The M72 LAW (light anti-tank weapon, also referred to as the light anti-armor weapon or LAW as well as LAWS: light anti-armor weapons system) is a portable one-shot 66 mm (2.6 in) unguided anti-tank weapon.

The improved M72 LAW is derived from the basic 66mm man-portable, lightweight, direct fire predecessor. The enhanced launcher is a telescoping structure with rifle sights and rubber bumpers...

Jul 31, 2023 · In the Dirty Harry movie, The Enforcer (1976), the filmmakers needed to find a more powerful weapon than Harry Callahan’s Smith & Wesson Model 29. They selected the M72 LAW. The anti-tank weapon entered service with the US military in the early 1960s, and saw use during the Vietnam War.

The creation history of the M72 LAW, known as the "Law" and originally named after a lawman, is an American single-use anti-tank rocket launcher that was officially adopted by the U.S. Armed Forces in 1962. This weapon replaced the M31 rifle grenade and the M20A1 "Super Bazooka," becoming the new standard for individual anti-tank armaments.

Feb 14, 2008 · Replaced the anti-tank rifle grenade and M20 3.5" rocket launcher in U.S. service. Was to have been replaced by the M136 AT4 rocket, but remains in U.S. service to support the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The tubular rocket launcher is a telescoping, smooth-bore, openbreech weapon.

Jul 7, 2011 · These next generation M72LAWs are affordable, highly proliferable weapon systems, compatible with the needs of most modern armed forces. The new M72LAWs offer greater lethality, increased range,...

Jul 4, 2023 · In desperation, one of the Rangers unlimbered a shoulder-fired M72 Light Antitank Weapon (LAW). A U.S. Marine with the 1st Marine Division is on patrol with his unit south of the DMZ in Vietnam. On his back is a M72 LAW anti-tank rocket. Image: NARA.

The M72 Light Anti-Armor Weapon (LAW) is a small, lightweight rocket launcher used by the US military and other NATO countries. It weighs only five-and-a-half pounds. It is so small that it only needs one person, rather than two for the bazooka. It was used often during the Vietnam War.

In the mid-1980s, Talley began to develop the Improved LAW system, which comprised the M72A4, M72A5 and M72A6 rockets. Common features are a new rocket motor, which increases muzzle speed from 150 m/s (500 fps) to 200 m/s (650 fps), and improvements to the launcher for higher accurcy. The difference in the three rockets is the type of warhead.

Every M72-series LAW has an integral high-explosive antitank (HEAT) warhead. The warhead is in the rocket's head (or body) section. The fuze and booster are in the rocket's closure section. The propellant, its igniter, and the fin assembly are in …