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86-485: The Nebelkerzenabwurfvorrichtung (abbreviated N.K.A.V. ) was a rear mounted grenade dispenser used to disperse the Schnellnebelkerze 39 smoke grenade . It was typically found on German tanks from 1939 through 1942. The device carried five smoke grenades, each grenade being held in position by spring loaded catches . The vehicle commander released the grenades one at a time by wire control which operated

172-404: A potassium nitrate level of 55.4% to 55.5%, sulfur content of 19.4% to 26.5%, and carbonaceous content of 23% to 25.2%. The first step for making gunpowder is to powder and mix together sulphur, saltpetre, charcoal, pitch, and dried lacquer. Tung oil, dried plants, and wax are mixed next to create a paste. The paste and powder are combined and carefully stirred. Then the mixture is placed inside

258-427: A ratchet coupled to a camshaft . Each pull of the control wire rotated the camshaft one fifth of a turn, releasing a smoke grenade, the pin of which was drawn out by a fixed chain , and the ratchet was returned to its original position by a second spring. Five pulls on the control wire would release all five smoke grenades in succession, enabling the vehicle to reverse out of sight into its own smoke screen with

344-561: A five-second fuze with a match-tip that was ignited by striking on a ring on the soldier's hand. William Mills , a hand grenade designer from Sunderland , patented, developed and manufactured the " Mills bomb " at the Mills Munition Factory in Birmingham , England in 1915, designating it the No.5. It was described as the first "safe grenade". They were explosive-filled steel canisters with

430-696: A flamethrower with a double-acting two- piston cylinder-pump capable of shooting a continuous blast of flame. The first Chinese battle to use the double-piston pump flamethrower was the Battle of Langshan Jiang in 919 AD. In the Battle of Langshan Jiang (Wolf Mountain River, 狼山江), the naval fleet of the Wenmu King of Wuyue defeated the fleet of the Kingdom of Wu because he had used 'fire oil' (huo yóu, 火油) to burn his fleet; this signified

516-529: A grenade which could operate in either fragmentation or blast mode (selected at any time before throwing), the electronically fuzed enhanced tactical multi-purpose ( ET-MP ) hand grenade. During the Great War, handgrenades were frequently used by troops, lacking other means to defend against enemy tanks threatening to over-run the position, to various success. The Interwar period saw some limited development of grenades specifically intended to defeat armour, but it

602-404: A hand grenade, the objective is to have the grenade explode so that the target is within its effective radius while keeping the thrower out of the same. For this reason, several systems has been used to trigger the explosion. Impact was the first used, with fragile containers of Greek fire that ruptured when landing. Later impact fuzes contained some kind of sensitive explosive to either initiate

688-469: A handle and known as " stick grenades ". The stick design provides leverage for throwing longer distances, but at the cost of additional weight and length, and has been considered obsolete by western countries since the Second World War and Cold War periods. A friction igniter inside the handle or on the top of the grenade head was used to initiate the fuse. The word grenade is likely derived from

774-505: A loud popping noise and a puff of smoke on detonation. The grenade body can be reused. Another type is the throwing practice grenade which is completely inert and often cast in one piece. It is used to give soldiers a feel for the weight and shape of real grenades and for practicing precision throwing. Examples of practice grenades include the K417 Biodegradable Practice Hand Grenade by CNOTech Korea. When using

860-405: A more efficient compass magnetized by lodestone , the thermoremanence compass fell out of use. The later maritime author Zhu Yu wrote of the magnetic needle compass as a means to navigate at sea in his Pingzhou Table Talks of 1119 AD. The Wujing Zongyao' s illustrated descriptions of warships had a significant influence on later naval handbooks and encyclopedias such as the naval section of

946-429: A nitrate level of 27% if all carbonaceous matter was taken, 31.2% if this excluded poisons, and 51.7% if charcoal alone was used. The sulfur content would be 13.5% if all carbonaceous matter was taken, 15.6% if this excluded the poisons, and 25.9% if only charcoal alone was specified. The carbon content was 59.5% if all carbonaceous matter was taken into account, 53.2% if this excluded poisons, and 22.4% if charcoal alone

