  3. ↑ Inetres.com with technical data for the AT4 (accessed on January 7, 2009)
  4. ↑ Thomas Gibbons-Neff: ISIS video shows how the group has turned car bombs into its version of airstrikes. Washington Post November 15, 2016