Humanity is constantly fighting. Almost no new history of any lengthy period of the world. Either one area of the planet becomes “hot”, then another, and sometimes several at once. And everywhere they shoot from the trunks of various weapons, bombs rattle, rocket and hand grenades fly, causing injuries and deaths to soldiers of the opposing armies, and at the same time to civilians. The more lethal the simpler and cheaper, the more often it is used. Automatons, pistols, carbines and rifles - out of competition. And the most deadly type of weapon is artillery. But no less dangerous are the "pocket shells" - hand grenades. If the bullet, according to the popular opinion of warriors, is a fool, then there is nothing to say about the fragments.
In our troubled world, everyone should know, if not how to use weapons, then at least about its damaging factors, at least in order to have a chance to somehow protect themselves from them in case of something.
A Brief History of Pomegranates
Hand grenades appeared a long time ago, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, however, then they were called bombs, and their device was quite primitive. A clay case made using the usual “pot” technology housed a dangerous substance - gunpowder or a combustible liquid. All this composition was equipped with an activating device in the form of a simple wick, and it darted to the places of the highest concentration of the enemy. The tasty and healthy fruit - pomegranate - inspired an unknown inventor who perfected this type of weapons, filling it with grains, striking elements, and at the same time gave it a name. By the middle of the seventeenth century, grenadier units appeared in all the armies of the world. These troops took well-made guys of perfect physique, tall and strong. These requirements were not dictated by aesthetic considerations, although the monarchs did not forget about them, just the hand grenades of that time were heavy, and they had to be thrown far. By the way, the technique of this business was different from the modern one. The bomb was thrown from itself in the direction from the bottom up, with a movement a bit reminiscent of a bowling player.
The emergence of a modern prototype
Time passed, technology developed, grenades became safer for the thrower, but caused more and more harm to the enemy. The impetus for their development as a type of compact weapon was the Russo-Japanese War, which began in 1905. First, the soldiers of both armies were engaged in invention, constructing deadly devices from improvised materials (bamboo, cans, etc.), and then the military industry entered into business. During the battle of Mukden, the Japanese first used hand-held fragmentation grenades with a wooden handle that had a dual purpose: for easy throwing and stabilization. From this moment began the worldwide career of "pocket artillery."
"Lemon" and its prototype
"Lemon" was invented by the British Martin Hale. The device of a hand grenade has not undergone fundamental changes for about a century. The innovation consisted in a new type of case (or “shirt”), rationally divided into regular geometric segments by the number 24. The revolution of the design consisted in the possibility of using an ordinary army rifle to deliver ammunition to the target. The Hale grenade became the prototype of a modern underbarrel shell.
During World War I, another idea was used. To protect the thrower, a long cord was tied to a check on a wooden handle, by means of a jerk for which the fuse was initiated. The author was the Norwegian Aazen, but his invention was not further developed.
The main scheme that is used today is the principle of the Hale prototype at the beginning of the 20th century. The “shirt” of a corrugated segmented shape is filled with explosive. In the center there is a round hole into which a cylindrical fuse enters when screwing. Detonation delay is carried out due to the known burning rate of the powder column, there is such a necessary thing as protection against accidental operation. This is exactly how manual fragmentation grenades are arranged for the most part, regardless of the country of manufacture and brand.
Special and combat
As in civilian life, in war every instrument has its own purpose. A fighter wears different hand grenades in a bag or on a belt. Photos of Soviet and German soldiers armed and equipped, newsreels, propaganda posters conveyed to us the appearance of these deadly devices of the forties, now lemon-like, then similar to motor pistons.
The following decades added variety to their assortment: a light-noise, signal, or hand smoke grenade appeared, as well as a tear gas filled. This “humane” weapon refers to non-lethal means intended to capture the enemy or criminals, as well as to provide favorable conditions on the battlefield during a retreat or maneuver. Situations may be different. For example, if it is necessary to withdraw a unit from the danger zone under fire in clear weather, you need to “let the fog in”. Thick gray smoke will provide the RDG-P grenade. Under his veil, soldiers will be able to make a secretive retreat (or even a detour) and perform a combat mission with minimal losses or without them at all.