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1032-440: A paper container, wrapped up, and tied using hemp twine. Several precautions are taken to prevent the gunpowder from becoming damp. For the second formula, the inner ball alone had a nitrate percentage of 61.5% to 50.2%, a sulfur content of 30.8% to 25.1%, and if all carbonaceous matter was taken, 24.7%, if just taking the charcoal content alone, the carbon level was 7.7%. If the outer coating and inner ball are both included with

1118-413: A paste permeating the ball; bind it up with hempen string. When you want to find the range of anything, shoot off this fire-ball first, then other incendiary balls can follow. Gunpowder was attached to fire arrows ( 火箭 ) and utilized as an incendiary. The Wujing Zongyao records that fire arrows were launched from bows or crossbows. The gunpowder used for fire arrows was likely a low-nitrate powder, and

1204-407: A pre-formed fragmentation matrix inside the grenade is commonly used, which may be spherical, cuboid, wire or notched wire. Most anti-personnel (AP) grenades are designed to detonate either after a time delay or on impact. Grenades are often spherical, cylindrical, ovoid or truncated ovoid in shape, and of a size that fits the hand of an average-sized adult. Some grenades are mounted at the end of

1290-423: A preface by Li Jin. The entire Wujing Zongyao was reprinted in 1510 AD and this version is currently the oldest extant copy available. However, the historian Joseph Needham asserts that the 1510 AD edition is the most reliable in its faithfulness to the original version, since it was printed from blocks that were re-carved directly from tracings of the edition made in 1231 AD, rather than recombining fragments of

1376-446: A spring-loaded striker hit the cap after the grenade is released like the Mills bomb with the latter being predominant since WWII. There is also an alternative technique of throwing, where the grenade is not thrown immediately after the fuze is ignited, which allows the fuze to burn partially and decrease the time to detonation after throwing; this is referred to as "cooking". A shorter delay

1462-483: A time delay or on impact. Modern fragmentation grenades, such as the United States M67 grenade , have a wounding radius of 15 m (49 ft) – half that of older style grenades, which can still be encountered – and can be thrown about 40 m (130 ft). Fragments may travel more than 200 m (660 ft). These grenades are usually classed as offensive weapons because the effective casualty radius

1548-402: A triggering pin and a distinctive deeply notched surface. This segmentation is often erroneously thought to aid fragmentation , though Mills' own notes show the external grooves were purely to aid the soldier to grip the weapon. Improved fragmentation designs were later made with the notches on the inside, but at that time they would have been too expensive to produce. The external segmentation of

1634-492: A wider government audience. Its chief editor, Zeng Gongliang, was assisted by the astronomer Yang Weide and the scholar Ding Du. After five years, the book was published with a preface authored by Emperor Renzong himself. Lorge remarks that Zeng Gongliang, the chief editor, was a government official rather than a military general, implying that the Wujing Zongyao was likely written for other government officials. Parts of

1720-400: Is a round cover. When (the handle is pushed) in (the pistons) close the mouth of the tubes (in turn). Before use the tank is filled with rather more than three catties of the oil with a spoon through a filter; at the same time gunpowder (composition) is placed in the ignition chamber at the head. When the fire is to be started one applies a heated branding iron (to the ignition chamber), and

1806-406: Is made of brass , and supported on four legs. From its upper surface arise four (vertical) tubes attached to a horizontal cylinder above; they are all connected with the tank. The head and the tail of the cylinder are large (the middle) is of narrow (diameter). In the tail end there is a small opening as big as a millet grain. The head end has (two) round openings 1½ inches in diameter. At the side of

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1892-533: Is much less than the distance it can be thrown, and its explosive power works better within more confined spaces such as fortifications or buildings , where entrenched defenders often occupy. The concussion effect, rather than any expelled fragments, is the effective killer. In the case of the US Mk3A2 , the casualty radius is published as 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in open areas, but fragments and bits of fuze may be projected as far as 200 m (660 ft) from

1978-407: Is specified alone. The sulfur content was 19.8% if all carbonaceous matter was considered, 24.7% if this excluded poisons, and 30% if charcoal is specified alone. The carbon content was 40.5% if all carbonaceous matter was considered, 25.9% if this excluded poisons, and 10% if charcoal alone was specified. If both the inner ball and outer coating are considered for the third formula, that would yield

