The center picture is of captured Chinese
grenades.
The complete photos from which
the left and right cutouts are taken are:
Prisoner
Mountain
Position
Communist forces in Korea used
three basic types of hand grenades.
1. Offensive, or Concussion,
grenades (upper right, 'potato
masher'). Contain an explosive charge in
conical body attached to a stick, designed for
demolition effect and to stun the enemy in
enclosed places, so the thrower can charge while
the enemy is dazed.
In the bunker position shown,
they would be useful in a quick counter attack on
assaulting forces who became pinned down. During
company-size assaults themselves, the Chinese
armed entire platoons only with grenades,
following them with other platoons armed with
submachine guns, to take advantage of the stunned
defenders. The grenade platoon members, when
their grenades were expended, then armed
themselves with weapons from either their fallen
submachine gun platoon members, or from fallen
defenders.
2. Fragmentation grenades
(Stick-type in
upper left, in hip pouchs and center; foreground.
Pineapple-type serrated metal case in center
picture, rear left, similar to our Mark II ).
Contain an explosive charge in a metal body,
attached to a stick, designed to break into
fragments upon the charge exploding. Weighing
about one pound, they have a killing radius of 5
to 10 yards, and fragments are dangerous up to 30
yards.
The stick-type grenade is armed
by unscrewing and removing the wooden cap on top
of the hollow handle. Inside the handle is a ring
attached to a pull cord. A finger of the throwing
hand is inserted in the ring, the handle grasped,
and when the grenade is thrown the ring retains
the cord, which ignites a friction primer which
activates the delay element of a few seconds.
In offense, stray shrapnel makes
fragmentation grenades something of a danger to
attacking troops using them, but determined
defenders are more able to recover and sustain
their defense from the shock effect of the
concussion grenades.
Chinese and North Korean
stick-type fragmentation grenades were patterned
after the Soviet RGD 33 hand grenades.
3. Chemical grenades (center,
right) . Designed to produce a toxic or
irritating effect, a casualty effect, a screening
or signal smoke, an incendiary action, or some
combination.
4. Bangalore Torpedo. This
is just a 3 foot or so length of pipe, filled
with flaked TNT or plastic like C-3, and capped
at both ends. The fuze is screwed into one end of
the pipe. It is primarily intended to blow paths
through obstacles like barbed wire, and so is
normally inserted under them, with the blast
effect blowing the obstacle material up and to
the sides.