World War II Grenade Launchers
During World War II grenade launchers were an accessory, associated with the rifle and carbine, used by all infantry. The M1 grenade launcher was made for the M1903 Springfield rifle. The M7 grenade launcher, available in 1943, was designed for use with the M1 Garand rifle as in the drawing to the left. The M7 did not allow semiautomatic operation of the M1 resulting in its replacemeny by the M7A1 (or M7A2 and M7A3) which did.
The grenade launcher attached to the rifle like a bayonet with its tube over the muzzle, forming an extension to the barrel. A similar device, the M8, was made for the M1 Carbine.
The rifle grenade was mounted onto the launcher, set to the correct ring to determine the range. A special blank rifle cartridge was used to fire the grenade (M3 for the Garand). The grenade cartridge produced heavy recoil so the recommended firing position was with the rifle (or carbine) butt on the ground, with the stock turned to the side, to avoid injury to the soldier or damage to the weapon.
Special rifle grenades were produced and there was also an adaptor that converted a standard fragmentation hand grenade for use with the rifle launcher.
M79 and M203 Grenade Launchers
Disassembly diagram for the M79 40 MM Grenade Launcher.
The M79 Grenade Launcher was a short single barrel gun designed to accurately fire a 40mm grenade. It was used extensively during the Vietnam War, giving U.S. troops the capability to engage enemy point targets to 150 meters and area targets to 350 meters.
The M203 was designed and procured as the replacement for the M79 grenade launcher, designed to be mounted on the M16 rifle. It consists of a hand guard and sight assembly with an adjustable metallic, folding, short-range blade sight assembly, and an aluminum receiver assembly which houses the barrel latch, barrel stop and firing mechanism. The launcher also has a quadrant sight attachable to the M16A2 carrying handle, used when precision is required out to the maximum effective range of the weapon.
The M203A1 has a short barrel for airborne applications and a quick release mechanism to allow the user to tailor the weapon to individual missions.
MK19 40mm Grenade Machine Gun
Information on the MK19 40mm Grenade Machine Gun is found on the linked Olive-Drab.com page.
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