Things you probably didn't know about the ultimate weapon: Hand grenades

Let's learn about hand grenades, an indispensable equipment on the modern battlefield.

For hundreds of years, hand grenades have been used extensively on the battlefield. This type of weapon is designed and used to eliminate enemy fortifications, structures, and trenches. It can be terribly effective when used in confined spaces, against unprotected enemies. Since World War I and the era of trench wars, grenades have been used in almost every major conflict in the world today.

Grenades come in a variety of variants, including high-explosive grenades that shoot out fragments when they explode, smoke grenades, stun grenades, infrared-marked grenades, and more.

At times, grenades can cause adverse situations for users, catastrophic accidents where the causes of grenades can, and actually have happened many times. It is often said: " When the pin is pulled out, the grenade is no longer your friend. " In many cases, weak soldiers, or new recruits, "accidentally" removed the latch and dropped the grenade at their feet. In addition, it is not uncommon for an enemy soldier to quickly throw a grenade back at the user before it explodes.

To ensure maximum destruction, the ammunition is designed to be multidirectional to increase the radius of damage. Indeed, with the ability to fire nearly 2,000 metal fragments at speeds of hundreds of feet per second, grenades are clearly deadly weapons, making anyone in the way it become disabled or worse than lose their lives. .

These pieces of grenades are often called by the thrower by the fancy name: "military confetti".

For hundreds of years, hand grenades have been used extensively on the battlefield.

Origin of the name

The grenade in English is "Grenade" , which is thought to originate from the French word for pomegranate, because the grenades used in the 16th century look like pomegranates. They also contain large gunpowder seeds, like tree seeds!

France was the first country to set up a grenade grenade (Grenadier) - specially trained soldiers to throw grenades to fly the farthest distance possible. They were chosen based on their height, strength, and of course their ability to throw grenades.

British grenade guards won the title of glory after defeating the army of French grenade throwers during the Waterloo War in 1815.

Historically, grenade throwers were among the infantry regiments of the British army, usually the tallest men in their regiments and responsible for . throwing grenades. To this day, the Queen's grenade-throwing guards still employ men who are taller than 6 feet (more than 1.8 meters). This bodyguard squad currently serves only in ceremonies, and during wartime, when the law is relaxed, soldiers less than 1.8 meters tall are still allowed to participate.

Maximum damage distance of a grenade

Without armor or protective measures, a grenade can kill a person up to 10 meters away and can cause serious damage from a maximum distance of 20 meters.

Grenade fragments can be fired up to 200 meters away from the explosive site. However, the further away, the lower their damage.

Why are some grenades shaped like a pineapple?

The grenades are engraved on the grenade to make them look like a pineapple, and the grenade is designed so that soldiers with their hands covered with dirt (often seen on the battlefield) still have Can hold firmly when throwing grenades . Many people believe that the pineapple-shaped design helps grenades increase the damage when detonated, but that's wrong.

Components of a hand grenade

The grenade body consists of a metal outer shell, filled with RDX / TNT explosives, along with: levers, metal springs, needles, safety pins, duckbill to hold the tail of the needle, fire particles to ignite slow fire, slow fire, crew.

Who invented hand grenades?

The first "safe to use" grenade was designed by British engineer William Mills in 1915, and he was named "Mills Bomb".

Prior to that time, most grenades were difficult to predict and could sometimes damage, or even kill, those prepared to use them.

What types of hand grenades are widely used in countries' military?

• L109 HE explosive grenade : used in defensive operations, can be effective in offensive operations if soldiers are carefully trained.
• Smoke grenade : used to block sight, can be used to fool enemies.
• White phosphorus grenade : used to instantly create smoke screens, also used as a grenade when fighting in trenches or bunkers. They contain phosphorus, which catches fire when exposed to air, burns at very high temperatures.
• Stun grenade : no damage, used to disperse buildings / rooms, distracting enemies inside when breaking in, giving advantage to the user.
• Signal smoke grenades : These grenades produce smoke and have bright colors such as red, yellow, purple, green, and blue. They are also used to mark helipads so that pilots can pinpoint exactly where the plane can land.

Range of impact of hand grenades

The severity of hand grenades varies between variants, but typically, the explosive radius of a grenade is 20 meters - anyone standing within this range can be injured or killed.

If a grenade is not enough .

Then the military will use grenade launcher. This gun has a 40mm barrel diameter, with the ability to shoot grenades that fly as far as 2,200m.

The grenade is attached to the belt on the gun. Each belt has 32 left. They are designed to explode upon impact, instead of waiting for a while like hand grenades.

How long does it take for a grenade to explode?

From pin release and throw, it usually takes about 2 to 6 seconds before the explosion occurs.