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M72 LAW
The M72 LAW is a lightweight, disposable unguided anti-tank weapon developed for individual use and first deployed during the Vietnam War. LAW either stands for "light antitank weapon" or "light anti-armor weapon:" the latter seems to be preferred in modern sources, as the weapon is no longer in any way suitable for attacking a main battle tank. A spent tube is relatively easy to get hold of since in many jurisdictions it is treated in the same way as an expended bullet casing. It would be incredibly unlikely to see a live LAW in a live-action medium outside of stock footage, due to the risk to actors. It can be assumed any LAW in a live-action movie is a spent tube, typically rigged with some sort of pyrotechnic device to simulate firing. One point of note is that the LAW has a grenade-like pin safety at the top of the rear cover which allows removal of the front and rear covers and the carry strap: this pin is often missing from spent tubes and so its removal is often also missing in media depictions. The original 60s model had a second arming safety pin at the rear, but this was deleted from later production models due to reports that it was readily possible to yank the pull-ring out of the pin and render the launcher useless.
LAWs in private collections and movie armories also typically have either no front sight or a non-factory replacement; this is because the original front sight used radioluminescent paint containing promethium-147, and troops were instructed to snap off the front sight for disposal by a radiation safety officer before discarding a spent tube. The "discarding" part ended fairly quickly in the Vietnam War as the Vietcong proved very fond of packing spent LAW casings with explosives for use as booby traps.
LAWs starting with the M72A4 no longer have this issue, as they do not use the illuminated ladder front sight, instead having a 3-prong front sight and aperture rear sight derived from those designed for the cancelled FGR-17 Viper rocket launcher and very similar to the sights of the M136 AT4. The modernized variant, the M72A7, incorporates a small picatinny rail behind the front sight to allow night optics or lasers to be mounted. The British military refers to an improved anti-bunker variant with a penetrating time-delay fuze and alterations including a lightweight carbon bore liner and improved axial trigger as the LASM or M72A9.
The M72 was regarded as obsolete as an anti-tank weapon by the 1980s, with the FGR-17 Viper rocket launcher developed to replace it briefly entering production before cost overruns and reports of static damage and dangerously faulty fuzes that could cause the rocket to explode on launching saw the entire program cancelled in 1983. Congress ordered the US Army to consider off-the-shelf replacements, and they ultimately chose the M136 AT4 over the M72E5 LAW that participated in the trials, while the Marines acquired a variant of the Israeli B-300 rocket launcher, the Mk 153 SMAW. However the LAW found a new lease of life in the urban combat and mountain warfare of Iraq and Afghanistan with the HE-DP M72A6 and M72A7 variants, with benefits including the ability to carry two LAWs for the weight of a single AT4.
Specifications
(1963-present)
Type: Rocket Launcher
Caliber: 66mm
Capacity: 1 encased rocket
System weight: M72A2 5.1 lbs (2.3 kg), M72A3 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg), M72A4 7.6 lbs (3.5 kg)
Rocket weight: 4 lbs (1.8 kg)
