Type 63 107mm Rocket (original) (raw)

Type 63 107mm Rocket Launcher

Type 81 107mm Rocket Launcher

China's Type 63 107mm rocket launcher looks a bit crude. It's hard to tell whether it's a weapon or an agricultural tool after being covered with mud, and it has nothing to do with high technology or digitalization. Despite its humble appearance, it has repeatedly performed incredible miracles during its more than 50 years of service. Armed forces using it are found all over the world. Known as the "AK-47" in the rocket launcher world. The Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) has 12 tubes arranged in three lines of four tubes each. All the tubes are parallel to each other and mounted co-axially on a cradle. Ammunition used with the MBRL is in the form of Rocket which consists of one piece. Warhead is attached with rocket motor. A fixed amount of propellant is contained in the rocket motor. The rocket is stabilized with a slow spin.

The Type 63 (12-round) MRS is mounted on a rubber-tire split pole type carriage, while the Type 63-I is a packed model for airborne and mountain units. The Type 85 is a single manportable tripod-mounted launcher tube for use by special forces units. The NORINCO Type 81 (12-round) is mounted on a 4X4 truck, with a enlarged cab to accommodate the crew of four and 12 reload rounds. The vehicle suspension is locked for firing, and the entire system can be dismounted from the vehicle and placed on a tow carriage. The launcher can be fired from the cab or from a remote position.

Several variants of North Korean design and manufacture are known to exist [which are evidently without a formal designation in the open literature], in addition to the basic configuration of 12 launch tubes in array of 3 rows of 4 tubes. Two other North Korean self-propelled versions exist: one with 18 tubes and one with 24 tubes. As with the Chinese variants, the North Korean 12-tube launcher can also be can be towed or mounted on a 4 leg stand, or mounted on any suitable wheeled or tracked vehicle.

The Type 63 HE-Fragmentation Spin-Stabilized Rocket is an electrically initiated, rocket incorporating a high-explosive fragmentation warhead. It is normally fired from a trailer- or truck-mounted multiple launcher, but may also be fired from single-tube launchers mounted on small boats. It is a barrage weapon used against personnel and material. Rockets of early manufacture are painted battleship gray or dark green; later rockets are olive drab. The bourrelets and nozzle plate are unpainted. Markings, stenciled in black and providing manufacturing data and nomenclature, may vary on individual rockets. Setscrews lock the adapter to the warhead and the adapter and nozzle plate to the rocket motor. The nozzle closure screws over the base of the nozzle plate. A hole in the center of the nozzle closure is crimped around an insulated stud in the center of the initiator assembly, thus waterproofing the base of the rocket motor. The initiator assembly electrical contact is exposed through the center of the insulated stud. The nozzles are canted to provide spin.

The Type 63-2 Rocket is an 18.8-kilogram (41.5-pound) rocket containing a main charge of TNT weighing 1.3 kilograms (2.9 pounds). The rocket is olive drab with black markings. The warhead is made of metal.

The 107mm spin stabilized incendiary rocket contains an unknown amount of White Phosphorous (WP). The rocket is painted olive drab with black markings. The warhead is made of metal.

Tactically speaking, AK-47, RPG-7 and 107mm rocket launchers each have their own division of labor. For targets beyond 300 meters, the 107mm rocket launcher is a simple, practical, cheap and reliable weapon. The front-line officers and soldiers of the US military who have fought against 107mm rocket launchers on the battlefield are generally in awe of this simple-looking Oriental rocket launcher. In Afghanistan and Iraq, the US military pays great attention to collecting these three weapons.