B-10 Russian 82mm Smoothbore Recoilless Gun

The B-10 recoilless rifle (Bezotkatnojie orudie-10, known as the RG82 in East Germany) is a Soviet 82 mm smoothbore recoilless gun. It could be carried on the rear of a BTR-50 armored personnel carrier. It was a development of the earlier SPG-82 and entered Soviet service in 1954. It was phased out of service in the Soviet Army in the 1960s and replaced by the SPG-9, remaining in service with parachute units at least until the 1980s. Although now obsolete it was used by a large number of countries during the Cold War. The weapon consists of a large barrel, with a PBO-2 sight mounted to the left. It is mounted on a small carriage, which has two large wheels, which can be removed. The carriage has an integrated tripod, from which the weapon is normally fired. A small wheel is fitted to the front of the barrel to prevent it from touching the ground while being towed. It is normally towed by a vehicle, although it can be towed by its four-man crew for short distances using the tow handle fitted to either side of the muzzle. The tripod can be deployed in two positions providing either a good field of fire or a low silhouette. Rounds are inserted into the weapon through the breach, and percussion is fired using a pistol grip to the right of the barrel. The PBO-2 optical sight has a 5.5x zoom for direct fire sight, and a 2.5x zoom sight for indirect fire.