Length: 39 in (99.1 cm) extended, 26 in (66 cm) collapsed
Fire Modes: Single shot, firing mechanism is cocked on opening
M72 LAW
The M72 LAW is used in the following films, television series, and video games used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Enforcer | Clint Eastwood | Dirty Harry | 1976 | |
| The Enforcer | DeVeren Bookwalter | Bobby Maxwell | 1976 | |
| The Boys in Company C | Stan Shaw | Tyrone Washington | 1978 | |
| Power Play | Gary Reineke | Captain Aramco | 1978 | |
| G.I. Samurai | jsdf member | 1979 | ||
| The Dogs of War | Zangaran Mercenaries | 1981 | ||
| Stripes (1981) | John Voldstad | Corporal Tyson | M72A2 | 1981 |
| First Blood | A National Guard soldier | 1982 | ||
| Escape 2000 | Steve Railsback | Paul | 1982 | |
| Lone Wolf McQuade | Robert Beltran | Kayo Ramos | 1983 | |
| Deal of the Century | Chevy Chase | Eddie Muntz | 1983 | |
| Jungle Warriors | Dominic Barto | Thomas Tucci | Early production | 1984 |
| Exterminator 2 | X's thugs | 1984 | ||
| Invasion U.S.A. | Chuck Norris | Matt Hunter | 1985 | |
| Invasion U.S.A. | U.S. Army troops | 1985 | ||
| Rambo: First Blood Part II | Sylvester Stallone | John Rambo | 1985 | |
| Missing In Action 2: The Beginning | NVA forces | 1985 | ||
| Code of Silence | Chuck Norris | Eddie Cusack | 1985 | |
| Platoon | Charlie Sheen | Pvt. Chris Taylor | 1986 | |
| Platoon | Tom Berenger | SSgt. Robert Barnes | 1986 | |
| Maximum Overdrive | Pat Hingle | Bubba Hendershot | M190, a training M72 variant | 1986 |
| Maximum Overdrive | Emilio Estevez | Bill Robinson | M190, a training M72 variant | 1986 |
| In Country | US troops | 1987 | ||
| Full Metal Jacket | A U.S. Marine | 1987 | ||
| Beverly Hills Cop II | Judge Reinhold | Billy Rosewood | 1987 | |
| Death Before Dishonor | Fred Dryer | Gunnery Sgt. Burns | 1987 | |
| The Hidden | Clarence Felder | Lt. Masterson | 1987 | |
| Assassination | Charles Bronson | Secret Service Agent Jay Killion | 1987 | |
| Cherry 2000 | Lester's men | 1987 | ||
| Iron Eagle II | Enemy soldiers | 1988 | ||
| The Blob | Kevin Dillon | Brian Flagg | 1988 | |
| The Blob | Bill Moseley | Soldier | 1988 | |
| Rushmore | A cast member playing a VC | 1988 | ||
| Casualties of War | U.S. Army soldiers and VC | 1989 | ||
| A Better Tomorrow III | ARVN soldiers | 1989 | ||
| The Iron Triangle | U.S. forces | 1989 | ||
| Bullet in the Head | Corrupt ARVN officers | 1990 | ||
| Gremlins 2: The New Batch | A Gremlin | 1990 | ||
| Class of 1999 | Jason Oliver | Curt | 1990 | |
| Short Time | Xander Berkeley | Carl Stark | 1990 | |
| China O'Brien II | Baskin's henchmen | 1990 | ||
| If Looks Could Kill | Tom Rack | Zigesfeld | 1991 | |
| Toy Soldiers | Michael Champion | Jack Thorpe | 1991 | |
| Toy Soldiers | Colombian terrorists | 1991 | ||
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Seen in the armory | 1991 | ||
| Hard Boiled | Johnny Wong's thugs | 1992 | ||
| Police Story 3: Supercop | Chaibat's gang | 1992 | ||
| Falling Down | Michael Douglas | William 'D-Fens' Foster | 1993 | |
| Loaded Weapon 1 | A robber | 1993 | ||
| In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco | Seen in the arsenal | 1993 | ||
| Forrest Gump | Tom Hanks | Forrest Gump | Never used in action | 1994 |
| Forrest Gump | U.S. Army soldiers | Never used in action | 1994 | |
| True Lies | Art Malik | Salim Abu Aziz | 1994 | |
| Street Fighter | Kylie Minogue | Cammy | 1994 | |
| Open Fire | Patrick Kilpatrick | Kruger | 1994 | |
| Open Fire | A terrorist | 1994 | ||
