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Can Grenades Remove Concrete Walls?


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Do you mean a hand grenade?

Hand grenades have an average of 50-150 grams of explosives. That is not as powerful as you might have imagined. Most hand grenades kill by concussion and/or fragmentation. These are very effective against flesh but not much against brick and even less against concrete.

On top of that, an explosive device placed against a blank wall will cause hardly any damage because the pressure of the explosion will seek the easiest way - straight away from the wall. It will just make "pouff". Basic principle of physics. To overcome this, the explosion needs to have a certain strength, which hand grenades just don't offer.

 

In one recent game I mortared a wall with an 8cm GrW 34. About 10-15 rounds did the trick. Big waste of ammo but worth it. Just a hint to what it needs to remove a wall.

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27 minutes ago, DasMorbo said:

On top of that, an explosive device placed against a blank wall will cause hardly any damage because the pressure of the explosion will seek the easiest way - straight away from the wall. It will just make "pouff". Basic principle of physics. To overcome this, the explosion needs to have a certain strength, which hand grenades just don't offer.

Tamping also helps; like with a sand bag or two. But that's not available in the game. BTW, I once took down a wall with a few shots from a Bradley's gun in BS.

Michael

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Poured cement, especially with rebar, is a lot more blast resistant than cinderblock or even brick. Cinder doesn't stop bullets.

For WWII settings, walls are mostly brick, or in older buildings, dressed stone. A bundle of grenades would probably be needed to blast a gap.

Cement formworks would be less common, and associated with military, probably not civil construction.

Edited by LongLeftFlank
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8 hours ago, Michael Emrys said:

They can't be too powerful or they would be impossible to throw far enough to be out of the danger zone.

Michael

You are not out of the effective range of a fragmentation hand grenade (100m +/- ) after throwing it (30m +/-). That is why the SOP is ducking after throwing. B)

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4 hours ago, Col Deadmarsh said:

I just tried using a tank with a 75mm gun to take out a low wall and even that HE round would not destroy the wall on a direct hit. Surely these HE rounds would take out that structure, right?

 

A 75mm gun will most likely take a few direct/near hits to destroy a wall, low or otherwise. Now, a 150mm on the other hand...

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11 hours ago, user1000 said:

Not sure about axis but, there is something in WW2 called an offensive hand grenade could do it. It had more TNT in it compared to a regular hand grenade, and regular grunts carried them.

Maybe, but it would take more than one to do the job.

Michael

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On ‎7‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 9:51 PM, Michael Emrys said:

BTW, I once took down a wall with a few shots from a Bradley's gun in BS.

I use the Mk-19 to the same effect in Shock Force.

 

14 hours ago, user1000 said:

Not sure about axis but, there is something in WW2 called an offensive hand grenade could do it. It had more TNT in it compared to a regular hand grenade, and regular grunts carried them.

"Offensive" hand grenades are called 'Offensive' not because they are significantly more powerful, but because they have a smaller lethal radius by using concussive force more than fragmentation to achieve their effect. This means the throwing distance is greater than the lethal radius, and can thus be used while attacking a position, by throwing grenades into it, then advancing when they detonate. "Defensive" grenades are intended for maximum fragmentation, and have much larger lethal radii, meaning they can only be used from a position of cover.

http://www.wne.edu/usarmyrotc/Training/grenades.pdf

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I'm pretty sure I have seen hand grenades destroy walls in this game, but only after other HE had been going off close by, so the wall was already weakened.

You can also shoot (low) walls to pieces with a 50 calibre heavy machinegun. I've even seen a .50 destroy a house once (after the area had been under 80mm mortar bombardment).

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23 hours ago, Bulletpoint said:

I'm pretty sure I have seen hand grenades destroy walls in this game, but only after other HE had been going off close by, so the wall was already weakened.

You can also shoot (low) walls to pieces with a 50 calibre heavy machinegun. I've even seen a .50 destroy a house once (after the area had been under 80mm mortar bombardment).

Yes, exactly. Weakened walls can be completely flattened by even minor blast effects rather far away and straight through buildings. Seen that happen from WP grenades, Schreck rounds and rifle grenades, hitting the opposite side of a building. Seen that oftenly on densly built urban maps, where buildings directly adjoin action spots with walls.

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On 8.7.2017 at 6:44 AM, Col Deadmarsh said:

I just tried using a tank with a 75mm gun to take out a low wall and even that HE round would not destroy the wall on a direct hit. Surely these HE rounds would take out that structure, right?

 

Map structures (trees, houses, walls) are generally too strong in CM. A 75mm grenade would certainly put a hole in a brick wall, but you need 2-3 in CMBN. Example: shoot a 75mm HE or AP shot against a tree - the round is 1/3 or even 1/2 the diameter of the tree trunk but the tree just won't fall, even after multiple hits.

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