The M67 grenade has a spheroidal steel body that contains 6.5oz (180g) of composition B explosive. It uses the M213 pyrotechnic delay fuze. The M67 grenade weighs 14oz (400g) in total and has a safety clip to prevent the safety pin on the grenade from being pulled accidentally. The safety pin prevents the safety lever, or "spoon" on the grenade from moving and releasing the spring-loaded striker which initiates the grenade's fuse assembly.[1]
The M67 is typically known as a "baseball" grenade, because it is shaped like a ball that can be easily thrown.[2] According to the FY2021 US Army Justification, the average cost of a single M67 grenade is around 45 US dollars.[3]
The M67 can be thrown 30 to 35 metres (98 to 115ft) by the average male soldier.[citation needed] Its fuse delays detonation between 4 and 5 seconds after the spoon is released. Steel fragments (not to be confused with shrapnel) are provided by the grenade body and produce an injury radius of 15 metres (49ft), with a fatality radius of 5 metres (16ft), though some fragments can disperse as far out as 250 metres (820ft).[4]
Variants
M33 Fragmentation Grenade
The M33 was the original successor to the M26 fragmentation grenade. It was essentially identical to the M67, but lacked the safety clip that is fitted to the safety lever of the M67.
M68 Fragmentation Grenade
This is a variant of the M67 fitted with the M217 impact fuze and a safety clip on the safety lever. This fuze has an electrical impact function which arms within 1 to 2 seconds and will detonate the grenade upon impact, and a back-up pyrotechnic delay function which will initiate the grenade after 3 to 7 seconds if the impact function fails. The M68 has the same specifications and markings as the M67 except it has a red-painted fuze and lever to indicate it has an impact fuze.
M33A1 and M59 Fragmentation Grenades
Predecessors to the M68, these impact-fuzed grenades used the M33 grenade body fitted with the M217 impact fuze, without a safety clip on the safety lever, and are marked similarly to the M68.
M69 Practice Grenade
The M69 grenade is used for grenade training to safely simulate the M67 grenade. The fuze screws into the body, and is replaceable after use. The simulator produces a report and a small puff of white smoke when employed.
The M69 has a blue-painted lever and a blue body with white markings. This is to indicate that it is a safe practice grenade rather than a live fragmentation grenade like the M33 or M67.
"Mills bomb" is the popular name for a series of British hand grenades which were designed by William Mills. They were the first modern fragmentation grenades used by the British Army and saw widespread use in the First and Second World Wars.
In an explosive, pyrotechnic device, or military munition, a fuse is the part of the device that initiates function. In common usage, the word fuse is used indiscriminately. However, when being specific, the term fuse describes a simple pyrotechnic initiating device, like the cord on a firecracker whereas the term fuze is used when referring to a more sophisticated ignition device incorporating mechanical and/or electronic components, such as a proximity fuze for an M107 artillery shell, magnetic or acoustic fuze on a sea mine, spring-loaded grenade fuze, pencil detonator, or anti-handling device.
A Butterfly Bomb was a German 2-kilogram (4.4 lb) anti-personnel submunition used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. It was so named because the thin cylindrical metal outer shell which hinged open when the bomblet deployed gave it the superficial appearance of a large butterfly. The design was very distinctive and easy to recognise. SD 2 bomblets were not dropped individually, but were packed into containers holding between 6 and 108 submunitions e.g. the AB 23 SD 2 and AB 250-3 submunition dispensers. The SD 2 submunitions were released after the container was released from the aircraft and had burst open. Because SD 2s were always dropped in groups the discovery of one unexploded SD 2 was a reliable indication that others had been dropped nearby. This bomb type was one of the first cluster bombs ever used in combat and it proved to be a highly effective weapon. The bomb containers that carried the SD 2 bomblets and released them in the air were nicknamed the "Devil's Eggs" by Luftwaffe air and ground crew.
The Soviet F-1 hand grenade, is an anti-personnel fragmentation defensive grenade. It is based on the French F1 grenade and contains a 60-gram explosive charge (TNT). The total weight of the grenade with the fuze is about 600 grams.
The RGD-5 is a post–World War II Soviet anti-personnel fragmentation grenade, designed in the early 1950s. The RGD-5 was accepted into service with the Soviet Army in 1954. It was widely exported, and is still in service with many armies in the Middle East and the former Soviet bloc.