2064-545: Is the predominant system today, developed from the match-fuzes that were hand-lit in the early grenades. From there, two sub-groups were developed: friction-ignitors where a cord is pulled or a cap is twisted to ignite the delay-fuze like on the German Stielhandgranate; the other being strike- or percussion-ignitors where the user either hit the cap before the throw like on the Japanese Type 10 grenade , or have

2150-401: Is then heated in a charcoal fire, and when it has become thoroughly red-hot, it is taken out by the head with iron tongs and placed so that its tail points due north. In this position it is quenched with water in a basin, so that its tail is submerged for several tenths of an inch. It is then kept in a tightly closed box. To use it, a small bowl filled with water is set up in a windless place, and

2236-529: Is useful to reduce the ability of the enemy to take cover, throw or kick the grenade away and can also be used to allow a fragmentation grenade to explode into the air over defensive positions. Concerned with a number of serious incidents and accidents involving hand grenades, Ian Kinley at the Swedish Försvarets materielverk identified the two main issues as the time-fuze's burntime variation with temperature (slows down in cold and speeds up in heat) and

2322-612: The Wubei Zhi from circa 1628. These works would incorporate illustrations of ships originally from the Wujing Zongyao . The use of pictures from the Wujing Zongyao would continue to appear in Japanese naval texts up until the 18th century. The illustrations were used by both Nishikawa Joken's Ka-i Tsūshō-kō (Studies on the Intercourse and Trade with Chinese and Barbarians) in 1708 and Kanazawa Kanemitsu's Wakan Senyōshū (Collected Studies on

2408-644: The Governor of Jamaica in 1721. Improvised grenades were increasingly used from the mid-19th century, the confines of trenches enhancing the effect of small explosive devices. In a letter to his sister, Colonel Hugh Robert Hibbert described an improvised grenade that was employed by British troops during the Crimean War (1854–1856): We have a new invention to annoy our friends in their pits. It consists in filling empty soda water bottles full of powder, old twisted nails and any other sharp or cutting thing we can find at

2494-671: The Hales rifle grenade , developed a modern hand grenade in 1906 but was unsuccessful in persuading the British Army to adopt the weapon until 1913. Hale's chief competitor was Nils Waltersen Aasen , who invented his design in 1906 in Norway, receiving a patent for it in England. Aasen began his experiments with developing a grenade while serving as a sergeant in the Oscarsborg Fortress . Aasen formed

2580-511: The Home Guard as an anti-tank weapon. It was produced in vast numbers; by August 1941 well over 6,000,000 had been manufactured. Sting grenades, also known as stingball or sting ball grenades, are stun grenades based on the design of the fragmentation grenade. Instead of using a metal casing to produce fragmentation, they are made from hard rubber and are filled with around 100 rubber or plastic balls. On detonation, these balls, and fragments from

2666-603: The Iraqi insurgency in the early 2000s against lightly armoured mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles, designed for protection only against improvised explosive devices , as well as drone ordnance in Ukraine 2022–2024. During World War II the United Kingdom used incendiary grenades based on white phosphorus . One model, the No. 76 special incendiary grenade , was mainly issued to

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2752-609: The Jacobites in the battles of Killiecrankie and Glen Shiel . These grenades were not very effective owing both to the unreliability of their fuse, as well inconsistent times to detonation, and as a result, saw little use. Grenades were also used during the Golden Age of Piracy , especially during boarding actions; pirate Captain Thompson used "vast numbers of powder flasks, grenade shells, and stinkpots" to defeat two pirate-hunters sent by

2838-550: The Wujing Zongyao by Chinese alchemists in the 9th century. Early references to gunpowder can be found in the Daoist book Zhenyuan miaodao yaolue , written circa 850, and gunpowder was utilized in Chinese warfare as early as the 10th century in fire arrows and gunpowder fuses used to light the Chinese two-piston flamethrower . However it was not until the Wujing Zongyao that the exact chemical formulas for early Chinese gunpowder

2924-592: The Wujing Zongyao were copied from older sources; historian Ralph D. Sawyer calls it "essentially a cut-and-paste job", containing many passages from earlier classical military writings whose original authors are left unidentified, a common practice at the time. During the Song dynasty, the Wujing Zongyao was appended to two other books: the Xingjun xuzhi and the Baizhan qifa , both written by anonymous authors. The Wujing Zongyao

