History Main / MissingBackblast

* While not in the normal game, the modding community for ''VideoGame/OperationFlashpoint'' and ''VideoGame/{{ArmA}}'' has created a realism modification that adds backblast to all recoilless RPG weapons (along with a whole host of other realistic features).

* Averted by MatthewReilly. When Renshaw fires a rocket in a hovercraft, the backblast destroys the windows behind him.

* Averted in the first issue of ''{{Transmetropolitan}}'', Spider destroys his local bar with an RPG, then complains bitterly about how cold the inside of his car is since crude rocketry took out the passenger side window.

* Much later, in the 1980s, the West German Bundeswehr's ''Armbrust'' ("Crossbow") shoulder-fired anti-tank rocket launcher solved the backblast problem by a method similar to the Davis Gun, except that its "counter-shot" was a mass of plastic chips ejected at much higher velocity than the rocket, which worked otherwise like the Russian RPG-7 (launched by a recoilless charge, then igniting its own solid rocket motor a safe distance from the launcher). The plastic chips mainly came out as plastic ''dust'', very much like the exhaust from a sandblaster, which lost speed and damaging capability after about 1-2 meters of travel. You ''still'' didn't want to stand right behind the Armbrust when it fired, but it was specifically designed to be fired from inside a building or other cover without injuring or killing the crew with backblast in the confined space.
** Bundeswehr doesn't actually use Armbrust, which is mainly an export weapon, but its somewhat larger and heavier cousin, imaginatively named ''Panzerfaust 3'', though it still uses the same "countermass" principle.
* One of the more extreme examples of "backblast" is the NATO Milan infantry anti-tank guided weapon. Similar in many ways to the American TOW (tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided)anti-tank missile, Milan is delivered as a certified round sealed in its own launching tube. When it is fired, as can be [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmRfe09g9JM seen here]], not only does the missile leave the launcher going toward the target, ''the launch tube is ejected at high speed in the opposite direction''. This makes reloading very rapid, but also demands a certain amount of care in positioning the launcher in, say, a dugout.

** Bear in mind that the Panzerfaust's backblast is ''comparatively'' milder; the end of the tube still had to be pointed away from the user. Nevertheless, the Germans were aware enough to inscribe a warning at the rear end of the launcher ("Achtung! Feuerstrahl!")[[note]]literally, "Beware! Fire Jet!" in German)[[/note]] to admonish its users. There were numerous cases of soldiers, generally Finns who were issued with Panzerfausts but not trained in their use[[note]]The written instructions were in German.[[/note]] killing themselves by bracing the tube against their shoulder like a regular rifle and firing.

* In a real-life, partial subversion, the United States' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FGM-148_Javelin FGM-148 Javelin]] was specifically designed to be fire-able from inside enclosed spaces, and is the only US item in the inventory certified to do so. The backblast itself however is still very dangerous, and the area behind the shooter should be clear of personnel and equipment before firing.

* ''{{Rifts}}'' partially averts this. A particular heavy missile launcher is specifically stated to inflict damage to not only anyone standing close behind the firer, but the firer themself if they're not wearing armor. In fact, the backblast will destroy the launcher, which is in of itself a disposable weapon.
* Rocket launchers in ''{{GURPS}}'' create a fairly dangerous backblast when fired. If you use a reactionless missile however, there is no backblast, thanks to superscience.

** Bear in mind that the Panzerfaust's backblast is ''comparatively'' milder; the end of the tube still had to be pointed away from the user. Nevertheless, the Germans were aware enough to inscribe a warning at the rear end of the launcher ("Achtung! Feuerstrahl!"[[note]]literally, "Beware! Fire Jet!" in German)[[/note]] to admonish its users. There were numerous cases of soldiers, generally Finns who were issued with Panzerfausts but not trained in their use[[note]]The written instructions were in German.[[/note]] killing themselves by bracing the tube against their shoulder like a regular rifle and firing.

* In VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals, not only do rockets not have backblast, you can fill a tiny Humvee up with rocket-carrying infantry, all of whom can fire out of the windows, while the vehicle itself has a mounted TOW missile launcher.

** Bear in mind that the Panzerfaust's backblast is ''comparatively'' milder; the end of the tube still had to be pointed away from the user. Nevertheless, the Germans were aware enough to inscribe a warning at the rear end of the launcher ("Achtung! Feuerstrahl!"[[note]]literally, "Beware! Fire Jet!" in German[[/note]]) to admonish its users. There were numerous cases of soldiers, generally Finns who were issued with Panzerfausts but not trained in their use[[note]]The written instructions were in German.[[/note]], killing themselves by bracing the tube against their shoulder like a regular rifle and firing.

* According to the History Channel's ''[[http://www.history.com/minisites/shootout/ Shootout!]]'', a U.S. combat advisor was knocked off his feet and thrown through the air by the backblast of a heavy RPG.

* Averted in the Franchise/MassEffect fanfiction FanFic/MassEffectInterregnum. One of the stories Garrus tells Sidonis is about the time C-Sec investigated the murder of an elcor, blown out of a tower by a rocket launcher. As Garrus points out, however, "an elcor weighs an awful lot, and that means you need a big, big gun to launch one out of a window"... leaving only a handful of smoking remains of the killer behind.

