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The R-115 was a Brazilian surface-to-surface bombardment rocket developed for use by the Brazilian navy and marine forces during the late 1960's. The R-115 comprised metal, fin-less rockets fired from 12-tube mobile launchers. The rockets were armed with a 1.35 kg warhead and had a maximum range of 7.5 km.
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The RAAM (rifle-launched anti-armour munition) is an American anti-tank rocket-boosted bullet-trap rifle grenade, designed during the 1990s and equipped with a tandem, shaped charge warhead capable of being fired from any M16A2 rifle by means of a disposable plastic adapter which is slipped over the rifle's muzzle. On impact, the RAAM's two shaped charges fire in rapid succession; the first charge designed to remove reactive armour leaving the second charge to penetrate the then exposed standard armour. The RAAM has a maximum range of 250 metres and can penetrate armour more than 400 mm thick.
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The rabinet was a British cannon with a 1-inch bore firing a 0.5 lb shot.
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The Raikka 120 is a Finnish vehicle-mounted recoilless gun operating on the counter-mass principle, whereby the projectile is loaded into the centre of the barrel and upon firing a mass of sane, iron fillings, water or other substance is projected back with the same force as that generated by the projectile travelling forwards, thereby counter balancing the weapon and producing no recoil. The Raikka 120 has a calibre of 120 mm and fires a 6 kg shell with a muzzle velocity of 1500 metres per second to a range of over 15 km.
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The Raikka 150 is a Finnish vehicle-mounted recoilless gun operating on the counter-mass principle, whereby the projectile is loaded into the centre of the barrel and upon firing a mass of sane, iron fillings, water or other substance is projected back with the same force as that generated by the projectile travelling forwards, thereby counter balancing the weapon and producing no recoil. The Raikka 150 has a calibre of 150 mm and fires a 42 kg shell with a muzzle velocity of 400 metres per second to a range of over 10 km.
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The Raikka 41 is a Finnish man-portable recoilless gun operating on the counter-mass principle, whereby the projectile is loaded into the centre of the barrel and upon firing a mass of sane, iron fillings, water or other substance is projected back with the same force as that generated by the projectile travelling forwards, thereby counter balancing the weapon and producing no recoil. The Raikka 41 has a calibre of 41 mm and fires a 1 kg shell with a muzzle velocity of 170 metres per second to a range of 200 metres.
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The Raikka 55 is a Finnish man-portable recoilless gun operating on the counter-mass principle, whereby the projectile is loaded into the centre of the barrel and upon firing a mass of sane, iron fillings, water or other substance is projected back with the same force as that generated by the projectile travelling forwards, thereby counter balancing the weapon and producing no recoil. The Raikka 55 has a calibre of 55 mm and fires a 2 kg shell with a muzzle velocity of 170 metres per second to a range of 200 metres.
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The Raikka 81 is a Finnish vehicle-mounted recoilless gun operating on the counter-mass principle, whereby the projectile is loaded into the centre of the barrel and upon firing a mass of sane, iron fillings, water or other substance is projected back with the same force as that generated by the projectile travelling forwards, thereby counter balancing the weapon and producing no recoil. The Raikka 81 has a calibre of 81 mm and fires a 3.5 kg shell with a muzzle velocity of 1000 metres per second to a range of over 10 km.
A man-portable version of the Raikka 81 fires a 2 kg shell with a muzzle velocity of 350 metres per second and a range of 400 metres.
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The Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a joint American and German all-weather, ship self-defence system designed to combat anti-ship missiles. It provides a lightweight, quick reaction, high firepower and low cost ship-defence capability.
The RAM Block 0 missile uses a wide field of view, radio frequency midcourse and a narrow field of view, infrared terminal guidance. Immediately after launch the RF seeker detects the target, guides the missile and points the IR seeker in the target' s direction, initiating the RF midcourse guidance. With the use of accurate IR terminal guidance, provided by the highly precise IR seeker and proportional navigation, the missile achieves a direct hit or an approach in the direct vicinity of the target. The wide RF field of view provides RAM with a 'shoot around the corner' capability for targets in the shadow of the ship's superstructure. Since RAM uses a passive guidance mode, it does not need any additional shipboard support after launch.
