![]() Grenades were also used during the Golden Age of Piracy, especially during boarding actions pirate Captain Thompson used "vast numbers of powder flasks, grenade shells, and stinkpots" to defeat two pirate-hunters sent by the Governor of Jamaica in 1721. These grenades were not very effective owing both to the unreliability of their fuse, as well inconsistent times to detonation, and as a result, saw little use. The word "grenade" was also used during the events surrounding the Glorious Revolution in 1688, where cricket ball-sized (8.81 to 9 in (224 to 229 mm) in circumference) iron spheres packed with gunpowder and fitted with slow-burning wicks were first used against the Jacobites in the battles of Killiecrankie and Glen Shiel. In 1643, it is possible that "Grenados" were thrown amongst the Welsh at Holt Bridge during the English Civil War. By the mid-17th century, infantry known as Grenadiers began to emerge in the armies of Europe, who specialized in shock and close quarters combat, mostly with the usage of grenades and fierce melee combat. The grenades were most likely intentionally dumped in the moat of the bastion prior to 1723. Many of the grenades retained their original black powder loads and igniters. A hoard of several hundred ceramic hand grenades was discovered during construction in front of a bastion of the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, Germany dated to the 17th century. The first cast-iron bombshells and grenades appeared in Europe in 1467, where their initial role was with the besieging and defense of castles and fortifications. In a 12th-century work, Mujmalut Tawarikh, based on an Arabic work which is itself based on original Sanskrit work, a terracotta elephant filled with explosives set with a fuse was placed hidden in the van and exploded as the invading army approached near. Grenade-like devices were also known in ancient India. ![]() If ten of these shells are fired successfully into the enemy camp, the whole place will be set ablaze. They are sent flying towards the enemy camp from an eruptor ( mu pào), and when they get there a sound like a thunder-clap is heard, and flashes of light appear. Inside they contain half a pound of 'divine fire' ( shén huǒ, gunpowder). The shells ( pào) are made of cast iron, as large as a bowl and shaped like a ball. History Įarliest known representation of a gun (a fire lance) and a grenade (upper right), Dunhuang, 10th century AD Its first use in English dates from the 1590s. The word grenade is likely derived from the French word spelled exactly the same, meaning pomegranate, as the bomb is reminiscent of the many-seeded fruit in size and shape. A friction igniter inside the handle or on the top of the grenade head was used to initiate the fuse. The stick design provides leverage for throwing longer distances, but at the cost of additional weight and length, and has been considered obsolete by western countries since the Second World War and Cold War periods. Some grenades are mounted at the end of a handle and known as "stick grenades". Grenades are often spherical, cylindrical, ovoid or truncated ovoid in shape, and of a size that fits the hand of an average-sized adult. Most anti-personnel (AP) grenades are designed to detonate either after a time delay or on impact. In modern grenades, a pre-formed fragmentation matrix inside the grenade is commonly used, which may be spherical, cuboid, wire or notched wire. Their outer casings, generally made of a hard synthetic material or steel, are designed to rupture and fragment on detonation, sending out numerous fragments ( shards and splinters) as fast-flying projectiles. Fragmentation grenades ("frags") are probably the most common in modern armies, and when the word grenade is used in everyday speech, it is generally assumed to refer to a fragmentation grenade. Grenades work by dispersing fragments ( fragmentation grenades), shockwaves ( high-explosive, anti-tank and stun grenades), chemical aerosols ( smoke and gas grenades) or fire ( incendiary grenades). ![]() 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 (sometimes called the delay element), which burns down to the detonator and explodes the main charge. 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. ![]() Demonstration of a German stielhandgranate (shaft hand grenade), a high explosive grenade with time fuze, Netherlands, 1946Ī grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. ![]()
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