Infantry weapons / Recoilless rifles / B-10
B-10
General Facts
- TYPE
Recoilless rifle - ORIGIN
USSR
- NICKNAMES
RG82 (East German service)
Type 65 (Chinese copy of B-10)
PW78 (Type 78 in Chinese service) - DESIGNED
Early 1950's - DESIGNER
? - PRODUCTION
1954 - ? - PRODUCERS
China - Norinco
USSR
- QUANTITY
Unknown - UNIT COST
Unknown - CHARACTERISTICS
Better range and firepower than SPG-82
Easy to use
Limited costs
Large firing signature and backblast
Limited armor penetration
Rather heavy
Average effective range and poor accuracy
Introduction
The B-10 is a recoilless rifle of Soviet origin. It was developed in the early 1950's to replace the earlier SPG-82 rocket launcher in Soviet service. The B-10 was produced in large numbers for use with Soviet forces and their allies. Although it was soon inadequate against Western armor the B-10 remained in use with many third world nations as a cheap an effective infantry support weapon.
Design
The B-10 is a recoilless rifle of a rather conventional design. It is a smoothbore weapon that is loaded from the rear, through a breech that swivels sideways. A basic optical sight is fitted on the left side of the weapon. The B-10 is fired from a collapsible tripod. An axle with two wheels is attached to the base of the tripod when in transit. Two grips near the muzzle are used to pull the weapon. At least two people are required to operate the weapon effectively.
Firepower
The B-10 fires mortar-like projectiles at a rate of fire of 6 to 7 rounds per minute. High explosive rounds are used against infantry and HEAT rounds against vehicles. The original and most common HEAT rounds pierce 240mm RHA. The Chinese developed more effective rounds that may pierce over 350mm RHA. The effective ant-tank range is 400 meters. The effective range of high explosive rounds is over 1 km, but may reach as far as 4.5 km.
Mobility
The B-10 can easily be pulled by hand over short distances. Over long distances it is to be moved by vehicle. Soviet forces often employed the B-10 from the BTR-50 armored personnel carrier. In many third world countries the B-10 has been fitted on a variety of jeeps and pickup trucks.
Users
The B-10 was widely employed with the Soviet forces since the mid 1950's until it was fully replaced in the 1970's. The B-10 was widely exported and used during most conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. China was also one of the main producers and users of this weapon. Nowadays the B-10 is considered obsolete but remains operational in limited numbers today, mostly with third world nations.
B-10
The B-10 is a conventional recoilless rifle that despite its average performance was produced in very large numbers. The B-10 is the original and most common version, of which the Soviets did not develop any variants. It was produced under license in China as the Type 65, which was a direct copy. The Type 65-1 can be seperated into two part in order to be carried over long distances.
Type | Recoilless rifle |
---|---|
Crew | 2 or 3 |
Caliber | 82 mm |
Length | 1.677 m |
Tube length | 1.659 m |
Width | ? |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 87.6 kg incl wheels |
Firing arc | 360° traverse |
Sights | PBO-2 optical sight, 5.5x for direct fire, 2.5x for indirect fire |
Ammunition | HEAT or HE |
Velocity | 250 m/s for HEAT, 320 m/s for HE |
Penetration | 240 mm RHA (original), 356 mm (improved) |
---|---|
Range | 400 m for HEAT, 1 km for HE, 4.5 km indirect range |
Rate of fire | 6 to 7 rpm |
Remarks | - |
Type | Recoilless rifle |
---|---|
Crew | 2 or 3 |
Caliber | 82 mm |
Length | 1.677 m |
Tube length | 1.659 m |
Width | ? |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 87.6 kg incl wheels |
Firing arc | 360° traverse |
Sights | PBO-2 optical sight, 5.5x for direct fire, 2.5x for indirect fire |
Ammunition | HEAT or HE |
Velocity | 250 m/s for HEAT, 320 m/s for HE |
Penetration | 240 mm RHA (original), 356 mm (improved) |
---|---|
Range | 400 m for HEAT, 1 km for HE, 4.5 km indirect range |
Rate of fire | 6 to 7 rpm |
Remarks | - |
Type 78
The Type 78 is an improved version of the Type 65 and was developed in China. The Type 78 is much lighter than the older Type 65 and can no longer be fitted with wheels. A new range of ammunition was developed for use with the Type 78 which may also be used in the B-10 and Type 65.
