73mm LRAC

The LRAC de 73mm Mle 1950 (lance-roquettes antichar de 73 mm modèle 1950 (LRAC 73-50)) was a French antitank rocket launcher produced and fielded in the 1950s. The LRAC fired a 73 mm (2.9 in) high explosive antitank projectile that was capable of penetrating over 11 inches (280 mm) of rolled homogenous armor when struck at a 90-degree angle of impact.^[4] The LRAC 73-50 was replaced in French service by the LRAC F1. Used during the Korean War for the French Battalion of the United Nations Organisation, it pierced the armor of T-34 tanks.

LRAC 73-50
French 73mm LRAC
Type	Anti-tank rocket launcher
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	France Israel[1] Morocco
Wars	Korean War First Indochina War Algerian War Six-day War Lebanese Civil War[2]
Production history
Manufacturer	DEFA
Specifications
Mass	6.7 kg (14.7 lb)
Length	1.2 m (3.9 feet)
Caliber	73 mm
Rate of fire	4 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	170 m/s (557.7 ft/s)
Effective firing range	200 m (656.2 feet)
Maximum firing range	1,200 m (3,937 feet)
Filling	RDX/TNT[3]
Filling weight	300 g (11 oz)

External image
LRAC 73-50
LRAC 73-50, showing firing shield and sight

Moroccan troops with 73mm LRAC, 1960.

The LRAC 73-50 had a shield to protect the operator's face from the rocket's back-blast.^[5]