A bright flash, accompanied by a terrible roar, will overwhelm the hiding bandit, and he will lose his ability to resist representatives of the forces of law and order. “Involuntary tears, ” just like in an old romance, will roll out of the eyes of the instigators of the riots, deprive for a while the ability to see well, and help the police to carry out the hard work of protecting public order.
But special equipment is only a small part of all hand grenades. Basically, this weapon is a combat weapon, but it is intended to inflict maximum damage on the soldiers of the enemy army. It should be remembered that a crippled warrior is less desirable for the economy of an adversary country than a killed one. It must be treated, equipped with prostheses, nourished and taken care of by the disabled family. For this reason, modern hand-held fragmentation grenades have a relatively small charge.
With a grenade against the tank
Anti-tank weapons all the post-war decades have been continuously improved. The main problem has always been the need to approach the armored vehicle at a throwing distance. The crews of the advancing armored vehicles actively opposed such attempts, using all possible means of suppressing enemy manpower. Support infantry ran behind, which also did not contribute to the success of the charge throwers. A wide variety of tools were used - from bottles with a combustible mixture to rather sophisticated magnetic and sticky devices. Hand anti-tank grenade has a lot of weight. During the Winter War, the Finnish headquarters even drew up a special memo according to which at least four kilograms of TNT were needed to destroy a tank weighing 30 tons (for example, T-28), not counting the hull. Ligaments were made from grenades, heavy and dangerous. Throwing such a load and not fall under the fire of the machine gun is not an easy task. The ability to slightly reduce the charge weight appeared later, due to the special design of the warhead. Cumulative hand-held anti-tank grenade when it hits the armor emits a narrowly directed stream of hot gas, burning metal. However, another problem arose. Now the soldier needed to throw his projectile so that not only hit the target, it was necessary to take care of the angle of contact. Ultimately, after the advent of rocket-propelled grenade launchers, almost all the armies of the world abandoned hand-held anti-tank grenades.
For attack and defense
Going with a grenade to the tank is the lot of courageous people. Another thing is the fight against infantry. Throwing hand grenades became an indispensable exercise when completing the course of a young fighter. In the USSR, even schoolchildren were taught this at the lessons of initial military training. Depending on the weight of the layout (500 or 700 g), the offset length of the throw is up to 25 m (for girls) and 35 m (for boys). An adult strong fighter can send a charge up to fifty meters, sometimes a little further. The question arises, what should be the diameter (or radius) of the fragmentation of the fragments so that the thrower itself does not suffer from them? But there is another aspect - the need to hide from the damaging elements. When conducting a defensive battle, the soldier has the opportunity to hide in the trench, crouching. During an attack, a rapidly changing disposition is not as favorable for the use of such effective weapons as a hand-held fragmentation grenade. You can easily get into your own. Therefore, for different battle conditions, two main types of weapons have been created: offensive and defensive. Hand grenades of Russia and the USSR were made precisely by such a gradation.
Soviet offensive grenades
During the Great Patriotic War, our soldiers in the offensive (and sometimes in defense) used fragmentation RGN and RG-42. The name of the RGN grenade even indicates its main purpose (offensive hand grenade). The RG-42 was distinguished mainly by its geometric shape (cylinder) and by the presence of a rolled-up steel strip with a notch inside the body, which formed a large number of fragments upon explosion. Fuses of hand grenades in our country have traditionally been unified to simplify application and production.
RG-42 had an elongated shirt with hemispherical endings and also had special inserts divided into small segments. Both samples hit manpower within a radius of 25 meters. Further modification of the RG-42 led to a simplification of the design.
During the war, grenades were produced with fuses that could activate the main charge not only after a certain time period, but also upon impact. This design feature increased the danger of the use of military equipment, therefore, in further developments, the Soviet designers refused the principle of shock detonation.
RGD-5
In 1954, the RGD-5 hand grenade was adopted by the Soviet Army. It can be characterized by the same epithets as almost all samples of domestic defense technologies. It is simple, reliable and technologically advanced. Combat experience has shown that the creation of an excessive number of damaging elements is impractical, and the fragments that are formed when the outer shell made of thin steel is destroyed are quite enough.
