VanZant Posted February 12, 2001 Share Posted February 12, 2001 I was wondering if an grognards out there could explain how a rifle grenad actually worked in real life? I mean I have seen them in photos, and know they go on the end of the Rifle, but how were they launched? Like a PIAT or a bazooka? Neither? As a related question -- any idea how effective they were in the field against men and vehicles? Now, in CM -- what does it look like when they are shot? I have seen many thrown grenades, but I dont believe I have ever seen a RG launched -- or I just dont know what I am looking for. And how effective are they in CM? I see them disappearing from my inventory, just never see any effect... Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriendlyFire Posted February 12, 2001 Share Posted February 12, 2001 I believe they used a blank cartridge - effectively you were shooting a really big fat explosive-filled bullet. The idea was to propel a grenade-type object farther than a man could throw one, but they always suffered from compromises of weight, range and accuracy. As to their appearance in CM, I spent 5 minutes the other night trying to spot just that. It was a snowy night, and a Panther was crawling down a road towards the buildings where my platoon was hiding. I had a bazooka team set up with a 30m ambush just after a turn in the road. The Panther comes up to the turn, and suddenly its turret crumples from a side penetration. Hahaha, I gloat to myself, that worked perfectly. But wait... where was the zook smoke... and that angle was impossible! So I replayed everything from the ground. Just as the Panther comes parallel to their building, the lead infantry squad gets up off the floor, takes aim at it, the Panther is KO'd, and the squad hides again on the floor, having successfully used a rifle grenade! Gotta love those veteran squads... of course, the bazooka team were a bit pissed. So, to answer your questions: no, I couldn't see the rifle grenade either, and that's the first time I've seen one hit. Conditions were near-perfect for its use, though - a buttoned target from the side at close range, in very low visibility, and used by a hiding veteran squad that hadn't been spotted yet. Also, bear in mind that rifle grenades are only able to get through thin armor, like half-tracks - or the side of a Panther Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin Posted February 12, 2001 Share Posted February 12, 2001 Check the Standard Ordnance Items Catalog, 1944, Vol.3 here for details: http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/DL/chron.htm#AWorldWarII19391945 ------------------ New to Combat Mission? Visit CM Boot Camp at Combat Missions for tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.Tankersley Posted February 12, 2001 Share Posted February 12, 2001 I'm pretty sure I've seen rifle grenades being fired. They're not much bigger than regular grenades, and there's no exhaust cloud or sound cue to tip you off. If you notice a squad fired one during a turn, back up the movie to before it is fired, then go down to view 1 or 2 behind the squad to watch for it. ------------------ Leland J. Tankersley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasoncawley@ameritech.net Posted February 12, 2001 Share Posted February 12, 2001 In the scenario "just 3 little stuarts", the AI sent two Pumas down the center street of the little village. (Stupid AI trick, I know). The squads in the buildings nearby KO them both easily with their rifle grenades. They seem to be used at "bypass" ranges, not the medium ranges they could potentially be fired at. I think use of them at medium range required a high angle, and was used mostly against infantry, for targets between maximum hand grenade distance and minimum mortar distance. In CM, I see them used at more like ordinary grenade range - 30 meters or so. They are just AT grenades, in effect. I haven't tested in any further detail, though, to see the longest range a squad will fire them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanZant Posted February 13, 2001 Author Share Posted February 13, 2001 Thanks for the answers all. Gremlin -- that is a nice little resource you pointed me to. Lots of neat articles. For those of you interested, Rifle Grenades are on page 146 of the article Gremlin linked above. Thanks again, VZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisl Posted February 13, 2001 Share Posted February 13, 2001 I'm too lazy to do the search myself, but in the past couple weeks to a month there have been a couple of interesting threads on rifle grenades. Including one post by someone who owns a launcher, and another post giving lots of range and accuracy information. If I get motivated I'll search and post the links back here. It was all in one thread: http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/015861.html ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk) [This message has been edited by chrisl (edited 02-13-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Posted February 13, 2001 Share Posted February 13, 2001 In the book Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, there is a description of a marine in the pacific, attatching a rifle grenade to his M1 and firing it, while under fire from a Japanese machine gun. Attaching the grenade to the rifle is a complicated procedure involving wing nuts. Its pretty amazing to me (after reading the description) that one was _ever_ fired in combat. Personally, if there were a lot of incoming rounds, I'd rather not muck about with wing nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hakko Ichiu Posted February 13, 2001 Share Posted February 13, 2001 Originally posted by Terence: In the book Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, there is a description of a marine in the pacific, attatching a rifle grenade to his M1 and firing it, while under fire from a Japanese machine gun. Attaching the grenade to the rifle is a complicated procedure involving wing nuts. Its pretty amazing to me (after reading the description) that one was _ever_ fired in combat. Personally, if there were a lot of incoming rounds, I'd rather not muck about with wing nuts. IIRC, he was attaching the launcher, not the grenade. Ideally, the launcher would be attached before you came under fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Posted February 13, 2001 Share Posted February 13, 2001 Originally posted by Hakko Ichiu: IIRC, he was attaching the launcher, not the grenade. Ideally, the launcher would be attached before you came under fire. Yeah, maybe. I can't remember and don't have the book in front of me. But even so, there was a lot of fiddling with small things and special cartridges. Not exactly what I'd prefer to be doing when someone was shooting at me. (For the record, I'd prefer to be running away or hiding in a deep hole.) At any rate, when _I_ play, I don't get too upset if the little soldiers don't use their rifle grenades as much as I would like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madmatt Posted February 14, 2001 Share Posted February 14, 2001 Rifle Grenades share the same sound file as mortars (and the nahvterbooby) by the way. There is no backblast shown (like with a zook) but you will see a small dark object in flight and that sound will play. I believe the RG needs to travel some in order to see it though so if the range is very close you might not be able to make it out, but you will hear it fire. Madmatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanZant Posted February 14, 2001 Author Share Posted February 14, 2001 Thanks Madmatt! I finally listened carefully and got to hear one. Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimShady Posted February 17, 2001 Share Posted February 17, 2001 Hey a question, does the unit firing the rifle grenade actually need a target line? I ask only because I was playing a battle and was moving an engineer squad to assault a StuG IV with its sachel charges. When the squad made it out of the small gully, the StuG IV had a rear hull penentration. My engineers were approaching its side. A near as I can tell the an engineer squad 150m away AND facing the wrong direction (backs toward StuG IV) nailed it. LimShady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriendlyFire Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 As far as I know it's aimed fire, so yes, it would need a target line. And 150m seems way too far for a rifle-grenade shot - did you check the kill stats of your squads to see who got the kill? Or watch targetting lines going to the StuG? My guess is that your nearby engineers got a lucky angle on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bog Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 As Madmatt said, the Rifle Grenades do make a sound like a on-map mortar being fired. However, you can see them in flight, and they appear as yellow shaped charges, similar to PzShrecks or PIATs. SPOILER. The first time I saw one used was in "Hills are for Heros". I had the platoon assaulting the Pillbox MG from the flank, and a squad fired it into the rear, but failed to knock it out. The pillbox was taken out by a demo charge a bit later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts