The Rocket Propelled Grenade

Description

A comprehensive illustrated study of the RPG The RPG-series of weapons is the most widely used family of lightweight antitank weapons in the world today. RPGs have been used not only against their intended targets, but against personnel, fortifications, buildings, soft-skin vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft. Lightweight, relatively compact, easy to operate and maintain, they meet most of the requirements of any armed group. Like any weapon system, RPGs and their ammunition have their limitations. While these limitations are much touted by proponents of more advanced weapons, they lose sight of many armed groups' requirement for lightweight, compact, inexpensive, easy to operate and maintain weapons. Most sophisticated weapons tend to be just the opposite - heavy, cumbersome, excessively expensive, and requiring extensive training and an advanced support infrastructure. They are also more difficult to obtain due to export controls and restrictions. To be effective, an army actually needs a mix of both sophisticated and uncomplicated weapons. Gordon Rottman provides a detailed analysis, accompanied by photographs and full colour artwork, of perhaps one of the most important weapons to be developed in the 20th century.

Gordon L. Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969-70 and subsequently in airborne infantry, long-range patrol and intelligence assignments until retiring after 26 years. He was a Special Operations Forces scenario writer at the Joint Readiness Training Center for 12 years and is now a freelance writer, living in Texas. He also possesses one of the largest collection of RPG-related materials, manuals and information in private hands.

"This surveys how the rocket propelled grenade, developed just after World War II, grew to have strategic influence beyond expectation. It's one of the most important weapons of this century, and deserves this in-depth coverage." --The Midwest Book Review (December 2010) "It is a fascinating look at the weapon of choice of terrorism and extremism around the world. One that is presented here for the first time in English and one that I can highly recommend." --Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness (October 2010) "In this book which is the only English language book published on the subject, [Gordon L. Rottman] provides his personal experiences of [the grenades'] effectiveness, both from the receiving end of the RPG-2 and RPG-7 and the firing of them." --www.mataka.org (November 2010)