Wow, speaking of RPGs I play a lot of SPWaW and WinSPMBT and I was wondering. In SPMBT (It's a turn based post WW2 (the other is WW2) hex war game and very good as well as free!) I have knocked out several mark 2 Abrams with soviet troops using RPG's in scenarios fromt he 90's. Indeed I find the RPG a deadly AT weapon when fired from ambush at 100 yards or less. But the Iraq invasion suggests the the RPG is not that effective against the US tanks and that few have been knocked out. Is there a reason behind this? Are AT rounds not being used as presumably they are rarer for the insurgiants to have than the HE rounds? Are they using older or "export" versions or even Iraqi made copies which are not as affective? Does training play an important role in striking and affecting targeting of the RPG's? Or is my game unrealistic? FNG
AFAIK all RPG rounds are of one type; HEAT - high explosive anti tank. They are not very effective against modern MBTs many of which have taken dozens of hits to little effect. Of course they can get lucky and there are places that are more vulnerable than others. As HE rounds they aren't as effective as a true HE round of the same size would be because the explosive power is mostly directed in a narrow cone in one direction and the fragmentation is haphazard since they weren't designed as anti-personnel weapons.
Well, the RPG used by the insurgents in Iraq is namely the RPG 7, maybe with a few antiqued RPG 2s. The standard rocket round for the RPG PG-7VM, which does not contain the explosive penetrating power to defeat modern MBTs. However, there was a newer rocket consisting of a tandem HEAT grenade, called the PG-7VR, which greatly improved the longtivity of the RPG 7. Fortunately, the insurgents do not have access to this rocket, and if they do, in very limited numbers. The Soviets also developed a Thermobaric round for the RPG 7 as well. I don't think I'd want to stand less than a thousand metres from the point of that impact! PG-7VR is the top rocket.
