Original U.S. Vietnam Era Rubber Training Aid Russian RPG-7B Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher From Training Sustainment Command Ft Knox - Inert

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a totally inert non-firing full size rubber and steel Russian RPG-7B training aid developed for the U.S. Military during the Vietnam War. The rocket is full sized and removable, it also features aluminum fins. The thin steel tube is surrounded in faux wood (plastic) and all other parts are hard rubber. The sight is solid rubber and not functional. These were essential training props for Special Forces units in preparation for insertion into the jungle during the Vietnam War. This example was produced for the U.S. military and is exceptionally rare.

The side of the trigger group has the correct but minimal markings for a Soviet-made RPG-7B:

ВА-164

A fantastic piece, ready to hang on the wall!

Unloaded or dummy grenades, artillery shell casings, and similar devices, which are cut or drilled in an BATF-approved manner so that they cannot be used as ammunition components for destructive devices, are not considered NFA weapons. This example is in total compliance and is NOT AVAILABLE FOR EXPORT.

History of the RPG:
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. It works by launching a 40mm rocket propelled grenade using the gases escaping the muzzle to expel the rocket from the tube. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union and are now manufactured by the Bazalt company. The weapon has the GRAU index 6G3. The English-language term "RPG", meaning "rocket-propelled grenade", though frequently encountered and reasonably descriptive, is not based on a literal translation.

The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 has made it the most widely used anti-tank weapon in the world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon, and it is manufactured in a number of variants by nine countries. It is also popular with irregular and guerrilla forces. The RPG has been used in almost all conflicts across all continents since the mid-1960s from the Vietnam War to the present day War in Afghanistan. The RPG-7 was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961.

Accurate firing is difficult at ranges over 300 meters and with the RPG-7 the phrase "the closer the better" has always been true. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the mujahideen tended to use the weapon at ranges of less than 80 meters. They were used in the Vietnam war to counter the introduction of the lightly armored M113.

The RPG-7 was used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2005, most notably in Lurgan, County Armagh, where it was used against British Army observation posts and the towering military base at Kitchen Hill in the town. The IRA also used them in Catholic areas of West Belfast against British Army armored personnel carriers and Army forward operating bases (FOB). Beechmount Avenue was renamed "RPG Avenue" because it was chosen many times by the IRA to mount rocket attacks.

In Mogadishu, Somalia, rocket-propelled grenades were used to down two US Black hawk helicopters.

The mujaheddin (in Afghanistan) have formed armored-vehicle hunter/killer teams that work together with as many as 15 RPGs to destroy armored vehicles.