I read a news article today stating that the Special Task Force of the Sri Lanka Police, with the assistance of Military Intelligence, recovered three well-preserved and buried 84 mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rocket launchers used by the LTTE in the Kudumbimalai area, Batticaloa.
These deadly rockets were used by the LTTE Sea Tiger Wing in sea battles against Sri Lanka Navy ships and craft during the 1990s. The first recorded incident occurred in February 1997 off Iranativu Island in the Gulf of Mannar.
Admiral Cicil Thissera took over as Commander of the Navy on 27 January 1997 from Admiral Mohan Samarasekara.
The fight against the LTTE intensified from 1996, and the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) made effective use of its Fast Attack Craft (FAC) Squadron, the vanguard of the Navy, to destroy the LTTE’s littoral fighting capabilities. Frequent confrontations with LTTE Sea Tiger boats were reported off Mullaitivu, Point Pedro, and Velvettithurai, where SLN units emerged victorious in most sea battles, although in a few incidents the SLN lost Fast Attack Craft.
Intelligence reports confirmed that LTTE Sea Tigers were using new recoilless rocket launchers against aluminium-hulled FACs, which were deadly in close-quarter sea battles. However, the exact type of weapon was not initially disclosed.
The incident below, which occurred in February 1997, confirmed that the weapon used was the Carl Gustaf 84 mm recoilless gun.
Date: 9 February 1997, morning, 0600 hrs
Location: Off Iranativu
FACs:
– P 460 (Israel-built), commanded by Cdr Manoj Jayesooriya
– P 452 (CDL-built), commanded by Lt Cdr P. M. Wickramasinghe (temporary command; proper OIC Lt Cdr N. Heenatigala)
Base: Operated from KKS
The FACs were confronted by an LTTE attack craft powered by four 250 HP outboard motors. The target was destroyed, and one LTTE member was captured.
During the confrontation, the leading marine engineering mechanic of the FAC came up to the bridge carrying a projectile that had been fired by the LTTE boat. The projectile penetrated the FAC’s hull, entered the OIC’s cabin (between the two bunks), struck the auxiliary engine-room door, and fell to the deck without exploding. The engine-room door was heavily damaged, resulting in the loss of the watertight integrity of the FAC.
The projectile was later handed over to naval weapons experts when the FACs returned to KKS. Investigations revealed that the weapon used by the enemy was an 84 mm Carl Gustaf shoulder-fired recoilless gun, and that the projectile was an illuminator round with a one-million-candlepower output. However, the attackers had failed to remove the safety pin; therefore, the round was not activated.
The Carl Gustaf 84 mm recoilless gun was named after Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori, which initially produced it. Sweden developed the 84 mm shoulder-fired recoilless gun during the second half of the 1940s through the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration as a crew-served, man-portable infantry support weapon for close-range, multi-role use, including anti-armour, anti-personnel, battlefield illumination, smoke screening, and marking fire.
It was a significant innovation and improvisation by the LTTE Sea Tiger Wing to employ these weapons at sea against the much superior SLN FACs in close-quarter combat situations.
According to Wikipedia, the Carl Gustaf shoulder-fired recoilless gun was used by only one non-state actor in the world during the final Eelam War—the LTTE.
It is extremely important to examine the batch numbers of the three recently recovered launchers to determine where they were produced and how they ultimately ended up in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.