The ship sensors provide target data via the External Designation System (EDS) to the RAM GMWS. After target designation from the EDS, the launcher is directed to the firing position and the missiles are prepared and fired against the incoming targets with the priority provided by the EDS. Since its initial operational capability in 1993, RAM Block 0 has had successful intercepts in 113 of 117 production proofing and ship qualification test flights in both the United States and German Navies. The proliferation of passive ASCMs lead to the necessity to upgrade the RAM system.
The RAM Block I Infrared Mode Upgrade (IRMU) gives RAM the capability to engage RF-passive ASCMs by means of a jointly developed IR seeker and IR image acquisition technique. Block I development testing was successfully initiated aboard the USS Gunston Hall with two successful firings each of Block I and Block 0 missiles. Block I development testing continued aboard the unmanned, remotely controlled Self-Defence Test Ship (SDTS). The RAM Block I missile successfully intercepted an Exocet MM38, supersonic VANDAL and other Navy targets.
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A rampart gun is a cannon or large gun for use on a rampart and not as a fieldpiece.
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The Rarden (L21A1) is a British long-recoil automatic, aimed, single-shot cannon designed during the 1960's for the destruction of APCs at a range of 1000 meters, the penetration of main battle tank armour from the side, the destruction of soft targets and as a deterrent against low flying slow aircraft and helicopters with accuracy as the prime consideration. The Rarden is chambered for a 30 mm cartridge which it takes from a 3-round clip and fires at a rate of about 90 rounds per minute. Rarden was mounted on the Scimitar tracked reconnaissance vehicle during the 1970's.
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The RAW (Rifleman's Assault Weapon) is an American rifle launched rocket-propelled projectile consisting of a 140 mm diameter metal spherical warhead containing 1 kg of plastic explosive designed for attacking concrete and sand-bagged defences in urban situations where tanks cannot safely approach. The RAW has a maximum range of 1500 metres and can penetrate more than 200 mm of concrete.
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The Bofors RBS-70 is a Swedish portable anti-aircraft missile system consisting of three components: sight, launching stand and missile. The 1320 mm long missile is guided to the target by a semi-automatic laser beam-rider, and has a range of 5000 meters, and flies at supersonic speed. The RBS-70 takes 30 seconds to deploy and 10 seconds to reload.
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Recoilless guns and recoilless rifles, so called on account of their slight or non-existent recoil, don't require heavy mountings or recoil systems, and so can be mounted on a light carriage or clamped to a vehicle.
Recoilless guns came into prominence shortly after the end of the Second World War for infantry weapons designed to project large HEAT projectiles accurately to a range in excess of 1000 metres.
Recoilless guns suffer from a number of disadvantages: 80% of the propellant in a recoilless gun is fired out of the back of the breech to balance the recoil effect of the projectile being fired. This propellant fired out of the back of the gun produces a loud blast and a bright flash which makes the gun easy for an enemy to locate, and poses a threat to troops standing behind the weapon. Recoilless guns suffer from a low muzzle velocity, as they cannot use too much propellant because of the back blast. The ammunition for recoilless guns is large and bulky since the cartridge needs to hold five times the amount of propellant that would be required for the same shell fired from an ordinary gun.
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The RGB-60 is a Russian depth charge rocket used to attack submarines . It is an unguided solid propellant projectile with an impact time fuse. The maximum firing range is 6,000 metres and the maximum target submarine engagement depth is 500 metres. The rocket weight is 110 kg and the explosive weight 25 kg.
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The Rheinmetall Rh 202 is a German 20 mm calibre cannon primarily employed in anti-aircraft roles both as an infantry weapon and mounted on ships. The Rh 202 has a maximum range of 7000 meters, with an effective range of between 500 and 2500 metres and fires at a rate of between 800 and 950 rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of 1050 meters-per-second.