3010-449: The springs , the striker spring in particular, coming pre-tensioned from the factory by mechanism designs that had not changed much since the 1930s. In 2019, a new mechanism, fully interchangeable with the old ones, was adopted into service. The main difference, apart from a fully environmentally stable delay, is that the springs now are twist-tensioned by the thrower after the transport safety (pin and ring) has been removed, thus eliminating

3096-534: The turret mounted Nebelwurfgerät launcher. Grenade Grenades work by dispersing fragments (fragmentation grenades), shockwaves ( high-explosive , anti-tank and stun grenades ), chemical aerosols ( smoke , gas and chemical grenades ) or fire ( incendiary grenades ). Their outer casings, generally made of a hard synthetic material or steel, are designed to rupture and fragment on detonation, sending out numerous fragments ( shards and splinters ) as fast-flying projectiles. In modern grenades,

3182-409: The "swallow-tail" incendiary ( 燕尾炬 ; yanweiju ) and the flying incendiary ( 飛炬 ; feiju ). The swallow-tail incendiary was made of straw tied together and dipped in fat or oil. Chinese soldiers defending a city under siege would light the incendiary and lower it onto any wooden structure of the invading army to engulf it in fire. The flying incendiary visually resembled the swallow-tail incendiary, but

3268-581: The 18th century, and again in 1934 with the Shanghai edition. The Xu Wujing Zongyao (續武經總要; literally "Continuation of Wujing Zongyao") is a "continuation" of the Wujing Zongyao written in the late Ming dynasty. The book focuses primarily on army formations and military deployments. It was written by Fan Jingwen (1587–1644), who was then the Vice President of the Board of War (兵部尚書; bingbu shangshu ). Fan wrote

3354-731: The Aasenske Granatkompani in Denmark, which before the First World War produced and exported hand grenades in large numbers across Europe. He had success in marketing his weapon to the French and was appointed as a Knight of the French Legion of Honour in 1916 for the invention. The Royal Laboratory developed the No. 1 grenade in 1908. It contained explosive material with an iron fragmentation band, with an impact fuze , detonating when

3440-571: The French word spelled exactly the same, meaning pomegranate , as the bomb is reminiscent of the many-seeded fruit in size and shape. Its first use in English dates from the 1590s. Rudimentary incendiary grenades appeared in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire , not long after the reign of Leo III (717–741). Byzantine soldiers learned that Greek fire , a Byzantine invention of the previous century, could not only be thrown by flamethrowers at

3526-653: The Paraguayan troops used hand grenades in their attempt to board Brazilian ironclad warships with canoes. Hand grenades were used on naval engagements during the War of the Pacific . During the Siege of Mafeking in the Second Boer War , the defenders used fishing rods and a mechanical spring device to throw improvised grenades. Improvised hand grenades were used to great effect by

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3612-668: The Russian defenders of Port Arthur (now Lüshun Port ) during the Russo-Japanese War . Around the turn of the 20th century, the ineffectiveness of the available types of hand grenades, coupled with their levels of danger to the user and difficulty of operation, meant that they were regarded as increasingly obsolete pieces of military equipment. In 1902, the British War Office announced that hand grenades were obsolete and had no place in modern warfare. But within two years, following

3698-834: The Ships used by the Chinese and Japanese) in 1766. The Wujing Zongyao divides Chinese warships into six categories: Tower ships ( lou chuan ), combat or war junks ( dou xian or zhan xian ), covered swoopers ( meng chong ), flying barques ( zou ge ), patrol boats ( you ting ), and sea hawk ships ( hai hu ). The Wujing Zongyao' s typology for classifying Chinese warships would reappear in later naval texts for many centuries. The Wujing Zongyao records detailed descriptions of gunpowder weapons such as incendiary projectiles, smoke bombs , fire arrows , and grenades . It documents incendiary projectiles containing low-nitrate gunpowder, which were launched from catapults or lowered down from city walls onto besiegers. Examples of these incendiaries include

