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No. 1741 
 
 DESCRIPTION AND INSTRUCTIONS 
 FOR THE USE OF 
 
 IFLE AND HAND GRENADES 
 
 {FOUR PLATES) 
 
 MAY 18, 1911 
 REVISED JANUARY 12, 1917 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 
 1917 
 
No. 1741 
 
 "U.S. Orc/^',cl ^.c^e p/et't. 
 
 DESCRIPTION AND INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 FOR THE USE OF 
 
 RIFLE AND HAND GRENADES 
 
 {FOUR PLATES) 
 
 MAY 18, 1911 
 
 REVISED JANUARY 12, 1917 
 
 # „. 
 
 \,> ;V^K,i V '.,-:*%'/^^'.'''^ 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 
 1917 
 
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 16 
 
 u^ 
 
 
 
VVak Depautment, 
 
 C>FFJ(JE OF THE ChIEF OF OeDNANCE, 
 
 Washmgton, January 12, 1917. 
 This manual is published for the information and government of the Regular 
 Army and National Guard of the United States. 
 By order of the Secretary of War : 
 
 William Ceozieb, 
 Brigadier General, Chief of Ordnance, 
 
 (3) 
 
 G3173 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/descriptioninstrOOunitrich 
 
WARNING! 
 
 To Prevent the Possibility of Accident When Using Grenades, 
 THE Following Should be Strictly Observed. 
 
 HAND GRENADES. 
 
 1. Do not use live grenades until practice has been had with dum- 
 mies. Untrained men are very erratic and may injure bystanders. 
 
 2. If the grenade is " tossed," swinging in a vertical plane, great 
 care must be taken not to hit the ground while swinging. 
 
 3. Do not throw a live grenade unless cover is at hand behind 
 which the operator and spectators may seek shelter before the gre- 
 nade strikes the ground. It is unsafe to remain in the open. 
 
 4. If a hand grenade fails, it should be recovered and placed in a 
 deep stream or other body of water or buried in the ground. 
 
 5. In handling live grenades always hold the body in the hand, 
 and never lift by means of the streamer. The rope sometimes breaks. 
 This is particularly true after the grenade has been thrown. 
 
 RIFLE GRENADES. 
 
 1. Do not fire a live grenade unless cover is at hand behind which 
 the firer and spectators may take shelter before the grenade strikes 
 the ground. The stem of the grenade is sometimes thrown several 
 hundred yards to the rear, and would make a dangerous if not fatal 
 wound even at that distance. 
 
 2. If a rifle grenade fails, it should not be left where it might be 
 picked up by an inexperienced person. It should be picked up 
 with the stem pointing downward and should be kept in this po- 
 sition till placed in a deep stream or other body of water or buried 
 in the ground. 
 
 3. If it is put aside until the end of the exercise, it is well to stick 
 the stem in the ground so as to leave it standing upright. This po- 
 sition should be an indication as to its condition, as the stem of a 
 grenade to be fired should not be put in earth in such a way that 
 the central channel might be closed. 
 
 4. A grenade which has failed should not again be fired. 
 
 76803—17 
 
 (5) 
 
PLATE I. 
 
 BABBITT RIFLE GJ^ENWE . 
 
 I I I I I 1 ^ 
 
 2 /NCH£:S. 
 
GRENADES. 
 
 The rifle grenade adopted by the Ordnance Department is that 
 known as the Babbitt rifle grenade, and is illustrated in Plate I of 
 this pamphlet. The rifle grenade is intended to be fired from a 
 service magazine rifle, model of 1903, by use of a specially loaded 
 blank cartridge. 
 
 The hand grenade has been developed simultaneously with the 
 rifle grenade and the type adopted by the department is illustrated 
 in Plate II of this pamphlet. This grenade is thrown by hand in 
 much the same manner as a stone is thrown from a sling. These 
 grenades are high explosive misgiles and should be used at short 
 ranges from behind cover. 
 
 Rifle and hand grenades are packed in boxes containing 32 each. 
 
 THE ACTION OF THE RIFLE GRENADE. 
 
 The construction of the rifle grenade and the nomenclature of its 
 component parts are indicated in Plate I. 
 
 
 (PLATE I.) 
 
 • 
 
 NOMENCLATURE. 
 
 0. Paper disk. 
 
 
 p. Plug. 
 
 1). Sabot. 
 
 
 q. Plunger locking pin. 
 
 c. Stem. 
 
 
 r. Plunger. 
 
 d. Stem ring. 
 
 
 s. Plunger restraining spring. 
 
 e. Closing screw. 
 
 
 t. Casing. 
 