RKG-3 is a series of Soviet anti-tank hand grenades. It superseded the RPG-43, RPG-40 and RPG-6 series of grenades. It entered service in 1950, and was still being used by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan into the 2000s and 2010s, against the vehicles of NATO forces.
The RGO hand grenade is a defensive Soviet fragmentation hand grenade. It consists of a double layered steel pre-fragmented body. It is very similar to the single-layered offensive aluminium-bodied RGN hand grenade. It uses the UDZS dual action fuze, which has both impact and time delay functions. The impact fuze arms after a pyrotechnic delay of 1 to 1.8 seconds. If the impact fuze has not triggered the grenade after 3.2 to 4.2 seconds a second pyrotechnic delay triggers the grenade. The fragments produced by the grenade generate a lethal radius of between 6 metres (20 ft) and 20 metres (66 ft), with the safety radius being 100 metres (330 ft).
The RGN hand grenade is an offensive Soviet fragmentation hand grenade. It consists of a single layered aluminium pre-fragmented body. It is very similar to the defensive RGO hand grenade. The grenade shell consists of two internally serrated aluminium hemispheres. The UDZS fuze has both impact and time delay functions, the impact fuze arms after a pyrotechnic delay of 1 to 1.8 seconds. If the grenade strikes an object after this time a spherical lead shot filled impact weight will trigger detonation. If the grenade has not struck anything after 3.5 to 4 seconds the second pyrotechnic delay will detonate the grenade.
The Soviet RGD-33 is an anti-personnel fragmentation stick grenade developed in 1933.
The M26 is a fragmentation hand grenade developed by the United States military. It entered service around 1952 and was used in combat during the Korean War. Its distinct lemon shape led it to being nicknamed the "lemon grenade".
The military of the United States has used many different types of hand grenades since its foundation.
The V40 fragmentation grenade was manufactured in the Netherlands, and was in service in the Canadian Forces and the US Armed Forces.
The MK3 hand grenade is a cylindrical concussion grenade designed to produce casualties during close combat while minimizing danger to friendly personnel exposed in the open owing to minimal fragmentation. There is a secondary fragmentation hazard though from rocks, gravel, wood splinters, glass, etc. The grenade is also used for concussion effects in enclosed areas, for blasting, or for demolition tasks. The shock waves (overpressure) produced by this grenade when used in enclosed areas are greater than those produced by the fragmentation grenade. It is, therefore, very effective used in an offensive role against enemy soldiers located in bunkers, buildings, and fortified areas. It is commonly known as the "concussion" or "demo" grenade.
The HK69A1 is a 40 mm grenade launcher developed and produced by the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch (H&K). The weapon was designed to engage enemy troops and strongpoints out to a distance of 350 m; it can also be used to deploy smoke grenades and illumination flares.
The HG 85 is a round fragmentation hand grenade designed for the Swiss Armed Forces and still produced by RUAG Ammotec in Switzerland. HG 85 is the internal designation of the Swiss Army and replaces the HG 43 from WWII.
The F1 grenade is manufactured by Thales Australia exclusively for the Australian Defence Force as a primary defensive anti-personnel hand grenade.
In military munitions, a fuze is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze designs can be seen in cutaway diagrams.
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand, but can also refer to a shell shot from the muzzle of a rifle or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade generally consists of an explosive charge ("filler"), a detonator mechanism, an internal striker to trigger the detonator, and a safety lever secured by a cotter pin. The user removes the safety pin before throwing, and once the grenade leaves the hand the safety lever gets released, allowing the striker to trigger a primer that ignites a fuze, which burns down to the detonator and explodes the main charge.
The M549 is a high-explosive rocket-assisted (HERA) 155 mm howitzer round developed for use by the US military in order to add additional range to standard howitzers, with a maximum range 30.1 km from a M198 howitzer. The projectile has two distinctive pre-assembled components—the high explosive (HE) warhead and the rocket motor, making it a form of rocket-assisted projectile. The warhead is fabricated from high fragmentation steel for increased effectiveness in terms of damage caused to target and contains a bulk-filled explosive.
The SFG 87 is a defensive fragmentation hand grenade created in Singapore. It is one of the grenades used for infantry divisions within the Singapore Armed Forces. It is manufactured by Singaporean weapons manufacturer ST Kinetics, and has been mass-produced since 1987, replacing the older SFG 82 and SFG 75 variants.
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