* Averted in ''Film/TheEnforcer''. There is a military demonstration of a LAW rocket, and rookie Inspector Moore is trying to see what it does by standing behind the shooter. DirtyHarry grabs her by the collar and pulls her back in time; afterwards there is a huge scorch mark on the berm ''where she would have been in the way'', behind the shooter who did not experience any recoil effect.

* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' is a bit funny about this. For the first 2/3 of the trilogy, the rocket launcher is the only one of its kind, and has a small puff of flame that emits out the back (though it doesn't actually harm anything). The third installment has the return of the rocket launcher, but also features a missile pod that launchers missiles with compressed air before their fuel ignites.
** ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' has a (non-[[HeroicMime Rookie]]) player that swaps to a rocket launcher shout a warning about backblast, as well.

* Averted and then ''Defied'' in ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice''. The Blunderbuss, the most powerful weapon in the game, has a recoil that knocks Alice on her tush when she uses it, making it dangerous to use on ledges and cliff sides. Still, it's worth the risk, as she can use it to kill ''several'' enemies in ''one shot''.

* ''AbleTeam'' ("Cairo Countdown"). Terrorists try firing an RPG from the back of a van, and end up parboiling the driver. The same novel has Able Team issued with Armbrusts to avert this (see Real Life section).

** Bear in mind that the Panzerfaust's backblast is ''comparatively'' milder; the end of the tube still had to be pointed away from the user. Thus, the Germans were aware enough to inscribe a warning at the rear end of the launcher ("Achtung! Feuerstrahl!"[[note]]literally, "Beware! Fire Jet!" in German[[/note]]) to admonish its users. There were numerous cases of soldiers, generally Finns who were issued with Panzerfausts but not trained in their use[[note]]The written instructions were in German.[[/note]], killing themselves by bracing the tube against their shoulder like a regular rifle and firing.

** Bear in mind that the Panzerfaust's backblast is ''comparatively'' milder; the end of the tube still had to be pointed away from the user. Thus, the Germans were aware enough to inscribe a warning at the rear end of the launcher ("Achtung! Feuerstrahl![[note]]literally, "Beware! Fire Jet!" in German[[/note]]) to admonish its users. There were numerous cases of soldiers, generally Finns who were issued with Panzerfausts but not trained in their use[[note]]The written instructions were in German.[[/note]], killing themselves by bracing the tube against their shoulder like a regular rifle and firing.

** Bear in mind that the Panzerfaust's backblast is ''comparatively'' milder; the end of the tube still had to be pointed away from the user. There were numerous cases of soldiers, generally Finns who were issued with Panzerfausts but not trained in their use[[note]]The written instructions were in German.[[/note]], killing themselves by bracing the tube against their shoulder like a regular rifle and firing.

* In ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'', Rambo shoots down an enemy helicopter by firing an M72 LAW from the cockpit of his own chopper, which was full of prisoners of war he was evacuating. In real life, the backblast from the LAW would have injured or killed most or all of the people behind him.

* ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines''. From the Internet Movie Firearms Database [[http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Terminator_3:_Rise_of_the_Machines#Type_69_RPG wiki]]: "The Terminator aims the Type 69 RPG at the T-X. Note Claire Danes standing directly in the path of the backblast." The side view mirror, door frame and car interior remain unaffected by smoke representing the backblast. The RPG appears low enough for force to either hit part of the car or leave perfectly out the car window, yet Claire Danes' character remains standing as if there is no force coming from the blast.

*** Also, depending on the design of the weapon, if you don't properly clean the tube, soot and muck from previous firings can clog the tube up a bit, relieving it of the "Recoiless" adjective.

* Averted in ''{{Literature/Gate}}'', where a soldier attacking a dragon with a Panzerfaust actually checks to make sure nobody is behind him before firing. One of the peasants witnessing the fight mistakes his attack for a magic spell: "Bakblast Clir".

* In ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'', Rambo shoots down an enemy helicopter by firing an M72 LAW from the cockpit of his own chopper, which was full of prisoners of war he was evactuating. In real life, the backblast from the LAW would have injured or killed most or all of the people behind him.

* In ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'', Rambo shoots down an enemy helicopter by firing an M72 LAW from the cockpit of his own chopper, which was full of {{POWs}} he was evactuating. In real life, the backblast from the LAW would have injured or killed most or all of the POWs behind him.

* In ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'', Rambo shoots down an enemy helicopter by firing an M72 LAW from the cockpit of his own chopper, which was full of POWs he was evactuating. In real life, the backblast from the LAW would have injured or killed most or all of the people behind him.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Dash and Violet are sent scampering from their hiding spot due to a very large-scale aversion of this trope. The BigBad is firing an ''intercontinental ballistic missile'' and its exhaust has to go somewhere since the silo is inside a volcano...mainly through the "cave" that was actually intended to channel the missile's backblast (presumably one of many).