IMFDB policy on Russkie rockets.
 

Point 1: RPG does not stand for "Rocket Propelled Grenade". It's a Russian acronym for "Ruchnoy Protivotankovyy Granatomyot". Translated to Americanese it comes out as "Handheld Antitank Grenade Launcher".

Request: Make it official IMFDB policy to ban the phrases "rocket propelled grenade" and "rocket propelled grenade launcher". Using them to refer to any RPG models is incorrect. Using them to refer to antitank weapons in general is akin to calling all assault rifles "AK's".

What am I doing about it: Changing it or deleting it when I see it, but it's far too widespread to tackle alone. This will probably be made more difficult by know-it-all gamers who insist on being incorrect. Having this be an official policy would be very helpful.


Point 2: SA7 Grail is not an official Soviet or Russian designation. It is a name assigned by NATO's Air Standardization Coordinating Committee for identification purposes. The official designation is 9K32 Strela-2.

Request: Make it official IMFDB policy to use official designations for labeling and not code words. Code words are just slang terms with suits and diplomas, and we don't refer to magazines as "clips", firearms as "gats", or Mini-14 Ranch Rifles as "high powered assault type weapons".

What am I doing about it: Nothing. The last time I tried to correct this error (on the page for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas), somebody reverted it shortly after. I'll pick it up again, but not without the green light from an admin.
EDIT: It looks like I changed it back again in february and nobody's had a problem with it since, but I'm still going to wait for admin input.

I guess I'm going to have to start calling RPG's Rocket Propelled Grenades just because you hate it :D

RPG is the new Bazooka.

Found this little gem while doing the rounds.

http://imgur.com/1b9LM.jpg

While obviously not all anti-tank weapons or grenade launchers are RPGs, I think calling an RPG-7 a rocket propelled grenade launcher is a total non-issue. An RPG literally is a rocket propelled grenade launcher, that's what it does. Foreign weapons are part of my job, and I can tell you that in US, British and Canadian weapons pams, that's how they're described. The point here is to be understood.

The same with using NATO reporting names for Soviet weapons systems. That's the commonly accepted name in the West, even among professionals. Why use a name no one will recognize? Just to prove how much smarter you are than your reader? That accomplishes nothing.

Using the official term for a weapon is alot less common than you probably realize. The M1 Garand is actually the "US Rifle, Cal .30, M1". The Winchester 97 Trench Gun is actually the "US Combat Riot Shotgun M1917 (Winchester)". Non US-military Colt 1911s are actually the Colt Government Model. Where does it end? Should we start writing it out in Cyrillic too?

I agree with Nyles, keep the western names and please don´t edit them.

I'd have to disagree with you both. The purpose of the site is to inform and educate. Wrong is wrong, no matter how many people believe it to be right. We are here to dispel myth and would not allow other silly notions to be held as true.

Technically the warhead is propelled by a gunpowder charge, the rocket motor is a secondary device that engages once the warhead is already in motion.

Nothing other than to educate the populace of what is factually true, just like every other tidbit of knowledge on this site.

It ends here because I can't think of any possible reason to extend this argument to anything else. It really is an isolated case. "Rocket Propelled Grenade" entered the lexicon due to somebody's ignorance and unwillingess to do the bare minimum of research and has stuck in the collective conciousness along with all the other misinformation about about kinetic energy, magazine capacity, and terminal ballistics.

The last thing we want is a civil war. We need consensus.

The average eejit is going to say "tl;dr" and keep on calling it a Rocket Propelled Grenade

Yes I agree.

The average "eejit" also believes that Desert Eagles are the best pistol ever, that AK-47's absolutely never malfunction, and that Counter-Strike is a realistic simulation of firearm physics. There's not much we can do about Mr. Average Eejit, but that does not mean we should allow ourselves to misinform people who seek out knowledge and information.

I have never heard anyone say DONT call an RPG a Rocket Propell Grenade. Guys I know in the military calls them that.

In the context of "rocket-propelled grenades", RPG is a transliteration of , the Russian РПГ or ручной противотанковый гранатомёт transliterated as "ruchnoy protivotankoviy granatomyot", which translates to the English phrase "hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher". Thus rocket-propelled grenade is a backronym and makes sense.

End of discussion. Excalibur wins the internet

Umm, no. Backronyms, by their definition, are incorrect.

You are using the word "transliteration" improperly, you win nothing.

ok, fine, I used the wrong word.

Let me rephrase using a different word.

In the context of "rocket-propelled grenades", RPG is a rough translation of the Russian acronym РПГ or ручной противотанковый гранатомёт transliterated as "ruchnoy protivotankoviy granatomyot", which translates to the English phrase "hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher". Thus rocket-propelled grenade is a backronym and makes sense.

So what? You point out I have bad grammar and that proves you're right?

Your grammar is not bad, and "rocket propelled grenade" is not a transliteration, rough translation, or good translation of "ruchnoy protivotankoviyy granatomyot". It is a backronym. Look up the definition of "backronym" if you want to discuss this further.

PersonofInterest, why can't you realize that you already lost.It's already been decided that Excalibur wins the internet

You are not the arbiter of all things internet.

I have the crown to prove it

http://www.davealpert.com/blog/wp-co...Crown_Full.jpg

Bitches not respeckin' my crown....

Is this what you guys do when I'm gone? Ugh.

Please do not allow the presence of cheap fast food related merchandise devalue the validity of my argument.

Yup. I'm doing all I can reply to his seriousness with complete rediculousness. It's a good way to stave off the boredom

Because deep down, we're all a bunch of immature bastards

I'm just really bored

Yeah, I'll say. But even by our standards, this is just retarded. This is where Matt pulls rank and closes the topic.

Anyway, here's IMFDB policy: If anyone says "RPG" stands for "rocket-propelled grenade", then obviously they are wrong, and the page should be corrected. In all other cases, we don't care.

Thank you. :validation:

If you say so, then it is so.