STRIM 65
TypeRifle grenade
Place of originFrance[1]
Service history
Used byFrance
Rhodesia[2]
South African Defence Force
Production history
DesignerSTRIM
Designed1961
ManufacturerHotchkiss-Brandt, licence manufacture by Mecar
Specifications
Mass735 g (25.9 oz)
Length420 mm (17 in)
Diameter65 mm (2.6 in)
Maximum firing range120 m (130 yd)
FillingHexolite HEAT charge with 300 mm (12 in) RHA penetration
Filling weight270 g (9.5 oz)

The STRIM 65 is an anti-tank rifle grenade that the French Army used from 1961 to 1978, under the designation 65 AC 28. This and the older 73mm Modèle 1950 (similar in appearance to an Energa grenade) were the standard anti-tank munitions in French service.[1] A 22 mm grenade launching adapter mounted atop the rifle's barrel held the grenade until the firing of a ballistite (blank) cartridge provided the propulsive force to launch the grenade.

Mecar, under licence, also made the grenade in Belgium,[3] and a licence was also granted to Armscor of South Africa.[4]

The AC58 rifle grenade manufactured by Luchaire replaced the STRIM 65. The AC58 used a new bullet trap form of propulsion, thereby doing away with the need for a special launching round.[5]

The Brazilian M2 anti-personnel and M3 anti-tank rifle grenades bear a strong similarity to the STRIM 40 and STRIM 65 respectively.

Sources and references

  1. 1 2 Archer, Denis H R, ed. (1978). Jane's Infantry Weapons (Fourth Edition) 1978. London: Macdonald and Jane's. p. 769. ISBN 978-0354005630.
  2. ↑ Baxter, Peter; Bomford, Hugh; van Tonder, Gerry, eds. (2014). Rhodesia Regiment 1899-1981. Johannesburg: 30 Degrees South Publishers. pp. 471–488. ISBN 978-1-92014-389-3. The Rhodesian rifle grenade manual (for the 32Z and 28R) was the source
  3. ↑ Archer, Denis H R, ed. (1976). "Grenades". Jane's Infantry Weapons (Second Edition) 1976. London: Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 391, 408. ISBN 978-0354005319.
  4. ↑ Moukambi, Victor (December 2008). RELATIONS BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND FRANCE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MILITARY MATTERS, 1960-1990 (PDF) (Doctoral dissertation thesis). Stellenbosch: Military Science, Stellenbosch University. pp. 181–2. Retrieved 27 April 2017. manufacturing licences for ENTAC missiles, 400 kg aircraft bombs and [STRIM] anti-tank rifle grenades were also granted to South Africans. Source: DOD, SANDF Documentation Centre, Pretoria. File No. Map 70/15 Vol. 1, Licence agreements, Annexure 2 to MAP/70/15 dated December 1966. Subject: Armament policy
  5. ↑ Weeks, John, ed. (1979). "Grenades". Jane's Infantry Weapons (Fifth Edition) 1979–80. London: Macdonald and Jane's. p. 331. ISBN 978-0531039052. The main object has been to develop a new anti-tank grenade to replace the now obsolete 65 AC 28 R2 model

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