Communist Hand Grenades
US Korean War Hand Grenades
Communist Materials Available in 1951
North Korea was well supplied by Russia with arms of all types, but China had arms for only about a third of their infantry, at least in the beginning of the war. On attack, they issued grenades to those without other weapons, and expected them to pick up arms on the battlefield. The North Koreans also used this approach in the Pusan Perimeter fighting, with conscripted South Koreans. It was a safe way to divert our attention from their veteran attack forces, effectively causing us to waste our fire on cannon fodder, plus doubtless the desperate conscripts were sometimes quite effective. |
Communist forces in Korea used three basic types of hand grenades. 1. Offensive, or Concussion, grenades (upper right). Contain an explosive charge in conical body attached to a stick, designed for demolition effect and to stun the enemy in enclosed places, so the thrower can charge while the enemy is dazed. In the bunker position shown, they would be useful in a quick counter attack on assaulting forces who became pinned down. During company-size assaults themselves, the Chinese armed entire platoons only with grenades, following them with other platoons armed with submachine guns, to take advantage of the stunned defenders. The grenade platoon members, when their grenades were expended, then armed themselves with weapons from either their fallen submachine gun platoon members, or from fallen defenders. 2. Fragmentation grenades (Stick-type in upper left, in hip pouchs and center; foreground. Pineapple-type serrated metal case in center picture, rear left, similar to our Mark II ). Contain an explosive charge in a metal body, attached to a stick, designed to break into fragments upon the charge exploding. Weighing about one pound, they have a killing radius of 5 to 10 yards, and fragments are dangerous up to 30 yards. The stick-type grenade is armed by unscrewing the wooden cap on top. It's connected by a string to the fuze igniter, so you just pull the string with the top, and let it fly. In offense, stray shrapnel makes fragmentation grenades more of a danger to attacking troops using them than are the concussion grenades, but determined defenders are more able to recover and sustain their defense from the shock effect of the concussion grenades. Chinese and North Korean stick-type fragmentation grenades were patterned after the Soviet RGD 33 hand grenades. 3. Chemical grenades (center, right) . Designed to produce a toxic or irritating effect, a casualty effect, a screening or signal smoke, an incendiary action, or some combination. 4. Bangalore Torpedo. This is just a 3 foot or so length of pipe, filled with flaked TNT or plastic like C-3, and capped at both ends. The fuze is screwed into one end of the pipe. It is primarily intended to blow paths through obstacles like barbed wire, and so is normally inserted under them, with the blast effect blowing the obstacle material up and to the sides. The center picture is of captured Chinese grenades. The complete photos from which the left and right cutouts are taken are: Prisoner Mountain Position |
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