Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Cdn CRV-7 rocket is being retired

This is an interesting story for people who follow military weapons and their development/evolution. 2.75 inch rockets are an air to ground weapon, meaning they are fired by aircraft and helicopters at ground targets. Depending on the warhead, they serve as anti-personnel, anti tank or target marking.

This CBC story is about the retirement of the CRV-7 rocket (Cdn Rocket Vehicle 7). The 2.75 inch diameter rockets could be fitted with a number of different warheads including high explosive (HE), anti tank (HEAT), target marking (WP) and flechettes. The warheads were threaded on and torqued into place. Flechette is French for "little dart". You can google for videos of these rockets in use.

I was one of the people who helped test the CRV-7 rocket when it was being developed. Up until the 1970s, Canada had been buying the US Mk 4 Mod 10 folding fin aerial rocket (FFAR) pictured below, but we wanted our own, improved version. Our version swapped out the four stabilizing fins of the US rocket for three wrap around fins, and changed the propellant composition. At the time, we had squadrons stationed in Europe. Our job, as part of NATO, was to repel any ground attacks by the Communists, should they wish to take the continent. This was during the Cold War.

The story of a Cold War-era Canadian-designed rocket comes to an end


Wiki photo - US made FFAR

I loaded a pile of the old FFAR rockets into LAU 68 and LAU 3 pods before we received shipment of the WAFAR (wrap around fin aerial rocket).


Wrap around fin

The Cdn WAFAR had a slightly longer burn time which allowed for a greater stand off distance, and was more accurate because of the redesigned rear stabilizing fin.

Edited to add: We used to dispose of damaged or unusable rockets in one of two ways: We buried them pointy end down (minus the warhead), removed the fin/exhaust nozzle, and lit them off. They could also be buried in a pit, and using det cord and C4, were blown up