I was talking to somebody last night and the conversation drifted onto Wombats, of the Australian variety - though, to me, it meant WOMBAT, Weapon Of Magnesium, Batallion, Anti-Tank. Essentially, a giant Bazooka. The rearward blast when one was fired was a serious "friendly" threat and it was often said that it did more damage where it was fired from than where it came down...
In stony ground, the exhaust could excavate a trench big enough to hide in afterwards and fire the debris from it backwards for some considerable distance and at very high speed - like a giant shotgun.
As you say, the quoted technical capacities are often a mix of ideal conditions and wishful thinking.