Delving into the world of explosive weapons, the grenade stands out as a main focus, yet it is often misrepresented. Popular media typically portrays characters pulling the pin with their teeth, throwing the grenade at foes, and anticipating a dramatic explosion. While these portrayals add excitement to scenes, they do not accurately reflect the correct use of these weapons.
Now, let’s look at six common errors in how grenades are depicted in war films.
What is a grenade?
Contemporary hand grenades comprise an internal explosive charge, a detonator and an internal striker responsible for initiating the explosion. These components are secured by a lever and pin safety device. While there are diverse grenade types designed for specific purposes, the fragmentation grenade stands out as the most prevalent.
The roots of grenades can be traced back to the Byzantine Empire, where small ceramic canisters resembling pomegranates were utilized. These containers were filled with “Greek fire” and employed to set ships ablaze in naval battles. Concurrently, during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) in China, ceramic vessels filled with gunpowder and fuses contributed to the historical evolution of grenades.
The advent of the modern grenade took place in Britain in 1906, although formal adoption by the British Army didn’t occur until ’13. The outbreak of World War I propelled advancements in hand grenade technology throughout Europe, leading to the creation of novel models like the Mills bomb, acknowledged as the inaugural modern fragmentation grenade.
Today, the weapon varies in form and purpose, from fragmentation grenades to high explosive ones, anti-tank and stun grenades (also known as flashbangs).
Movie error #1: Pulling the pin with your teeth
After exploring the historical background of grenades, it’s important to debunk the myths spread by Hollywood regarding these explosive devices. One common myth suggests that soldiers use their teeth to pull the pin.
The design of a grenade’s safety pin is intentionally engineered to be challenging to remove, particularly when bent. Were it as effortlessly extracted as depicted in movies, the grenade would not serve as a safe or practical weapon, nor would it be reliable. While theoretically possible for a soldier to use their teeth for this task, it would likely result in an unpleasant visit to the dentist (an experience no one wants).
It is far more practical and safe for soldiers to use their hands for removing the pin.
Movie error #2: A massive fireball explosion
In many war movies, characters are depicted throwing grenades, resulting in a dramatic explosion followed by their slow-motion escape, as is typical in Hollywood. However, this portrayal is not entirely accurate. Grenades are not designed to generate massive fireballs; rather, they are intended to propel shrapnel in a wide radius around them.
The typical casualty radius of a hand grenade ranges from five to 20 meters. Within a 10-meter range, a grenade can fatally injure bystanders, while serious injuries can occur up to 20 meters away. Despite the potential lethality of a grenade explosion, the weapon lacks the force necessary to produce the immense fireballs seen in movies.
The average causality radius of a hand grenade is between five and 20 meters. From 10 meters away, a single grenade can kill a bystander, while serious injuries can occur from 20 meters. While an explosion caused by a grenade can be deadly, the weapon lacks the power necessary to create a massive fireball like in the movies.
Movie error #3: The effects of shrapnel
Among the array of grenades in current use, the M67 fragmentation grenade emerges as particularly common. These weapons are crafted for defensive purposes, engineered to disintegrate upon detonation, dispersing shrapnel everywhere. Even makeshift grenades like the incendiary Molotov cocktail use a similar fragmentation tactic to maximize devastation.
Yet, in cinematic portrayals, television dramas, and video games, the shrapnel element of grenades is frequently overlooked, with the emphasis instead placed on the explosive impact as the primary danger. However, in reality, the explosion alone is unlikely to prove fatal to people within the blast radius; the true peril lies in the deadly potential of the shrapnel.
Movie error #4: Throwing the grenade like a baseball
When soldiers throw a grenade in movies, they usually throw it lightly over the shoulder like a baseball. In reality, grenades are much heavier than the average baseball, weighing around 400 grams (depending on the model), while a baseball only weighs 141 grams.
It takes time and practice for soldiers to properly learn how to throw a grenade with enough force to avoid falling victim to the 20-meter-wide causality radius.
Movie error #5: Projectile grenades are not missiles
Grenade launchers, also known as projectile grenades, have become one of the most easily recognizable weapons in the world. They were first used in modern combat during WWI and were constructed from items like crossbows and catapults. As such, they were less effective than the ones used today.
Today, projectile grenades are so sophisticated that they often get mistaken for missiles and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). RPGs are much larger and use larger ammunition that’s equipped with its own internal fuel supply, while grenade launchers are smaller rifles that use external fuel to launch fragmentation grenades, which slightly reduces the risk of getting blown up.
Both rocket launchers and grenade launchers have their advantages. Grenade launchers are smaller and can be fired faster than a rocket launcher, but rocket launchers can fire missiles at a greater distance. Even though movies like to use grenade launchers and rocket launchers interchangeably, they couldn’t be more different!
Movie error #6: You can’t actually throw grenades back
One movie trope that likely bothers many soldiers and military enthusiasts is when characters throw back unpinned grenades – especially when they’ve been sitting on the ground for more than a few seconds. While throwing the weapon back can be accomplished in some circumstances, it’s incredibly difficult (and inadvisable), unless one has a death wish.
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There’s only a few seconds of space between the pin being pulled and the grenade going off, and thus the only way a soldier could even successfully lob the weapon back is if they were to catch it straight out of the air. This hardly ever happens. The most likely scenario is it’ll roll and bounce on the ground, not giving someone enough time to run up to it, grab it and throw it back before detonation.
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