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The Rh 202 AA Gun is a German air defence gun based upon two Rh 202 20 mm cannons mounted on a two-wheeled towed trailer fitted with computer control systems for target tracking.
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The Rheinmetall MK 20 is a German 20 mm calibre, gas-operated cannon developed for ground based surface-to-surface and surface-to-air applications and later adopted for use as an aircraft gun. It has a variable rate of fire of between 800 and 1000 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of between 1050 and 1150 meters-per-second depending upon ammunition, giving an effective range of 2000 metres.
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A ribadoquin was a mediaeval engine of war, consisting of a kind of chariot fortified with iron spikes, placed in front of an army arrayed for battle. In the 14th century ribadoquins were also equipped with small cannons.
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The Rifle Grenade GL Type I Model 61 is a Spanish rifle launched anti-tank grenade. The Rifle Grenade GL Type I Model 61is armed with a shaped charge warhead and is fitted with a delay and percussion fuse. The Rifle Grenade GL Type I Model 61 has an effective range of 100 metres and flies with a velocity of 54 metres per second.
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The Rifle Grenade GL Type II Model 63 B is a Spanish rifle launched fragmentation and anti-tank grenade. The Rifle Grenade GL Type II Model 63 B is fitted with a shaped charge warhead capable of penetrating 150 mm of armour plate and 400 mm of concrete and has a maximum range of 425 metres. The Rifle Grenade GL Type II Model 63 B has an anti-personnel killing zone of six metres around the point of detonation.
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The Rimailho 1904TR was a French 155 mm howitzer developed in 1904 as a quick firing large howitzer and used until about 1916. The Rimailho 1904TR fired a 92.5 lb high-explosive shell to a range of 6000 metres with a muzzle velocity of 320 meters-per-second at a rate of up to 15 rounds-per-minute.
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A rimbase is short cylinder connecting a trunnion with the body of a cannon.
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The RL-83 'Blindicide' is a Belgian, shoulder-fired anti-tank rocket launcher. The RL-83 is an 83 mm calibre weapon and fires HEAT and HE anti-personnel rounds at a muzzle velocity of 100 m/s with an effective range of between 400 and 900 metres depending upon the ammunition being fired. The RL-83 can penetrate 300 mm of armour or 1000 mm of concrete.
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The RLC-83 is a Belgian shoulder-fired anti-tank rocket launcher, developed as a compact version of the RL-83. The RLC-93 has a muzzle velocity of 120 m/s and can penetrate 300 mm of armour or one meter of concrete.
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The Nord Bolkow Roland is a French/German surface-to-air guided missile developed during the 1960s and first issued to the French Army in 1977 and the German army in 1981. Roland was developed to offer protection against low-flying aircraft and helicopters flying at speeds of up to Mach 1.3. Roland carries a 6.5 kg multiple shaped charge warhead and has a range of 6.2 km and a cruising speed of about Mach 2.
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The RPG-16 is a Soviet 58 mm infantry anti-tank missile introduced in the 1970s to replace the RPG-7. It has a 58 mm war head which is effective at ranges up to 800 metres. It has a flight speed of 350 meters-per-second but no guidance system.
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The RPG-2 was a Soviet 40 mm calibre portable rocket launcher developed from the German Second World War Panzerfaust. The RPG-2 fired a fin stabilised 82 mm calibre PG-2 HEAT projectile to an effective range of 150 metres capable of penetrating 180 mm of armour. The RPG-2 had a rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute.
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The RPG-7 is a famous Soviet 85 mm infantry anti-tank missile, now also made in Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan and other countries. The RPG-7 is a 40 mm calibre launcher that fires an 85 mm warhead which is effective at ranges up to 500 meters, and can penetrate 330 mm of armour. It has a flight speed of 300 meters-per-second but no guidance system.
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The RSD 58 was a Swiss surface-to-air-missile developed between 1947 and 1952. The RSD 58 had a range of 30 km and was armed with a 40 kg high-explosive warhead.
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Abbreviations
Warfare
