RPG-40

RPG-40 Story

The RPG-40 (ruchnaya protivotankovaya granata, translated as "hand-held tank grenade") was a standard anti-tank grenade used by the Soviet Red Army at the beginning of World War II. As its name suggests, the RPG-40 entered service with the Red Army in 1940. It would also eventually be used by countries allied with the Soviet Union and would see widespread action during World War II.

Early in the conflict, the RPG-40 proved its worth against the first generation of German light tanks (namely the Panzer I and Panzer II series) and even against the Panzer III medium tanks. With the arrival of the better armored medium Panzer IV, and the advent of the powerful Panzer V "Panther" series, the RPG-40 surpassed its anti-tank role in part due to its simple high-explosive (HE) warhead.

The RPG-40 was thus replaced in Red Army service by the improved RPG-43 series in 1943, which had a shaped charge HEAT (high-explosive, anti-tank) warhead and proved more effective against thicker armor.

The RPG-40 design is decidedly Soviet in nature - very simple and easy to produce. It consisted only of a canister warhead mounted on a cylindrical handle. It weighs approximately 2.68 pounds and measures 7.86 inches from top to bottom.

The canister portion of the grenade contains 1.35 pounds of TNT (trinitrotoluene). The explosive properties of the RPG-40 were activated by contact, which meant that Soviet soldiers only needed to throw the RPG-40 at or at the intended target.

However, this also means that soldiers must be exposed to the battlefield environment, and because the RPG-40 is heavier than traditional hand grenades, it also means that soldiers must be relatively close to enemy vehicles. The 760 grams of TNT in the warhead can penetrate up to 20 mm of armor protection.

In addition to the Red Army, the RPG-40 was used by the armed forces of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

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