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I didn't know they were black powder powered
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In this thread there will be idiots that think a grenade goes boom only because the pin was pulled.
Hello, I'm an idiot. How does a grenade work? I thought it was pull pin, ignites fuse, grenade goes boom? Or not, in this case.
On a US grenade the pin is only a safety to keep the spoon in place. The spoon holds down a spring loaded striker (like a flapper). When the spoon is released, the striker flapper snaps over striking a primer which ignites a fuse (powder train).
The fuse is inside a brass cylinder with a hole in the bottom. When the fuse burns down to the bottom, it lights the igniter then the black powder charge is set off. Boom.
http://grenadelauncher.com/US-hand-grenades.jpg
I didn't know they were black powder powered
The ones I used in the Army were Composition B powered.
ETA- On this particular model, you had to pop off a "jungle" clip that kept the pin from coming out accidentally, as remote a possibility as that is. If you have ever tossed these you know how fucking tight that pin is. Always laugh now when dudes in the movies pull them with their teeth.
Cooking one off is always spooky on a 4-5 second fuze. 4-5 seconds isn't reassuring, that's a pretty big window, and what's the margin of error on that?