- Specifications:
- Type 78
Type | Recoilless rifle |
---|---|
Crew | 2 or 3 |
Caliber | 82 mm |
Length | ? |
Tube length | ? |
Width | ? |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 34.1 kg |
Firing arc | -6 to +28° elevation, 45° fixed and 360° free traverse |
Sights | Optical |
Ammunition | HEAT or HE |
Velocity | 250 m/s for HEAT, 320 m/s for HE |
Penetration | 240 mm RHA (original), 356 mm (improved) |
---|---|
Range | 500 m for HEAT, 2 km for APERS |
Rate of fire | 5 to 6 rpm |
Remarks | - |
Ammunition for B-10
The B-10 fires ammunition that looks very similar to mortar rounds. Compared to the Soviet 82mm mortar rounds the ammunition for the B-10 is more round at the front and has a longer tail. As with mortar rounds the propellant is wrapped around the tail. Various types of ammunition have been developed, all of which are interchangeable among the original B-10 and later models.
BK-881: Original Soviet HEAT round.
BK-881M: Improved Soviet HEAT round.
O-881: Original Soviet HE-Frag round.
Type 65 (HEAT): Chinese HEAT round, normally used by Type 65.
Type 65 (HE): Chinese HE-Frag round, normally used by Type 65.
Type 82: Improved Chinese HEAT round with rocket propulsion, developed for Type 78.
Type 78: Chinese anti-personnel round filled with steel balls, developed for Type 78.
- Specifications:
- BK-881
- BK-881M
- O-881
- Type 65 (HEAT)
- Type 65 (HE)
- Type 82
- Type 78
Category | Recoilless rifle round |
---|---|
Type | HEAT-FS |
Diameter | 82 mm |
Length | ? |
Weight | 3.87 kg |
Charge | ? |
---|---|
Warhead | HEAT, 0.46 kg RDX |
Fuze | GK-2 PIBD fuze |
Effects | ? |
Velocity | ? |
Range | ? |
---|---|
Accuracy | ? |
Tracer | - |
Remarks | - |
Category | Recoilless rifle round |
---|---|
Type | HEAT-FS |
Diameter | 82 mm |
Length | ? |
Weight | 4.11 kg |
Charge | ? |
---|---|
Warhead | HEAT, 0.53 kg RDX |
Fuze | GK-2M PIBD fuze |
Effects | 240 mm RHA |
Velocity | 322 m/s at muzzle |
Range | ? |
---|---|
Accuracy | ? |
Tracer | - |
Remarks | - |
Category | Recoilless rifle round |
---|---|
Type | HE-Frag |
Diameter | 82 mm |
Length | ? |
Weight | 3.90 kg |
Charge | ? |
---|---|
Warhead | HE-Frag, 0.46 kg TNT/dinitronaphthalen |
Fuze | GK-2 PIBD fuze |
Effects | ? |
Velocity | 320 m/s at muzzle |
Range | 4.5 km indirect |
---|---|
Accuracy | ? |
Tracer | - |
Remarks | - |
Category | Recoilless rifle round |
---|---|
Type | HEAT |
Diameter | 82 mm |
Length | ? |
Weight | 3.5 kg |
Charge | ? |
---|---|
Warhead | HEAT |
Fuze | ? |
Effects | 356 mm RHA |
Velocity | ? |
Range | 300 m effecitve |
---|---|
Accuracy | ? |
Tracer | - |
Remarks | - |
Category | Recoilless rifle round |
---|---|
Type | HE-Frag |
Diameter | 82 mm |
Length | ? |
Weight | 4.6 kg |
Charge | ? |
---|---|
Warhead | HE-Frag |
Fuze | ? |
Effects | ? |
Velocity | ? |
Range | ? |
---|---|
Accuracy | ? |
Tracer | - |
Remarks | - |
Category | Recoilless rifle round |
---|---|
Type | HEAT |
Diameter | 82 mm |
Length | 780 mm |
Weight | 4.35 kg |
Charge | ? |
---|---|
Warhead | HEAT |
Fuze | ? |
Effects | 150 mm RHA at 65 degrees |
Velocity | 252 m/s at muzzle, 460 m/s in flight |
Range | 500 m effective |
---|---|
Accuracy | ? |
Tracer | - |
Remarks | Rocket assisted |
Category | Recoilless rifle round |
---|---|
Type | APERS |
Diameter | 82 mm |
Length | ? |
Weight | 5.1 kg |
Charge | ? |
---|---|
Warhead | APERS, steel balls |
Fuze | ? |
Effects | 23 m lethal radius |
Velocity | 200 m/s at muzzle |
Range | 2.0 km |
---|---|
Accuracy | ? |
Tracer | - |
Remarks | - |