Original Cold War Era Czech Inert SPG-9 Recoilless Anti-Tank Gun Training Rocket – dated 1984 & 1986 Original Items

Original Items: Only One Set Available. This training rocket is totally inert as designed, and was never able to be used as any type of weapon. This cannot be converted to an explosive devise and is not available for export. The rocket measures approximately 34 ½ inches long with a base diameter of 3.25 inches. The base is dated 1984 and the rocket itself is dated 1986.

The SPG-9 Kopye (Spear) is a tripod-mounted man-portable, 73 millimeter caliber recoilless gun developed by the Soviet Union. It fires fin-stabilised, rocket-assisted HE and HEAT projectiles similar to those fired by the 73 mm 2A28 Grom low pressure gun of the BMP-1 armored vehicle. It was accepted into service in 1962, replacing the B-10 recoilless rifle.

This is a very nice Czech Army training set for the SPG-9, available to them through their communist connections during the cold war. Originally this would have had 6 inert training rockets inside, however 3 are missing, as is one of the two canisters that would be on the right side of the case. Each training round is composed of the PG-9 inert rocket and PG-15P Sk propulsion charge.

These were designed to be the exact weight and size of the real thing, and were used for loading drills with the SPG-9 recoilless gun, as doing loading drills with live ordnance was definitely not a good idea. The rockets have fold out fins, held in place by a cardboard sleeve, and there are additional gaskets and spacers in the set.

A very impressive and colorful display item!

More on the SPG-9

The projectile is launched from the gun by a small charge, which gives it an initial velocity of between 250 and 400 metres per second. The launch charge also imparts spin to the projectile by a series of offset holes. Once the projectile has traveled approximately 20 meters (65.6 feet) from the launcher, a rocket motor in its base ignites. For the PG-9 projectile, this takes it to a velocity of 700 metres per second (2,297 feet per second) before the motor burns out.

The SPG-9 is heavy (~60 kg), and is normally transported by vehicle, and carried into position by its two crew. It can be deployed in around a minute. The weapon is in service with a large number of armed forces, and a variety of ammunition is produced; however, they are mostly copies of the original Soviet PG-9 HEAT and OG-9 FRAG-HE rounds.

The SPG-9 is widely available to terrorists and maritime pirates such as in the Horn of Africa region, as well as in other regions to a lesser degree. It is not as popular as the RPG-7 because it has to be mounted on a vehicle or boat and cannot be easily carried and shoulder fired. The SPG-9 requires much more skill to fire accurately than the RPG-7. There have been reports of these mounted in skiffs and larger “mother ships”. The SPG-9 can typically be found mounted on a wide variety of vehicles known as “technicals” in Somalia.

A variant for use with airborne troops including detachable wheels was built as the SPG-9D.