Gyrojet Rocket pistol

[crafty2002]

I ordered my grandsons a box of cards telling about different guns and they came over today with one of them and it is a pistol that fires 13 MM Rockets.
The card says "Much as a rocket engine developes its own thrust from an internal chemical payload, the Gyrojet projectile has its own solidfuel engine built inside its conical external shell. As the burning gases of combustion housed in the shell push outward, they are channelled through angled ports. These ports provide stabilazation for the Gyrojet projectile by rotating the shell in a twisting motion, much like the rotation created by rifling.

Braden came running in Gramps, look at this rocket pistol. I thought he had flipped his lid, LOL. To start with I thought it was a .45 or maybe a .44 Magnum but it didn't take but a second or two to see on the card where it said Magazine Capacity: 6 rocket projectiles and I got to reading and sure enough, the dang thang fires 13 MM rockets.
It didn't go over because it didn't pick up speed enough at close quarters for penetration and was inaccurate at long ranges. :-/
But it was a trip to find out that someone actually made something like that.
Has anyone here ever heard of them. Just kinda blew my mind reading the card.
Dennis

[Clem]

I remember that thing. The gun itself was cast aluminum. The ammo was mini rockets. Apparently, it took about 50 ft. for the rocket to achieve full speed. If you tried to shoot something at very close range, the rocket could just bounce off. After it got up to speed, it was going pretty fast. Don't remember the exact number.

[crafty2002]

The card didn't give any numbers. Just that it wasn't good at close range nor accurate at long range. I had never heard of it.
It also said the mini rockets left a vapor trail that lead back to the shooter.
I just thought it was a trip to think anyone ever built one.
Dennis

[rice paddy daddy]

Yeah, that was an idea from the 50's when everyone was caught up in the space and rocket craze.

[ArmySGT.]

There are two on display at the Cody firearms museum. I may have a picture somewhere of the pistol and the carbine version.

[jim]

I read somewhere that the Germans during WWII had been working on something like this.

jim

[remington]

Set new records for inaccuracy. True about close range impact. Bad idea in the for it was in.

[crafty2002]

I am sure most of you have fire the LAW rocket. I forget what the LAW stood for now. Seems like it was Land to Air Weapon but I don't think so for some reason. Dang it, I forget now. I know I would have wanted to be in a slow moving Chopper if someone shot one at it, But it doesn't seem like it was land to air. That drives me nuts trying to remember something like that.
But anyway, without the explosives in the rockets nose or whatever you call it, probably war head, it probably wouldn't do more than knock a few ribs loose at close quarters unless you ended up on the back side in which case you would more than likely get the #### burned out of you, and if I remember right that thing was 60 mm.
I just looked it up on the Wik, and it's 66 mm and is called Light Anti Tank Weapon. Wonder where the "T" went to in LAW, LOL.
Anyway, I can just see someone trying to shoot someone with a 13 mm rocket propelled projectile. With my luck it would come back and hit me.

[Clem]

LAW = Light Anti-tank Weapon

Never fired one myself, but did get the opportunity to shoot a 3.5" rocket launcher. Low velocity, but accurate. The 3.5 rocket burned out in the tube so the shooter wouldn't get exhaust blast from it as it fired. Because the rocket burned out in less than 2 feet of travel, it was loud as hell.

The Gyrojet rocket burned out in something like 50 feet with a final velocity of something on the order of 1250 fps.

[Dawgus]

I forgot about that thing, and just looked it up in "The worlds greatest handguns":

caliber-13mm (1.5 inch oal)
weight-34.5 oz
length-9.2 inches
barrel length-5 inches
effective range-164 ft
feed- 6 rd magazine
muzzle velocity-900 fps

[ArmySGT.]

on display at the Cody firearms museum.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j218/ArmySGT_photos/Gunstuff/IMGP1155.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j218/ArmySGT_photos/Gunstuff/IMGP1153.jpg

[mtdrtbag]

When I was a survival instructor in the AirForce we had GyroJet Flare guns. they were a single shot " zip gun" kind of arrangement. the flare was inserted in the end of the gun and the firing pin was pulled back into a detent and then flipped out of the detent with the thumb to fire the flare.

[gunsmoke]

The gyrojet pistol and matching carbine were an attempt at maling a very light weight powerful assault weapon. The problem with spin stabilized self propelled projectiles is the solid proprllent never burns uniformly some times it will burn straight up the middle most of the time not this induces yaw in the rocket during accleration and increases the circular probability of error.

It's not that bad for an area fire weapon like artilliary rockets but for a point fire weapon like a rifle or pistol there is way too much circular probability of error to be practical. It is one reason that all anti-tank rockets even the short-lived DRAGO which was primarily spin stabilized still had three small folding fins as does the RPG and its variants LAWS BAZOOKA FFAR (folding fin areial rockets) fired from the pods under the winglets of the attack Helicopters

If in close quarters someone pointed one at you all you had to do was stick your finger in the muzzle end of the ventilated launch tube (barrel) the rocket would not have accelerated enough and would merely burn out against your finger tip. You'd probably end up with a nasty 2nd degree burn on your finger tip but that is all. If you were 50" away when fired at you were in trouble because the rocket motor would have burned out and the rocjet would have accelerated to its maximum capability. If I recall correctly the energy at 50' was not that far behind a .44 mag.

When I was a kid in the 60s and early 70s it was common to see them at gushows relatively cheap $100 or so for a pistol $250 for the much rarer carbine. They were made in a variety of anodized colors since they were made of aluminum. A dark Blue/Black and Gold being most populat I also saw one light blue metallic similar to CHRYSLER ATLANTIC BLUE. They are quite sought after today as a collectible curiosity aommanding prices in the low 4 figures $2k or so with original live rockets going for upwards of $100 each.

[wbo3]

There was one at the last gun show I went to here in SC. It was, of course, made inoperable. Had BATFE letters and such with it to prove it. Really weird looking gun, but cool at the same time. The fellow wanted $1500 for it, and from a coolness standpoint it was probably worth it. However, if I am going to spend that kind of money on something, I am going to be able to use it.

[docsoos]

You guys may or may not have heard of this weapon before, but it is a functional, "rocket"-type round (in a way; it uses "caseless" ammo), and it is produced today by H&K, only THIS weapon IS accurate and deadly at long range, unlike the Gyro-Jet:

http://www.remtek.com/arms/hk/mil/g11/caseless.htm

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/004434.html

The H&K G11 is straight out of the sci-fi movies ("Aliens" comes to mind!). I'd LOVE to have/fire one of these things!

DocSoos

[ArmySGT.]

You guys may or may not have heard of this weapon before, but it is a functional, "rocket"-type round (in a way; it uses "caseless" ammo), and it is produced today by H&K, only THIS weapon IS accurate and deadly at long range, unlike the Gyro-Jet:

http://www.remtek.com/arms/hk/mil/g11/caseless.htm

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/004434.html

The H&K G11 is straight out of the sci-fi movies ("Aliens" comes to mind!). I'd LOVE to have/fire one of these things!

DocSoos

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j218/ArmySGT_photos/Webstuff/HowaboutNo.jpg

It is caseless ammo, It has a primer, gunpowder, and a bullet. A caseless bullet operates just like a conventional cartridge. The caseless round is fed from te magazine into the chamber, the primer is struck, the propellant burns, and the bullet is forced out the barrel by the propellant gases. The difference is nothing to eject as there is no case, the powder is formed around the bullet.