Panzerfaust Carl Gustav
T-90M Proryv – a WWII launcher said to have shot down Putin’s best tank
The t90M explodes in a fireball.
© Defense of Ukraine/Twitter / PR
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is celebrating the downing of a T90M – said to have been shot down by a Carl Gustav man-portable launcher. Ironically, Swedish experts doubt this success.
Much has been written about the revolutionary T-14 Armata main battle tank in recent years. But this tank is still not really operational. The most modern Russian main battle tank in Ukraine is the T-90M Proryv – hailed by Moscow as almost invincible (Putin’s new old main battle tank T-90M Proryv-3)
The myth has been badly damaged. On Twitter, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense thanked the Swedish people for the arms aid and showed a clip. It is said to show a T-90M being hit by a Swedish rocket launcher and bursting into a fireball. The special thing about it: The Carl Gustav thrower is by no means a modern anti-tank guided missile like Javelin and Co. It goes back to a design from the 1940s. Carl-Gustav is an evolution of weapons like Bazooka and Panzerschreck.
The missile has a short range and must be fired directly at the tank, it cannot track its target on its own. From Germany, Ukraine received a similar system with the Panzerfaust 3. Compared to the weapons from the Second World War, however, the warhead was significantly further developed. Today, a two-stage charge is possible, which is intended to penetrate special armor that would otherwise blow off the special HEAT charges of such missiles.
Difficult but not impossible
But the fact remains: The most modern tank was shot down by a comparatively primitive and cheap weapon, if the description from the Ukraine is correct. It’s not impossible. The Carl Gustav M4’s tandem charge cannot penetrate the frontal armor of the T-90. But the sides are vulnerable. Added to this is the fact that it looks as if the shooter has hit a really lucky shot. As far as can be judged from the video, the tank was hit on the right side in the undercarriage – that’s where the impact landed between the wheels.
Currently, there is a lot of banter about the performance of Russian tanks. But here, too, the operational tactics and not the technology would be the problem. The tank stood as a target in a confusing, wooded area, without the area being secured by infantry. If an enemy shooter manages to get into a favorable position in the thicket, a kill is almost inevitable. A hit in the drive at close range would probably go through just as well on a Leopard tank.
experts doubt
In Sweden of all places, however, there is a contradiction to the Kiev account. Rein Pella, an instructor at the Swedish National Defense School’s Department of Defense Systems, says the impact was too strong to have been caused by a grenade launcher.
In principle, a lucky hit is possible, according to the Swedish expert. However, another shot of the video footage shows another T-90 firing at the first tank. “Everyone in this unit knows that the T90 tank is the most modern in Ukraine. They have been given rules of conduct that under no circumstances should the material get into the hands of the enemy,” Rein Pella told the Swedish newspaper “Expressen.” According to his assessment, Putin lost a tank, which was not primarily shot down, but remained stationary due to an unknown defect and was then destroyed by his own forces. The nice PR story “Putin’s best tank knocked out by WWII launchers” doesn’t seem to be true.
Source: quickdraws