Grenade
A grenade is a hand-held bomb, made to be thrown by a soldier. The word "grenade" has a Spanish origin in the word granado (which simply means "pomegranate"), in reference to the general size of early grenades. Grenadiers were originally a class of soldier specialized in throwing grenades.
Using grenades
A classic grenade has a handle and a removable pin that prevents the handle from coming off. After removing the pin and subsequently releasing the handle, the grenade will detonate in four seconds.
When using a grenade, the objective is to have the grenade land with too little time for the enemy to throw it back.
One grasps the grenade in the strong hand. The grasp should include the handle. Then one pulls the pin out of the grenade. Then one estimates the time of flight to the enemy, and subtracts it from four. Then one releases the handle, counts the time not needed for flight, and throws the grenade at the intended target.
One of the classic mistakes is to grasp the grenade in the weak hand, pull the pin, and then throw the pin.
Another classic mistake is to fail to grasp the handle, and then pull the pin. In this case, the grenade might explode while one is calculating times.
A basic safety precaution is to always throw a grenade from cover. Therefore, if anything goes wrong, it can be thrown quickly out of the cover.
When a grenade is out of control, yell "grenade." When a grenade is dropped in to a enclosed space like a tunnel, the dropper is usually supposed to yell, "Fire in the hole" to alert his comrades that an explosive is about to detonate.
Grenades are often used in the field to construct booby-traps. The basic concept is to use some action of the intended target (such as opening a door, or starting an auto) to trigger the grenade. These grenade-based booby-traps are simple to construct in the field using readily available material. However, they contribute to the problem of unexploded ordnance.
Design and operation
The fragmentation grenade is an antipersonnel device that is designed to spew shrapnel in all directions. When the handle comes off, a spring-powered striker hits a percussion cap. The cap ignites a four-second fuse. The fuse ignites a detonator, which ignites the explosive of the grenade.
To make them easy to throw, modern US grenades are usually shaped and weigh the same as a baseball. They use a compound of RDX as their explosive. The shell is made of plastic, and flechettes or nicked wire provide the antipersonnel shrapnel fragments.
Classical "pineapple" grenades, such as the Mills bomb, used smokeless powder and cast-iron shells, which would fragment along deliberately cast weak points in the shell.
Grenades have also been made to release smoke, tear gas ("CN"), and illumination. Special forces use "flash-bang" grenades to disorient people during an entry into a room, without the intent of causing lasting injury.
Some grenade designs were made to be thrown longer distances. The German "potato-masher" grenade had a long wooden handle that extended range by fifty percent. It was detonated by a friction igniter in the head, which was activated by a pull string threaded through the hollow stick, by pulling a little plastic ring attached to a string attached to a friction igniter, time fuse, and detonator designed to explode after delay. It is often incorrectly thought to have an impact fuse.
See also: Rocket propelled grenade
Grenade is also the name of a commune in the Haute-Garonne département, in France.