BLUF: Use the correct hand grenade for the mission and practice proper handling procedures to prevent severe burns and other injuries.
Dear Editor,
Sometimes Soldiers have questions about hand grenades. They should refer to TC 3-23.30 (Aug 21),
Grenades and Pyrotechnic Signals, for the answers.
Soldiers should make sure they know what type of hand grenade is required for the mission. Each hand grenade has a specific task and purpose and can be identified by its shape, size and markings. The following details about burning and bursting type hand grenades can help them.
Burning Type Hand Grenades
Smoke signal, smoke obscuration and incendiary grenades have a fuze delay of 1 to 2.3 seconds. They include:
- M18 Smoke (Green/Yellow/Red/Violet)
- M83 Smoke
- M14 Incendiary
Burning type hand grenades
Bursting Type Hand Grenades
Obscuration grenades have a fuze delay of 1 to 2.3 seconds. They include:
Bursting type hand grenade
sing improper arming procedures for burning and bursting type hand grenades can lead to severe burns to the hands, arms and face; potential loss of fingers and/or thumb; and loss of combat power to the unit.
Once the pull ring is extracted from the grenade, Soldiers must
never attempt to “milk” or “cook off” the safety lever by lifting the throwing thumb or releasing pressure off the safety lever to allow for striker rotation and fuze activation.
The message is clear. Improper gripping, arming and employment of bursting and burning type obscuration and smoke hand grenades with a fuze delay of 1 to 2.3 seconds will lead to preventable injuries!
John J Ryan Jr
Ft Moore, GA
Editor’s note: Thanks for the advice, John.
Soldiers, before you pull the pin and release the safety lever, make sure you have the correct hand grenade for the task at hand and use proper handling procedures.