Grenade pistol
A grenade pistol is a grenade launcher . The weapon fires grenades at a greater distance and with greater accuracy than would be possible with a soldier's hand (see hand grenades ). The name is derived from the relatively small size of the weapon compared to a normal, independently hand-held grenade launcher.
history
The first compact grenade launchers were developed in Germany in the 1920s on the basis of flare pistols . They fired overkali grenades from a large-caliber pistol designed only for this use. The grenades were put on the grenade pistol , like a rifle grenade, and fired with it. During the Second World War, the weapons were given the suggestive names of combat or assault pistols . Various types of grenades could be fired, from HE shells, armor-piercing shells to incendiary grenades. The big disadvantage of these weapons was the large dispersion - it was up to four meters at 70 meters.
Modern grenade pistols fire mostly caliber projectiles; the grenades are fired here through a launch tube. The advantage here is greater accuracy and better handling than with the over-caliber bullets.
In modern assault rifles, attachments comparable to the grenade pistol, such as the AG36 in the G36 or the M203 in the M16 or M4 , are often used.
literature
- Fritz Hahn: Weapons and Secret Weapons of the German Army - 1933–1945 . 2nd revised edition. Special edition in one volume. Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 1992, ISBN 3-7637-5915-8 .