A grenade launcher is a weapon that launches a grenade to greater distances, more accurately, and faster than a soldier could throw by hand. The Granatmaschinenwaffe (HK GMW or grenade machine gun (HK GMG is an automatic Grenade launcher developed by Heckler & Koch for the The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. A weapon is a Tool used either in Hunting, or attack or defence in Combat for the purpose of subduing enemy personnel or to destroy enemy weapons Man-portable grenade launchers can either come in the form of a standalone weapon (either single-shot or repeating weapons), or mounted under the barrel of a rifle. A rifle is a Firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves ("rifling" cut into the barrel walls Alternatively, many rifles have been designed to fire rifle grenades from their muzzle. A rifle grenade is a form of Grenade that utilizes a Rifle as a launch mechanism to increase the effective range of the grenade
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Most grenade launchers are man-portable, shoulder-fired weapons, usually mounted on a rifle such as the AK-47 or M16. The AK-47 (contraction of Russian Автомат Калашникова образца 1947 года; Avtomat Kalashnikova obraztsa 1947 goda; "Kalashnikov's M16 (more formally United States Rifle II Caliber 556 mm M16) is the U However, many can be used independently, such as the M79 and AG36. The M79 grenade launcher also know as "the Thumper" is a Single-shot, shoulder-fired Break open Grenade launcher which fires a 40 x46 mm The AG36 is a single-shot 40 mm Grenade launcher designed primarily for installation on the G36 Assault rifle, designed by the German These are almost always single shot, manually reloaded weapons firing 30–40 millimeter caliber high-explosive ammunition. The term caliber or calibre designates the interior Diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod The most standard grenade round today is the 40mm grenade, which has a wide variety of applications in man-portable and vehicle mounted weapons systems. With this standardization, there are many new 'specialty' grenades available, from rounds that can be used as less-lethal sponge grenades; as a flare; infrared flare; or even a video camera that surveys the battlefield from a bird's eye view. A sponge grenade is a Riot control weapon intended to be non-lethal, which is fired from a 40 mm grenade launcher to cause confusion or otherwise temporarily There are also heavier examples, including automatic grenade launchers for ground and vehicle use, such as the American Mk 19. An automatic firearm is a Firearm that automatically extracts and ejects the fired cartridge case and loads a new case usually through the energy of the fired The Mk 19 Grenade Launcher is a belt-fed automatic 40 mm Grenade launcher or grenade machine gun that entered U Capable of a relatively high rate of fire, these automatic grenade launchers are used for suppressive fire and to destroy or disable light vehicles and buildings. A military armored (or armoured) car (see spelling differences) is a wheeled armored vehicle lighter than other armored fighting vehicles primarily Some armored fighting vehicles also mount grenade launchers as a means of defense, usually firing smoke grenades to conceal the vehicle behind a smoke screen, though can also be loaded with chaff, flares, or anti-personnel grenades to repel infantry attacks. An armoured fighting vehicle ( AFV) is a military Vehicle, protected by armour and armed with Weapons Most AFVs are equipped for driving in rugged For the Transformers character see Smokescreen (Transformers A smoke screen is a release of Smoke in order to mask the movement Chaff, originally called Window by the British, and Düppel by the World War II era German Luftwaffe, is a A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of Pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an Explosion. An anti-personnel Weapon is one primarily used to injure or kill people. The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists
The man-portable grenade launcher can either come in the form of a standalone weapon (either single-shot or repeating weapons, the latter usually resembling a large revolver); or an underbarrel weapon which is permanently mounted to the rifle. Alternatively, many rifles have been designed to fire grenades from their muzzle, using either a special blank propellant cartridge or a central hole through the grenade allowing the bullet to pass through. This system has two key advantages: the grenade can generally be made larger and more powerful as compared to underbarrel or standalone weapons, and the rifle's weight and handling characteristics are not affected as with underbarrel systems. The disadvantage of this method is that when a soldier wants to launch a grenade he must unload the weapon and then load the propellant cartridge and grenade. If he is surprised by a close-range threat while preparing to fire the grenade, he has to reverse the above procedure and cannot immediately react with rifle fire. In underbarrel systems, the rifle portion and launching portion of the weapon can both be carried loaded and ready to fire. Underbarrel tubes generally have their own trigger and use the rifle's magazine as a grip for the firing hand. To fire, one simply changes grips, disengages the safety and pulls the trigger. In western systems the barrel either slides forward or pivots to the side to allow reloading, while Soviet/Russian launcher is loaded from muzzle and doesn't require spent case extraction (as the case is fixed to the projectile). For aiming, the M203 mounts either a flip-up rear sight, which is notched for different ranges and utilizes the rifle's existing front sight, or a "quadrant" sight which mounts to the side of the carrying handle. Recoil from such weapons is significant, comparable to a high-power shotgun.
Examples of modern man-portable grenade launchers are the M203 and GP-30, which mount to service rifles. M203 is a single shot 40 mm Grenade launcher that attaches to the M16 Assault rifle or the M4 Carbine used by the Military For the locomotive model see EMD GP30 The GP-30 Obuvka ('Shoe' GP-25 Kostyor ('Bonfire' and BG-15 Mukha ('Fly' are The service rifle (also known as standard-issue rifle) of a given Army or Armed force is that which it issues as standard to its Soldiers In Another type of man-portable grenade launcher is the M32 'six shooter' grenade launcher and its cousins, which is able to fire six grenades in quick succession from a cylindrical chamber, this classification of firearm is often referred to as a Multi Shot Grenade Launcher, or MSGL. The MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher is a lightweight 40 mm semi-automatic 6-shot Grenade launcher developed and manufactured in South Africa by the Automatic launchers include the Mk 19, AGS-17, and the HK GMG, which all fire at a higher velocity than related shoulder-fired grenades. The Mk 19 Grenade Launcher is a belt-fed automatic 40 mm Grenade launcher or grenade machine gun that entered U The AGS-17 Plamya (Russian Пламя is a Soviet -designed Automatic grenade launcher currently in production in the Russian Federation The Granatmaschinenwaffe (HK GMW or grenade machine gun (HK GMG is an automatic Grenade launcher developed by Heckler & Koch for the A gun's muzzle velocity is the speed at which the Projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun Modern developments tend toward smaller, faster, and massed grenade fire. The XM25 is a shoulder-fired, magazine-fed semi-automatic launcher firing 25 mm projectiles. The XM25 is an airburst Grenade launcher derived from the XM29 OICW. A magazine is an Ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating Firearm. It was originally a component of the XM29 OICW program, but modified to a larger caliber. See XM29 OICW for more information on that subset of the overall program The Objective Its heavy equivalent is the XM307 ACSW automatic grenade launcher that is easily convertible between the 25 mm grenade ammunition and standard .50 BMG cartridges. The XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon (ACSW is a developmental 25 mm belt-fed Grenade Machine Gun with smart shell capability Both are intended to fire programmable "smart" grenades capable of being set to explode at a certain distance from launch or at a certain height above the ground. A smart grenade is a type of explosive ammunition used in some modern Grenade launchers Unlike traditional grenades such as the 40 mm grenade, smart grenades This gives the ability to hit targets inside of rooms or behind hard cover that would normally not be reachable by small arms fire. Small arms is a term used by the Armed forces to refer to Infantry Weapons such as the Firearms that an individual soldier can carry