The DP-61 Duel (Cyrillic: ДП-61 дуэль) is a Soviet grenade launcher designed by Bazalt in the 1970s and produced by ZiD. It, along with the related DP-64 Nepryadva, fire torpedo-like grenades and are intended to be used at dockyards.
History[]
The DP-61 was designed based on the MRG-1 Ogonyok multiple barrel grenade launcher, and is meant to fulfill a similar role to the former weapon, with the exception of the DP-61 being more mobile.[1] The weapon was adopted in the late 1970s and was used to arm the Soviet Navy.[2]
The weapon currently fills a similar role to the DP-64, which is defending dockyards and repelling submarines.
Design Details[]
As mentioned above, the weapon is based on the MRG-1 Ogonyok. The weapon's barrel can be tilted up to 45° upwards for various lines of fire. A cocking handle is located underneath the handguard and needs to be pulled in order to ready the weapon for firing.[3]
Ammunition[]
A DP-61 grenade compared to 2 DP-64 grenades.
The DP-61 uses the GRS-55 and GR-55M grenades, both of which bear similarities to a depth charge. The GR-55M grenade is a high-explosive grenade with a solid rocket booster and fuze mounted within the torpedo-shaped body. The GRS-55 grenade, on the other hand, is meant to be a non-lethal grenade used to mark enemy targets in water bodies.
The grenades have a unique shape to them to prevent them from bouncing on water bodies. Normally, the GR-55M grenades explode on contact with water bodies with a blast radius of 16–18 metres (52–59 feet; 17–20 yards), although the grenade's fuze can be set to a variety of different modes to change the grenade's properties.[1]