9. Keep the finger outside the trigger guard until ready to squeeze the trigger. 10. Habitually put on safety locks or catches during lulls in firing. 11. Do not try other than specified caliber ammunition in a particular weapon. GRENADES Grenades are small explosive or chemical missiles intended for use against an enemy at relatively short range. There are two basic types of grenades-those intended to be thrown by hand, and those intended to be projected from rifles or carbines equipped with suitable grenade launchers. By attaching a suitable adapter, some of the hand grenades may also be fired from rifles and carbines. Hand grenades provide the shore patrolman with an auxiliary weapon, similar to a shell or bomb, to supplement his basic weapons. Both hand and rifle grenades can be classified into three general types, namely: explosive, chemical, and practice or training. 1. Explosive grenades are used primarily for antipersonnel (fragmentation or blast) or antitank effect. They may also be used as demolition agents. 2. Chemical grenades are used for casualty, harassing, incendiary, screening, and signaling purposes. Some of them may also be used for training purposes and destruction. 3. Practice and training grenades are used in training troops for combat. It is with the second type that the shore patrolman will be chiefly concerned. Grenades thrown by hand are normally fitted with a delay-action fuze. For explosive hand grenades and the chemical smoke hand grenade, the delay is set for a certain number of seconds. Burning-type chemical hand grenades are usually fitted with a base fuze that functions on impact. Explosive Hand Grenades Two types of explosive hand grenades are used by shore patrolmen. FRAGMENTATION TYPE.-This is a typical fragmentation hand grenade. It is made of cast iron varying in thickness from 1/8 to 1/4 inch.The body is lemon shaped, approximately 214 inches in diameter and 311⁄2 inches in length without the fuze. It contains an explosive charge which, upon detonation, breaks up the body of the grenade and fuze and projects the fragments outward in all Figure 13-18.-"Baseball" type of hand grenade. directions at high velocity. The body is grooved both horizontally and vertically. The fuze for this grenade has a primer, a combustible time-delay train, and a detonator. Attached to the fuze body is a safety lever held in place against the action of the striker spring by means of a safety pin. Just prior to throwing, the safety pin is removed. When the grenade is thrown, the safety lever is pushed off by the striker, allowing the striker to impact against the primer. The primer ignites the time-delay train and, after a certain number of seconds, this delay train causes the detonator to explode. This, in turn, causes the explosive filler in the grenade to detonate, thereby fragmenting the grenade. Fragments may fly over 200 yards. OFFENSIVE TYPE.-The offensive grenade is intended to have an antipersonnel effect over a small area. It contains enough explosive to make it more useful as a demolition agent than the fragmentation-type grenade. No fragmentation effect is obtained. Chemical Hand Grenades The standard container for the burning type of chemical hand grenade is a cylindrical steel can 23% inches in diameter and 434 inches high. The fuze for these grenades is similar to the fuze used in the Mk 2 fragmentation grenade, except that it has an igniter instead of a detonator, and has a short delay time of 2 seconds. Grenades of this type have waterproof, adhesive tape covered, smoke emission holes in the top, sides, or bottom. These grenades are described briefly as follows: CN-DM IRRITANT HAND GRENADE.-The products of combustion of the filler in this grenade have a harassing effect. Principal use of the grenade is in the control of civil disturbances. The burning time is 20 to 60 seconds. The filler is a composition of tear gas, vomit gas, and smokeless powder. CN TEAR HAND GRENADE.-This grenade is identical with the CN-DM grenade except that it has a tear gas filler. Its principal use is in the control of civil disturbances, and training in use of the gas mask. CN HAND, RIOT GRENADE.-This grenade is designed primarily for use in the control of riots, mobs, and other disturbances. Its weight, size, and shape allow easy han dling and projection. It is spherical and is approximately the size and shape of a baseball. To fire, grasp the grenade in the hand of the throwing arm with the thumb (or index finger) held firmly on the top of the arming sleeve (figure 13-18). With the free hand remove the safety pin, and, maintaining pressure on the arming sleeve, throw the grenade. For maximum effect aim the grenade so that it bursts 3 or 4 feet above the ground, and upwind in the immediate vicinity of the target. With the shattering of the plastic body, the micropulverized CN is dispersed in a cloud which travels with the wind. The radius of burst is about 5 yards. Detailed instructions in the use and procedure of handling many types of grenades are given in FM 23–30 and TM 3-300. There is only one standard chemical grenade of the bursting type and it is known as the WP smoke grenade. This grenade has a drawn-steel cylindrical body similar in size to the burning-type chemical hand grenade, and is filled with white phosphorus. The detonating fuze used in this grenade causes it to split open and project burning particles of phosphorus over a radius of about 15 yards. This produces a dense white smoke screen and will cause casualties by burning. Explosive Rifle Grenades One type of rifle grenade consists of a sheet-shell body, cone, and ogive assembly to which is attached a simple base detonating fuze and a stabilizer and fin assembly. The head of the grenade contains several ounces castpentolite, shaped charge for blasting holes in the target. At the same time detonation of the main charge causes fragmentation of the body in a lateral direction. The grenade is primarily used against armored vehicles. It has been found to be most effective against enemy personnel when it is fired at a high angle of elevation, such as 45°. |