| Soldier Boyz | Michael Dudikoff | Toliver | 1995 | |
| Canadian Bacon | Kevin J. O'Connor | Roy Boy | 1995 | |
| Canadian Bacon | Bill Nunn | Kabral | 1995 | |
| Sudden Death | Jack Erdie | Scratch | 1995 | |
| Carnosaur 3: Primal Species | A terrorist | 1996 | ||
| Darkman III: Die Darkman Die | Rooker's henchman | 1996 | ||
| The One That Got Away | Paul McGann | Chris Ryan | 1996 | |
| Demolition High | Jeff Kober | Luther | 1996 | |
| Bounty Hunters 2: Hardball | Michael Dudikoff | Jersey | 1997 | |
| Ronin | Robert De Niro | Sam | A movie prop based on LAW | 1998 |
| Half a Chance | Criminals | 1998 | ||
| Point Blank (1998) | Robert Zachar | Armani | 1998 | |
| Commander Hamilton | Zakia Tahri | Moona | 1998 | |
| The Ultimate Weapon | Seen in weapon depot | 1998 | ||
| Wild Zero | can be seen on the Yamazaki's base. | 1999 | ||
| The General's Daughter | Seen in the armory | 1999 | ||
| Three Kings | Spike Jonze | Conrad Vig | 1999 | |
| Bravo Two Zero | Rick Warden | Tony | 1999 | |
| Joint Security Area | ROKA soldiers | 2000 | ||
| Proof of Life | ELT rebels | 2000 | ||
| Rules of Engagement | U.S. Marines | 2000 | ||
| Black Hawk Down | Lt. Tom DiTomasso | M72A3 | 2001 | |
| Wasabi | Seen in weapon suitcase | 2001 | ||
| Going Back | Pablo Espinosa | Chico Spaceman | 2001 | |
| Going Back | U.S. Marines | 2001 | ||
| XXX | Seen among the weapon | 2002 | ||
| Half Past Dead | Kurupt | Twitch | A movie prop based on LAW | 2002 |
| All About the Benjamins | Williamson | 2002 | ||
| S.W.A.T. | Gang members | 2003 | ||
| Tears of the Sun | Nick Chinlund | Michael "Slo" Slowenski | 2003 | |
| Tears of the Sun | Cole Hauser | James "Red" Atkins | 2003 | |
| Tears of the Sun | Johnny Messner | Kelly Lake | 2003 | |
| Tears of the Sun | Chad Smith | Flea | 2003 | |
| Ruby & Quentin | Criminals | 2003 | ||
| The Manchurian Candidate | Enemy soldier | 2004 | ||
| San Antonio | Thug | 2004 | ||
| Typhoon | UDT/SEAL commandos | 2005 | ||
| Valley of the Wolves: Iraq | Turkish Special Forces soldiers | 2006 | ||
| Zone Of The Dead | Vukota Brajovic | Armageddon | 2008 | |
| Tropic Thunder | Jack Black | Jeff Portnoy | 2008 | |
| Tropic Thunder | Jay Baruchel | Kevin Sandusky | 2008 | |
| You Don't Mess with the Zohan | The Israelis | 2008 | ||
| District 13: Ultimatum | Mahamadou Coulibaly | Doudou | 2009 | |
| Black Dynamite | The Secret Service | 2009 | ||
| The Tournament | Carl 'Longshot' Topuzov | 2009 | ||
| Ninja Assassin | Europol agents | 2009 | ||
| New Kids Turbo | Tim Haars | Gerrie | 2010 | |
| El Infierno | 2010 | |||
| Five Brothers (Comme les cinq doigts de la main) | Seen in illegal weapon store | 2010 | ||
| X-Men: First Class | A Division X agent | 2011 | ||
| Act of Valor | US Navy SEAL | 2012 | ||
| Battleground | 2012 | |||
| Everly | Taiko's special squad | 2014 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnum P.I. | Tom Selleck | Thomas Magnum | 1980-1988 | |
| V: The Original Miniseries | Michael Wright | Elias Taylor | 1983 | |
| The A-Team | The bounty hunters | Ep. "Bounty" | 1983-1987 | |
| The A-Team | The A-team | Ep. "The Theory of Revolution" | 1983-1987 | |
| V: The Series | Michael Ironside | Ham Tyler | Ep. "The Conversion" | 1984-1985 |
| V: The Series | Visitors disguised as humans | Ep. "The Return" | 1984-1985 | |
| Dempsey and Makepeace | The robbers of gold | "Burning" Part 2 (S03E02) | 1986 | |
| Airwolf | Ep. "HX 1", "Out of the Sky" | 1984-1986 | ||
| Sledge Hammer! | David Rasche | Inspector Sledge Hammer | 1986 | |