3784-402: The Song period and combined with an odometer ), they described a new device which allowed one to navigate. This was the 'south pointing fish' (a thermoremanence compass ), essentially a heated iron (or preferably steel) object cut in the shape of a fish and suspended in a bowl of water. The Wujing Zongyao part 1 volume 15 text stated: When troops encountered gloomy weather or dark nights, and

3870-536: The blast.. Fragmentation grenades are common in armies. They are weapons that are designed to disperse fragments on detonation, aimed to damage targets within the lethal and injury radii. The body is generally made of a hard synthetic material or steel, which will provide some fragmentation as shards and splinters, though in modern grenades a pre-formed fragmentation matrix is often used. The pre-formed fragmentation may be spherical, cuboid, wire or notched wire. Most explosive grenades are designed to detonate either after

3956-462: The book because he felt that reprints of the Wujing Zongyao circulating at that time were out of date and did not take into account the technological and strategic changes that had occurred since the Song dynasty. The only surviving copy of the Xu Wujing Zongyao is held by Fudan University Library. In the 3rd century, the Chinese engineer Ma Jun invented the south-pointing chariot . This

4042-510: The bowl, the spoon and filter; for igniting there is the branding iron; for maintaining (or renewing) the fire there is the container. The branding iron is made sharp like an awl so that it may be used to unblock the tubes if they get stopped up. There are tongs with which to pick up the glowing fire, and there is a soldering iron for stopping up leaks. If the tanks or the tubes get cracked and leak they may be mended by using green wax. Altogether there are 12 items of equipment, all of brass except

4128-422: The compendium also contains details on various other gunpowder weapons such as fire arrows , incendiary bombs and projectiles, and grenades and smoke bombs . It also describes an early form of the compass (using thermoremanence ), and has the oldest illustration of a Chinese flamethrower with a double-action dual- piston cylinder-pump capable of shooting a continuous blast of flame. The Wujing Zongyao

4214-524: The detonation point. Concussion grenades have also been used as depth charges (underwater explosives) around boats and underwater targets; some like the US Mk 40 concussion grenade are designed for use against enemy divers and frogmen . Underwater explosions kill or otherwise incapacitate the target by creating a lethal shock wave underwater. The US Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) announced in 2016 that they were developing

4300-411: The directions of space could not be distinguished, they let an old horse go on before to lead them, or else they made use of the south-pointing carriage, or the south-pointing fish to identify the directions. Now the carriage method has not been handed down, but in the fish method a thin leaf of iron is cut into the shape of a fish two inches long and half an inch broad, having a pointed head and tail. This

4386-432: The enemy but also in stone and ceramic jars. Later, glass containers were employed. In Song China (960–1279), weapons known as ' thunder crash bombs ' ( 震天雷 ) were created when soldiers packed gunpowder into ceramic or metal containers fitted with fuses. A 1044 military book, Wujing Zongyao ( Compilation of Military Classics ), described various gunpowder recipes in which one can find, according to Joseph Needham ,

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4472-461: The enemy camp, the whole place will be set ablaze... Grenade-like devices were also known in ancient India. In a 12th-century Persian historiography, the Mojmal al-Tawarikh , a terracotta elephant filled with explosives set with a fuse was placed hidden in the van and exploded as the invading army approached. A type of grenade called the 'flying impact thunder crash bomb' (飛擊震天雷) was developed in

4558-500: The first Chinese use of gunpowder in warfare, since a slow-burning match fuse was required to ignite the flames. Greek fire is likely based on distilled petroleum and is a weapon of Byzantine origin. The Chinese author Lin Yu explained in his book of 919 AD that Greek fire was acquired from their Arab maritime trade contacts in the Indian Ocean . Furthermore, the Chinese had been using

4644-406: The fish is laid as flat as possible upon the water-surface so that it floats, whereupon its head will point south. Later on in the Song dynasty the compass was used with maritime navigation. Several decades after the Wujing Zongyao was written, the scientist and statesman Shen Kuo (1031–1095 AD) wrote of the first truly magnetized compass needle in his book Dream Pool Essays (1088 AD). With

