Blast load on personnel using 84 mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle

Military personnel are exposed to blast overpressure in many situations such as being near explosions, using shoulder-mounted weapons and sniper rifles and indirect fire like artillery and mortars. The shockwave from this kind of exposure can cause injury if it is strong enough or has a specific shape. To increase our empirical knowledge, we measured the pressure at different positions close to an 84 mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle during use. We then reviewed injury criteria for internal organs in light of the recorded data. Our results showed that there are areas close to the Carl Gustaf rifle where the exposure to blast overpressure exceeds the injury criteria, even outside the area marked as dangerous in the Norwegian Armed Forces safety regulations, ‘UD 2-1 Forsvarets sikkerhetsbestemmelser for landmilitær virksomhet’.