| Miami Vice - Season 3 | Cuban rebels | Ep. "Cuba Libre" | 1986-1987 | |
| Vietnam War Story | U.S. Army soldiers | Ep. "The Fragging" | 1987-1989 | |
| Tour of Duty | Stan Foster | Sgt. Marvin Johnson | Pilot ep. | 1987-1990 |
| Tour of Duty | Tony Becker | Sgt. Purcell | Ep. "War is a Contact Sport" | 1987-1990 |
| Viper | Ep. "Winner Take All" and "Shutdown" | 1996-1999 | ||
| The Sentinel | Bank robbers | Ep. "Love and Guns" | 1996-1999 | |
| Going Back | Pablo Espinosa | Spaceman | 2001 | |
| Ultimate Force - Season 1 | Elliot Cowan | Cpl. Jem Poynton | Ep. 1.6: "Something to Do with Justice" | 2002 |
| Julie Lescaut | Bank robbers | "Abus de pouvoir" (S06E02) | 1997 | |
| Julie Lescaut | Bank robbers | "Amour blessé" (S11E02) | 2002 | |
| Medicopter 117 - Jedes Leben zählt - Season 6 | Gunnar Teuber | Beckle | tenth episode | 2003 |
| Ultimate Force - Season 2 | Ross Kemp | SSgt. Henry "Henno" Garvie | Ep. 2.5: "What in the Name of God" | 2003 |
| Mail Call | Season 1 | 2002-2009 | ||
| NCIS - Season 1 | M72A2l; "Split Decision" (S1E21) | 2003-2004 | ||
| JAG - Season 10 | A Marine | Ep. "Death at the Mosque" (S10E18) | 2004-2005 | |
| Lost | Ep. "Cabin Fever" | 2004-2010 | ||
| Psych | James Roday | Shawn | Ep. "You Can't Handle This Episode" | 2006-Present |
| CSI: Miami - Season 5 | A thug | Ep. "No Mans Land" (S05E14) | 2006-2007 | |
| Sanctuary | Amanda Tapping | Dr. Helen Magnus | S3E1 "Kali Part 3" | 2008 – Present |
| 24 - Season 7 | Dubaku's men | Ep.8 | 2009 | |
| Iris - Season 1 | 2009 | |||
| Justified - Season 1 | Walton Goggins | Boyd Crowder | Ep. "Fire in the Hole" (S1E01) | 2010 |
| Falling Skies - Season 2 | Sarah Carter | Maggie | Ep. "Worlds Apart" (S2E01) | 2012 |
| Falling Skies - Season 2 | Peter Shinkoda | Dai | Ep. "Shall We Gather at the River" (S2E02) | 2012 |
| Training Day | 2017 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jagged Alliance 2 | 1999 | |||
| WWII G.I. | Platoon Leader expansion pack only | 1999 | ||
| Grand Theft Auto III | Rocket Launcher | 2000 | ||
| Operation Flashpoint | Incorrectly shown as reloadable | 2001 | ||
| Global Operations | "LAW" | 2002 | ||
| Conflict: Desert Storm | 2002 | |||
| Battlefield: Vietnam | 2004 | |||
| Shellshock Nam '67 | 2004 | |||
| Counter-Strike: Condition Zero | 2004 | |||
| Project Reality | 2005 | |||
| Elite Warriors Vietnam | 2005 | |||
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories | With a pistol grip; incorrectly shown as reloadable | 2006 | ||
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots | "M72A3" | 2008 | ||
| Combat Arms | "LAW" | 2008 | ||
| Vietcong 2 | "M-72 LAW" | 2009 | ||
| Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | "LAW" | 2010 | ||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops | 2010 | |||
| Jagged Alliance: Back in Action | "LAW" | Incorrectly shown as reloadable | 2011 | |
| Call of Juarez: The Cartel | Incorrectly shown as reloadable | 2011 | ||
| Max Payne 3 | "LAW" | 2012 | ||
| Project Reality: Falklands | 2012 | |||
| Project Reality: Vietnam | 2012 | |||
| Ravaged | 2012 | |||
| Dead Island Riptide | 2013 | |||
| Squad | 2015 | |||
| Mafia III | 2016 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kochikame | 1996 - 2005 | ||
| Geobreeders | Captain Yashima | 1999 | |
| The Skull Man | Skull Man and Garo | 2007 | |
| The Familiar of Zero | Louise, Saito, Longueville |
Animation
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waltz with Bashir | IDF soldiers | M72A2 | 2008 |