According to its tactical and technical data, the RGD hand grenade is close to its predecessor, the RGN, but it is more safe since it does not explode upon impact. It is so simple that, in addition to its weight (0.31 kg) and the radius of expansion of the fragments (25-35 m), there is nothing more to tell about it. You can also specify only the delay time of the explosion (about 4 seconds), but it depends on the characteristics of the unified fuse.
F-1
F-1 and RGD-5 are the two most common Russian hand grenades. They differ in purpose, and therefore in their technical characteristics. The F-1 hand grenade is defensive; it’s also known about it that it is used to destroy enemy manpower. These two points dictate twice as much weight. According to passport data, the fragments scatter 200 meters, but this does not mean at all that within this circle all living things will certainly be destroyed. The probability of defeat is inversely proportional to the distance from the epicenter, this law applies to hand grenades. Russia, or rather, the country's armed forces, requires various types of weapons to protect national interests, and today there are much more effective means of defeating infantry. However, it is too early to forget about the time-tested types of grenades.
General points
Hand grenade F1, like RGD-5, in its structure does not differ from the generally accepted scheme. The body is filled with TNT explosive. Its mass differs in two types. It would seem that to throw heavy fragments further, more TNT is required. In fact, this is not entirely true; the ability of the “shirt” to hold explosives inside itself during the explosive reaction matters. Therefore, the F1 hand grenade contains a smaller mass of explosives, having a heavier body. A more complete combustion of TNT gives the necessary acceleration to flying fragments. Despite the high strength of cast iron, one cannot count on the fact that all explosives will react, as well as on the destruction of the shirt strictly according to the intended notch, which reduces the charge's striking ability. RGD-5 hand grenade with almost three times less mass contains as much as 110 grams of TNT. A common feature of the two designs is the used fuse UZRGM. The letter "U" means "unified." Its device is simple, which explains the high reliability of operation.
How is the fuse
To bring the F-1 and RGD-5 grenades into combat position, a standardized modernized UZRGM fuse is usually used, which includes an impact mechanism. Inside it is a capsule that serves to detonate the main charge. In the transport position, the hole for the fuse is covered with a plastic stopper that protects the grenade from getting inside dirt or sand. The shock mechanism itself is made in the form of a tube equipped with bushings, washers (they perform a guiding function), a spring, a hammer, a trigger lever and a safety pin. By its principle of operation, the fuse is similar to a conventional cartridge, only of lesser power. He, as it were, shoots into the body with a jet of hot powder gas after the needle of the striker pierces the igniter capsule. To give sufficient kinetic energy, a compressed steel spring is used, which is able to straighten when the safety pin is removed and the bracket is released.
After operation of the igniter capsule, the powder column begins to burn in the tube. It lasts about four seconds, then the turn of another capsule, called a detonator, comes. As its name implies, it is he who explodes the main charge.
It should be remembered that a special powder with a high content of nitrate was used in the design of the fuse. It can burn at the same speed (1 cm / s) on land and under water.
Streamers and traps
An insidious adversary, when retreating or conducting defensive battles, can use hand grenades to mine the terrain. Both military personnel of the enemy army and civilians can become victims of such tactics, therefore, being in the front line, special care should be taken. The most common method of mining is the so-called stretching, which is a grenade (most often RGD-5), fixed with improvised means on a tree, bush or other part of the landscape, and a wire that is screwed at one end to a check ring, and the other to any other stationary object. The antennae of the checks are unbent, and the safety bracket is in a free state. An experienced fighter recognizes this primitive way immediately.
The trap is arranged a little differently. Grenade (RGD-5 or F-1), put into a combat position (with the check pulled out), fits into a recess made in the ground. During mining, the bracket is held in such a way that it can be pressed against any object of interest to the enemy. Therefore, when inspecting a newly occupied area, you should not touch abandoned weapons, equipment or boxes in which, presumably, food or medicine is located. It is best to tie a rope to suspicious things, through which to move them from a safe place.
It is not worth hoping that when activating a grenade there is time for which you can manage to take cover. There are additional inserts that are screwed in instead of the usual moderator, they when triggered cause an instant explosion.
Stretch marks and traps are especially dangerous for children and adolescents.