4730-571: The government were ever allowed to read it as increased propagation would have increased the chance of it falling into enemy hands. A remaining copy of the Wujing Zongyao was remade into a newly published edition in 1231 AD in the Southern Song dynasty . During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 AD), another book was published in 1439 AD featuring fragments of the Wujing Zongyao of 1231 while omitting some material and combining it with two other books, including

4816-532: The grenades discharging smoke for about 100 to 200 seconds . Later examples of the Nebelkerzenabwurfvorrichtung were fully enclosed in an armored box ( N.K.A.V. mit Schutzmantel ). The Nebelkerzenabwurfvorrichtung was discontinued beginning in April 1942 because it had not proven to be effective, the main disadvantage being that the resulting smoke screen built up behind the vehicle. It was succeeded by

4902-721: The late 16th century and first used in September 1, 1592 by the Joseon Dynasty during the Japanese invasions of Korea . The grenade was 20 cm in diameter, weighed 10 kg, and had a cast iron shell. It contained iron pellets, and an adjustable fuse. The grenade was used with a dedicated grenade launcher called a 'wangu' (碗口). It was used in both the besieging and defense of fortifications, to great effect. The first cast-iron bombshells and grenades appeared in Europe in 1467, where their initial role

4988-506: The main charge directly, or set off a primer charge that in turn detonates the main charge. This turned out to present significant drawbacks; either the primer is so sensitive that unintended and premature ignition happens, while a more stable substance often fails to set off the grenade when landing in softer ground, not seldom even allowing the targeted troops to hurl the grenade back. Thus, the only significant use of impact fuzes since WWI has been in anti-tank grenades. Fuze-delayed grenades

5074-768: The mid-17th century, infantry known as " grenadiers " began to emerge in the armies of Europe, who specialized in shock and close quarters combat, mostly with the usage of grenades and fierce melee combat. In 1643, it is possible that grenados were thrown amongst the Welsh at Holt Bridge during the English Civil War . The word grenade was also used during the events surrounding the Glorious Revolution in 1688, where cricket ball-sized (8.81 to 9 in (224 to 229 mm) in circumference) iron spheres packed with gunpowder and fitted with slow-burning wicks were first used against

5160-482: The original Mills bomb was retained, as it provided a positive grip surface. This basic "pin-and-pineapple" design is still used in some modern grenades. After the Second World War , the general design of hand grenades has been fundamentally unchanged, with pin-and-lever being the predominant igniter system with the major powers, though incremental and evolutionary improvements continuously were made. In 2012, Spränghandgranat 07 (shgr 07, "Blast hand-grenade 07")

5246-590: The original with other material. After the Wujing Zongyao of 1510 was printed, other Ming copies were made. This included the Jiajing edition (1522–1566 AD), the Wanli edition (1573–1619 AD) of Quanzhou , and the Wanli edition (1573–1619) of Jinling by Tang Xinyün (preserved by Cunjingge). During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911 AD) it was also reprinted in two different editions during

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5332-454: The piston syringe since the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). However, it was the later Wujing Zongyao that would provide the first illustrated drawing and greater textual explanation for how this flamethrower operated. In describing the drawn illustration of the flamethrower in the book, the Wujing Zongyao states: On the right is the petrol flamethrower (lit. fierce fire oil-shooter). The tank

5418-421: The piston-rod is forced fully into the cylinder—then the man at the back is ordered to draw the piston rod fully backwards and work it (back and forth) as vigorously as possible. Whereupon the oil (the petrol) comes out through the ignition chamber and is shot forth as blazing flame. Then the text goes on to provide further instructions about equipment, maintenance, and repair of flamethrowers: When filling, use

5504-717: The possibility of unintentional arming of the hand grenade. Modern manufacturers of hand grenades include: Wujing Zongyao The Wujing Zongyao ( Chinese : 武經總要 ), sometimes rendered in English as the Complete Essentials for the Military Classics , is a Chinese military compendium written from around 1040 to 1044. The book was compiled during the Northern Song dynasty by Zeng Gongliang (曾公亮), Ding Du (丁度) and Yang Weide (楊惟德), whose writing influenced many later Chinese military writers. The compendium

5590-419: The prototype of the modern hand grenade. The shells ( pào ) are made of cast iron, as large as a bowl and shaped like a ball. Inside they contain half a pound of 'divine fire' ( shén huǒ , gunpowder). They are sent flying towards the enemy camp from an eruptor ( mu pào ), and when they get there a sound like a thunder-clap is heard, and flashes of light appear. If ten of these shells are fired successfully into

