Rifle Grenades

[TylerF]

Hello

I bring this up because in combat mission I can often take out heavy tank with us rifle grenades. I want to know if that is possible,(dont say climb on and shoot it in the open hatch). And wasnt US rifle grenades fragamentation?

I ask because I dont see how a US rilfe grenade can KO a tiger tank.(Unless they put it in the tail pipe)

[The Schwabian]

i know there was also an AT rifle grenade, though the designation escapes me...

[flamingknives]

The US rifle grenades include the M9A1 anti-tank rifle grenade, which was of the shaped charge type. I don't know how much armour it will defeat, off-hand*, but the sides of the Panther and MkIV are very thin.

*Try using the search function in the top right in the CMAK, CMBB and CMBO fora, plus the archives. It's been discussed a few times.

[Guest Mike]

Google is your friend!

M9A1, HEAT

This was the standard High Explosive Anti Tank rifle grenade which replaced the M9. It is constructed of steel sheet

metal, utilizing a shaped charge with base detonating fuze. It weighed 1.31 lbs and could penetrate over 2 inches of armor. A very successful design that served very well against a variety of targets.

[TylerF]

Ok, thanks friends!

[Axel]

I wasn't able to take out a Tiger tank from behind with Rifle grenades. (I had two squads and they fired 6 rifle grenades)

[Guest Mike]

It's not that you were not able to - it is that you didn't.

Nothing is guaranteed, and RG's are pretty marginal against heavy tanks, even on top - for starters they aren't accurate, secondly although they can penetrate 2" the behind-armour effects of a small grenade (and is is small!) are pretty marginal - if it doesn't hit somethign vital then it could easily do nothing at all.

[Sirocco]

There's a passage in one of the, if I remember the series description correctly, WW2 green book series that recounts how a US squad fired off a large number of rifle grenades against a StuG. I can't recall whether the StuG withdrew or was abandoned, but that sounds like a more usual use of them. I would imagine, given the number fired, that they would have been HE rather than AT.

[Axel]

What kind of RG did the germans use before they started to carry the panzerfaust?

[Sirocco]

Originally posted by Axel:

What kind of RG did the germans use before they started to carry the panzerfaust?

German Grenades of WWII - HE & HEAT Rifle Grenades

[MOS was 71331]

If I recall my ROTC training in 1966 correctly, you attached a rifle grenade to the end of the rifle barrel, placed the butt of the rifle on the ground, and "aimed" the rifle up -- similar to a mortar -- in the general direction of the target. I wouldn't rate its chance of hitting and killing a tank as very good.

[MOS was 71331]

Ooops. My ROTC training would have been in summer camp in 1964. I'm pretty sure my Engineer Officer Basic Course in 1966 never included any classes using rifle grenades.

[Denwad]

^ depends on what kind of rifle grenade you're firing, from what rifle and what country it originated it, and what doctrine it was supplied with

German rifle grenades were fired directly at the target, much like the M203 is ( the Germans even had a really complicated sight for this, but also a simple ladder type sight )

I'm not sure on the US rifle grenades

[NCOIC]

My own personal usage of U.S. Squad rifle grenades has always been very very deadly. I have no problems knocking out german armor at all. Usually side shots, and at far greater ranges than I every expected (50m+).

Although, it is annoying when they fire off 3-4 in a couple seconds... would much prefer for them to wait to see the effects before shooting them all off. Its obvious my little pixel soldiers are far more worried about the armor than I am though =)

[SgtMuhammed]

I think you still fired the RG from the shoulder but I know they were also fired up like a mortar.

Have you ever noticed that 2in seems to be the generic penetration for HEAT grenades? It seemed like every time we had some sort of small HEAT they always told us that it would penetrate 2in of armor.

[stoat]

I'm reading an account of the German armor/infantry attack on the town of Kommerscheidt. The author details how the American infantrymen were powerless against the German Pz IVs and Vs. The AT mines were easily avoided, the bazooka rounds bounced off, and the rifle grenades were "worse than useless." I would bet that they weren't dedicated AT grenades, though.