Grenades often feature prominently in any media about explosive weapons, but they’re usually shown inaccurately. In movies, characters are seen dramatically pulling pins with their teeth, tossing the explosives at enemies, and bracing for massive explosions. While these moments amp up the action, they don’t represent the correct way grenades are handled.
Here are six common mistakes in the portrayal of grenades in military 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
Following up from the discussion of the historical evolution of grenades, it’s important to address the misconceptions perpetuated by Hollywood about these explosive devices. A common mistake is the portrayal of soldiers pulling the pin with their teeth.
The safety pin of a grenade is deliberately made difficult to remove, especially when bent. If it were as easy to pull out as it looks in movies, the grenade would neither be reliable nor safe. While a soldier could technically use their teeth to remove the pin, it would likely result in an unpleasant trip to the dentist (which no one wants).
Using hands to pull the pin is far more practical and safer for soldiers.
Movie error #2: A massive fireball explosion
In many war films, characters are often shown throwing grenades, leading to a dramatic explosion followed by their slow-motion escape, as is typical in Hollywood. However, this portrayal is far from reality. Grenades are not intended to create large fireballs; their primary function is to disperse shrapnel over a wide area.
The average causality radius of a hand grenade is between five and 20 meters. Within 10 meters, a grenade can cause fatal injuries, while serious harm can still occur up to 20 meters away. Despite the grenade’s deadly potential, it does not have the power to produce the massive fireballs often shown in movies.
Movie error #3: The effects of shrapnel
The M67 fragmentation grenade is one of the most commonly used grenades today. It’s specifically designed for defensive purposes, breaking apart upon detonation and dispersing shrapnel in all directions. Even improvised devices, like Molotov cocktails, rely on similar fragmentation effects to increase their destructive impact.
However, in movies, TV shows and video games, the focus is often placed on the explosive blast as the main danger, while the shrapnel is downplayed. In reality, the explosion alone is rarely lethal to those within the blast radius – in fact, the real threat comes from the deadly shrapnel it generates.
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, often referred to as projectile grenades, are among the most recognizable weapons globally. First introduced in modern combat during World War I, early versions were made using tools like crossbows and catapults, making them far less effective than today’s models.
Modern projectile grenades have become so advanced that they’re sometimes mistaken for missiles or rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). However, RPGs are much larger and use bigger ammunition that contains its own internal fuel, while grenade launchers are smaller rifles that rely on external fuel to launch fragmentation grenades, which slightly lowers the risk of an accidental explosion.
Both rocket launchers and grenade launchers offer unique advantages. Grenade launchers are more compact and can be fired more quickly, whereas rocket launchers can strike targets at greater distances. Despite how movies often confuse the two, grenade launchers and rocket launchers are actually quite 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.