Remember such a wonderful and cute in its absurdity and absolute implausibility action movie in 1985 - "Commando"? Arnold Schwarzenegger starred there, whose hero had to save his little daughter from evil terrorists. So, in several moments Arnie has a strange grenade launcher with four barrels in his hands. Has such ever really existed?
Although the movie "Commando" is a well-known example of "realistic" action movies, the grenade launcher is fine there. He shoots, of course, in a cinematic way, but in principle such a model of weapons really exists. It is called the M202A1 FLASH grenade launcher. The last word is translated as "flash" and at the same time is an inverse abbreviation of "Flame Assault Shoulder "(by the highlighted first letters of each word).
Interesting fact: the American motion picture "Commando" was directed by Mark Lester in 1985. The lead role was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played the retired Colonel John Matrix. The plot of the film is simple: terrorists kidnap the daughter of the main character for the purpose of blackmail, demanding that he kill the president of a Latin American country. However, Matrix deceives the terrorists and finds a way to save his child, paving the way from the corpses to the rescue! With a budget of $ 10 million, the film was able to raise as much as $ 57.4 million. Today, Commando is considered one of the classic action films of the 1980s, spawning tons of Easter eggs in popular culture.
The grenade launcher was developed in 1968 by engineers at the Edgewood arsenal of Northrop corporations. The main feature of this weapon (as it is easy to see) is the presence of four launch tubes at once. They are loaded with 66 mm M74 incendiary rocket-propelled grenades. The grenade launcher is intended to defeat enemy manpower and fire at fortifications. The action of the incendiary mixture with which the M202A1 ammunition is charged is superior to napalm in its effectiveness.
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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 there. It was supplied to the troops as a replacement for the traditional infantry flamethrowers, which have not changed in the US army since World War II. It turned out (what a surprise) that to shoot incendiary shells at remote fortifications is much more efficient and safer for personnel than trying to crawl up to them with a tank of flammable liquid behind back.
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Surely, 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 is the classic singles shooting. The second is a salvo mode, which releases all rocket-propelled grenades loaded at the moment at once. The maximum firing range of the grenade launcher is 730 meters. Effective firing range at group targets - no more than 640 meters. For single targets - only 200 meters.
The grenade launcher is produced and used to this day.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about what German trophies were valued by the Red Army most.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/020520/54368/