Remember the 1985 action movie Commando? Arnold Schwarzenegger starred there, whose hero had to save his little daughter from evil terrorists. In a few moments, Arnie has a strange grenade launcher with four barrels flashing in his hands. Did such a thing ever exist?
Although the movie “Commando” is a well-known example of “realistic” action films, everything is in order with the grenade launcher. He shoots, of course, in a cinematic way, but in principle such a weapon model really exists. It is called the M202A1 FLASH grenade launcher.
Interesting Facts:
The American movie “Commando” was filmed in 1985 by director Mark Lester. Arnold Schwarzenegger was chosen to play the lead role of retired Colonel John Matrix. The plot of the film is that terrorists kidnap the protagonist’s daughter for the purpose of blackmail, demanding that he kill the president of a Latin American country. Matrix finds a way to save her child by building a path of corpses to salvation! The film grossed $57.4 million on a $10 million budget. And today Commando is considered one of the classic action movies of the 1980s.RELATED:
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The grenade launcher was developed in 1968 by the engineers of the Edgewood Arsenal of Northrop corporations. The main feature of this weapon is the presence of four launch tubes at once. They load 66mm rocket-powered M74 incendiary rocket-propelled grenades. The grenade launcher is designed to destroy enemy manpower and shelling fortifications. The action of the incendiary mixture, with which the M202A1 ammunition is loaded, is superior in its effectiveness to napalm.
By the way, about napalm. Vietnam became one of the main testing grounds for American weapons in the 20th century. Actually, the M202A1 FLASH grenade launcher was also first used in Vietnam. It was supplied to the troops as a replacement for traditional infantry flamethrowers, which had not changed in the US Army since World War II. It turned out that firing incendiary projectiles at distant fortifications is much more effective and safer for personnel than trying to crawl towards them with a tank of flammable liquid on their backs.
Probably many are interested in the question: is it possible to shoot from all four barrels at once? The answer is yes, you can. The M202A1 grenade launcher can fire in two modes. The first one is classic single shooting. The second is the salvo mode, which releases all currently loaded rocket-propelled grenades at once. The maximum firing range of the grenade launcher is 730 meters. The effective range of firing at group targets is no more than 640 meters. For single targets – only 200 meters.