5676-453: The quantity of gunpowder varied according to the type of bow. In the book, the force of gunpowder is said to be enough to launch an arrow, but only when the elasticity of the crossbow is sufficient. The Wujing Zongyao discusses various types of incendiary bombs and grenades. They used a low-nitrate gunpowder that, while not powerful enough to cause an explosion, was effective for incendiary weapons. The huoqiu ( 火毬 ; literally "fire ball")

5762-451: The rubber casing explode outward in all directions as reduced lethality projectiles, which may ricochet. It is intended that people struck by the projectiles will receive a series of fast, painful stings, without serious injury. Some types have an additional payload of CS gas . Sting grenades do not reliably incapacitate people, so they can be dangerous to use against armed subjects. They sometimes cause serious physical injury, especially

5848-467: The rubber fragments from the casing. People have lost eyes and hands to sting grenades. Sting grenades are sometimes called "stinger grenades", which is a genericized trademark as "Stinger" is trademarked by Defense Technology for its line of sting grenades. Chemical and gas grenades burn or release a gas, and do not explode. Practice or simulation grenades are similar in handling and function to other hand grenades, except that they only produce

5934-412: The second black-powder formula, that would yield a nitrate level of 34.7% to 54.8%, a sulfur content of 17.4% to 27.4%, and if all carbonaceous material is used, 47.9% carbon, if only charcoal is used, 17.8%. If the inner ball of the third black-powder formula is only considered, it held nitrate levels of 39.6% if all carbonaceous matter was taken, 49.4% nitrate if excluding the poisons, and 60% if charcoal

6020-600: The success of improvised grenades in the trench warfare conditions of the Russo-Japanese War, and reports from General Sir Aylmer Haldane , a British observer of the conflict, a reassessment was quickly made and the Board of Ordnance was instructed to develop a practical hand grenade. Various models using a percussion fuze were built, but this type of fuze suffered from various practical problems, and they were not commissioned in large numbers. Marten Hale, known for patenting

6106-452: The tank there is a hole with a (little) tube which is used for filling, and this is fitted with a cover. Inside the cylinder there is a (piston-)rod packed with silk floss, the head of which is wound round with hemp waste about ½ inches thick. Before and behind, the two communicating tubes are (alternately) occluded (lit. controlled), and (the mechanism) thus determined. The tail has a horizontal handle (the pump handle), in front of which there

6192-464: The time, sticking a bit of tow in for a fuse then lighting it and throwing it quickly into our neighbors' pit where it bursts, to their great annoyance. You may imagine their rage at seeing a soda water bottle come tumbling into a hole full of men with a little fuse burning away as proud as a real shell exploding and burying itself into soft parts of the flesh. In March 1868 during the Paraguayan War ,

6278-602: The top of the grenade hit the ground. A long cane handle (approximately 16 inches or 40 cm) allowed the user to throw the grenade farther than the blast of the explosion. It suffered from the handicap that the percussion fuse was armed before throwing, which meant that if the user was in a trench or other confined space, he was apt to detonate it and kill himself when he drew back his arm to throw it. Early in World War I , combatant nations only had small grenades, similar to Hales' and Aasen's design. The Italian Besozzi grenade had

6364-412: Was a wheeled vehicle that employed differential gearing in order to lock a figurine of an immortal in place on the end of a long wooden staff, the figure having its arm stretched out and always pointing to the southern cardinal direction . Although the authors of the Wujing Zongyao were mistaken in believing that the design of the south-pointing chariot was not handed down (as it was reinvented during

6450-480: Was announced as the first major innovation in the area of handgrenades since the Great War . Developed by Ian Kinley at Försvarets Materielverk (FMV), shgr 07 is a self-righting, jumping hand grenade containing some 1900 balls that covers a cone 10 metres in diameter with the centre about 2 metres in height. This minimize the dangers outside the lethal zone as there is little to no random scattering of fragments from

