M7 AT Grenades

[Col Deadmarsh]

If my soldier has a M7 GL weapon and is carrying both "grenade" and "66mm HE" rounds...are the "grenade" rounds the anti-armor rounds or just normal grenades?

 

For the anti-armor rounds...how effective are these in taking out tanks?  Basically, what thickness of armor can the rounds penetrate?

[akd]

66mm HE is the HE-frag rifle grenade for the M7 (not sure where that diameter comes from).   M9A1 HEAT can do about 100mm armor.

[John Kettler]

Colonel_Deadmarsh,

 

I believe part of your problem may be the way those grenades were designated. Properly speaking, you should have, in shorthand, M9A1, HEAT and Mk II (or Mk IIA1) , HE Fragmentation. Obviously, the way the rifle grenades for your launcher are described in the UI is confusing and needs to be fixed. Here's a pic which should help. In proper configuration, the familiar from the movies HE Frag grenade would have the usual flyoff handle and hold down pull pin. With a hit in the right place, from the side and at perpendicular (or close to it) angles M9A1 can kill a Tiger 1 through the hull side and the turret side (20 mm penetration overmatch vs both). That said, be sure your Serviceman's Insurance paperwork is correct and allotments made before trying this! This is even more true when engaging frontally, where you've really got only three hopes of succeeding: driver's vision slot, bow MG and tracks.

 

http://inert-ord.net/usa03a/usarg/rg/index.html

 

This shows the all-up Mk II, the simplified design MK IIA1 and several other goodies. 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mk_2_grenade#/media/File:Hand_grenades_US_-_Battle_of_the_Bulge.jpg

 

A brief tutorial on the M7 GL and the usefulness of the grenades for it. 

 

http://www.ww2gyrene.org/weapons_m7.htm

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler

[womble]

Your M7's (usually sole, single) HEAT rifle grenade is represented by the icon in the unit's equipment pane (where the HQ has its radio, and the zook teams have their choob and rockets). Grenades are the standard hand-chucked pineapples. 66mm HE are the (usually 3) standard HE rifle grenades. In game the HEAT RG will penetrate quite well, but its behind armour effects are a bit puny compared to a zook, IME. Good enough for a Panzer IV or the sides or turret of a Panther, but probably won't get a k-kill unless it's a turret hit.

[Col Deadmarsh]

Colonel_Deadmarsh,

 

I believe part of your problem may be the way those grenades were designated. Properly speaking, you should have, in shorthand, M9A1, HEAT and Mk II (or Mk IIA1) , HE Fragmentation. Obviously, the way the rifle grenades for your launcher are described in the UI is confusing and needs to be fixed. Here's a pic which should help. In proper configuration, the familiar from the movies HE Frag grenade would have the usual flyoff handle and hold down pull pin. With a hit in the right place, from the side and at perpendicular (or close to it) angles M9A1 can kill a Tiger 1 through the hull side and the turret side (20 mm penetration overmatch vs both). That said, be sure your Serviceman's Insurance paperwork is correct and allotments made before trying this! This is even more true when engaging frontally, where you've really got only three hopes of succeeding: driver's vision slot, bow MG and tracks.

 

http://inert-ord.net/usa03a/usarg/rg/index.html

 

This shows the all-up Mk II, the simplified design MK IIA1 and several other goodies. 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mk_2_grenade#/media/File:Hand_grenades_US_-_Battle_of_the_Bulge.jpg

 

A brief tutorial on the M7 GL and the usefulness of the grenades for it. 

 

http://www.ww2gyrene.org/weapons_m7.htm

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler

 

So...let me see if I have this straight...

 

In the game, it says 66mm HE below regular grenades.  So this unit isn't carrying the HEAT rounds as I'm guessing it would say that in the panel?

 

Can the HE round really take out a tank from the side?

[John Kettler]

Colonel_Deadmarsh,

 

I did some digging on your behalf, from which I learned that the unit display for special equipment shows/did show (CMBN Manual V 1.0) an M9A1 HEAT RG icon with "AT" at bottom left. 66 mm HE can only be, therefore, the MK II series HE rifle grenade, which is practically useless vs a tank, unless you can convince the foe to unbutton and you get lucky! I suspect what you'd need to see to have a fighting chance is "66 mm AT." I don't find this system of nomenclature at all helpful. Indeed, I find it confusing. Until I saw your post, I went through my entire life without ever encountering US rifle grenades being described in such a bizarre manner. 

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler

[womble]

So...let me see if I have this straight...

 

In the game, it says 66mm HE below regular grenades.  So this unit isn't carrying the HEAT rounds as I'm guessing it would say that in the panel?

 

Can the HE round really take out a tank from the side?

Kettler is not the only source of information. Often, his information, while correct, has little to do with the way the game interface displays things. Read my post again, and see whether that matches what you see in-game.

 

Remember that (since we have no scroll bars) there is a limited amount of information that can be displayed in the white-on-black element ammo pane; there are only four lines on which to display ammo types, and the first three of those in an american rifle squad are taken up by M2 ball, .45 ACP and grenades. So there isn't room to display the presence of the M7 HEAT round, nor, when there's one present, the zook HEAT rounds in that list. That's one of the reasons they're there as icons in the information pane, next to binos and the zook tube if present.

[LukeFF]

Your M7's (usually sole, single) HEAT rifle grenade is represented by the icon in the unit's equipment pane (where the HQ has its radio, and the zook teams have their choob and rockets). 

 

Correct, any weapons listed in the equipment panel are anti-tank weapons. Anything listed to the left of that equipment panel is not, by definition, an anti-tank weapon.