6536-467: Was compiled under the sponsorship of Emperor Renzong of Song (r. 1022–1063 AD), who was concerned that many officials were unfamiliar with the military classics, and partially as a response to the Song dynasty's war with the Tanguts of Western Xia . A team of scholars worked from 1040 to 1044 to compile the Wujing Zongyao with the intent to collect all known military knowledge and to disseminate it to

6622-414: Was constructed with a container made from bamboo. In the Wujing Zongyao and other military texts, the distinction between a bomb and a grenade is ambiguous. At the time, the Chinese usually did not categorize gunpowder weapons according to their delivery method. One of the few exceptions is the shoupao , or hand bomb, which is analogous to the hand grenade. Gunpowder had already been invented prior to

6708-413: Was filled with gunpowder and launched using a trebuchet. Upon impact, the huoqiu would start a fire among an invading army. Chinese bombs such as the thunder clap bomb or pili pao used a greater percentage of gunpowder than that of the huoqiu . The gunpowder mixture for a bomb was placed within a rigid container that held in the expanding gas, allowing for more powerful explosions. The thunder clap bomb

6794-600: Was kept in the Imperial Library while a number of hand-written copies were distributed elsewhere, including a copy given to Wang Shao by Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1069 AD. The original copy of the Wujing Zongyao was lost during the Jin–Song wars when the invading Jurchens sacked the Northern Song capital of Kaifeng in 1126 AD. Only a few manuscripts survived as a result of its secretive nature. Very few trustees of

6880-461: Was lowered using an iron chain from a swape lever installed within the walls of the city. The book also describes an 'igniter ball' used in warfare and for finding the firing range. The Wujing Zongyao stated the following: The 'igniter ball' ( yin huo qiu ) is made of paper round like a ball, inside which is put between three and five pounds of powdered bricks. Melt yellow wax and let it stand until clear, then add powdered charcoal and make it into

6966-481: Was not until the outbreak of WWII serious efforts were made. While there were infantry anti-tank weapons available, they were either not ubiquitous enough, ineffective or both. Anti-tank grenades were a suitable stopgap to ensure a rudimentary capability for every squad to be used for self-defence. Once rocket-propelled shaped charges became available in greater numbers, anti-tank hand grenades became almost obsolete. However, they were still used with limited success in

7052-581: Was one of 347 military treatises listed in the biographical chapters of the History of Song (1345 AD), one of the Twenty-Four Histories . Of these 347 different military treatises from the Song period, only the Wujing Zongyao , the Huqianjing (Tiger Seal Manual) of Xu Dong in 1004 AD, and fragments of similar works found in the later Yongle Dadian , have survived. The original text of the Wujing Zongyao

7138-421: Was published under the auspices of Emperor Renzong of Song , who also authored the book's preface. The book covers a wide range of subjects, including everything from naval warships to different types of catapults . It contains the earliest known written chemical formulas for gunpowder , made from saltpeter , sulphur and charcoal along with many added ingredients. In addition to formulas for gunpowder,

7224-414: Was revealed. The Wujing Zongyao contains three formulas for gunpowder: one for an explosive bomb launched from a trebuchet , another for a similar bomb with hooks attached so that it could latch on to any wooden structure and set it on fire, and another formula specified for a poison-smoke bomb used for chemical warfare . The Wujing Zongyao' s first recorded gunpowder formula used in these bombs held

7310-712: Was specified. The first black-powder concoction was simply labeled as the "method for making the fire-chemical", with its ingredients and measured weight (in ounces ) of each ingredient listed in the section below with the others listed in similar fashion. Fireball formula Total weight = 82.2 oz. Caltrop fireball formula Inner ball Total weight of inner ball = 79.7 oz. Outer coating Total weight of outer coating = 36.6 oz. Total weight = 116.3 oz. Poisonous smoke ball formula Inner ball Total weight of inner ball = 77.7 oz. Outer coating Total weight of outer coating = 36.6 oz. Total weight = 114.3 oz. The Wujing Zongyao describes

7396-474: Was with the besieging and defense of castles and fortifications. A hoard of several hundred ceramic hand grenades was discovered during construction in front of a bastion of the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt , Germany, dated to the 17th century. Many of the grenades retained their original black powder loads and igniters. The grenades were most likely intentionally dumped in the moat of the bastion prior to 1723. By

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