 /. Safety wire. 
 
 
 u. Primer holder. 
 
 g. Safety pellet screw. 
 
 
 V. Percussion composition. 
 
 h. Paper disk. 
 
 
 w. Primer covering. 
 
 j. Safety pellet. 
 
 
 x. Primer housing. 
 
 k. Safety pin. 
 
 
 y. Primer charge. 
 
 I. Body. 
 
 
 g. Primer closing disk. 
 
 m. Trinitrotoluol. 
 
 
 aa. Detonator cup. 
 
 n. Detonating cup filling disk. 
 
 
 &&. Detonating compound. 
 
 The grenade is designed to be fired at a constant angle of eleva- 
 tion, namely 45°, except as noted below for ranges under 50 yards. 
 The range attained is dependent upon the length of the stem inserted 
 in the bore of the rifle. Tests have shown that within considerable 
 limits the range is but little affected by small changes in the angle 
 of elevation, near 45°, while a change in the length of inserted stem 
 gives an appreciable change in the range. 
 
 (7) 
 
8 
 
 The rifle grenade should be set for range as follows: The grenade 
 having been removed from its tin packing container, grasp the stem 
 with the thumb down and the thumb nail in the groove marking the 
 range desired. Insert the stem in the muzzle of the service rifle and 
 shove down until the stem ring comes against the end of the thumb 
 nail. 
 
 The special grenade cartridge is inserted in the chamber and the 
 rifle fired either from the shoulder, or better by resting the butt on 
 the ground, the firer kneeling to the left, fixing the direction and 
 estimating the desired 45° elevation. The rifle should be held as 
 firmly as possible. 
 
 Remove the safety wire /. 
 
 When the special blank cartridge above referred to is fired in the 
 gun, the flaming gases from its charge serve the double purpose of 
 ejecting the grenade from the rifle and of arming the fuse of the 
 grenade. The latter action is accomplished as follows: The flame 
 passes up through the bore of the stem <?, through the passages in 
 the closing screw e, and holes in the safety pellet screw g^ and 
 ignites the safety pellets p The compressed rifle powder pellets 
 serve, before being burned out, to hold the safety pins h in such 
 a position that their conical points engage in the circumferential 
 groove in the plunger v^ and prevent this plunger from moving 
 forward. It will thus be seen that the fuse can not be armed until 
 after the exit of the grenade from the rifle. After the compressed 
 rifle powder y has been consumed, and the safety pins k released, the 
 plunger r is still restrained from moving forward and striking the 
 primer covering u\ by means of the plunger restraining spring s. 
 Upon impact with the ground, after having been fired from the 
 rifle in the manner stated, the plunger r moves quickly forward, 
 striking the primer covering w^ igniting the percussion composition 
 'y, which in turn ignites the primer charge y and this in turn ignites 
 the detonating compound hh. The detonation of this compound 
 causes the detonation of the trinitrotoluol filling tti. 
 
 The detonation of the grenade upon impact is violent, and the 
 grenade, body, and components are broken up into a number of 
 effective fragments which have a considerable range, making it 
 unsafe for the firers or observers to be in the open when the grenade 
 detonates. At the proving ground the stems have been found over 
 300 yards in rear of the point of burst. Rifle grenades may also be 
 fired point blank if desirable. 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE OF THE RIFtE GRENADE. 
 
 Rifle grenades are shipped in bandoleers of olive-drab cloth, each 
 of which contains four rifle grenades. The grenades are packed in 
 
the bandoleer in hermetically sealed tin containers, each carrying 
 one rifle grenade complete and one special blank cartridge for use in 
 propelling the grenade. The bandoleer is opened by unfastening or 
 tearing off the stripping tape. The tin containers are provided with 
 a tearing-off strip which may be removed with the fingers. This 
 should, however, not be done until the grenade is to be actually used. 
 The bandoleer is carried over the shoulder, the end tapes being passed 
 around the waist and tied in front or as may be most convenient. 
 The weight of a complete bandoleer with four grenades, containers, 
 and blank cartridges is 6 pounds 13.76 ounces; the weight of the 
 packing can including the weight of the grenade and blank cartridge 
 is 1 pound lO.lG ounces; the Aveight of the grenade proper is 1 pound 
 (3.84 ounces, and the weight of the blank cartridge is 210 grains. 
 
 It will be noted that the stem c of the grenade is graduated with 
 circular grooves corresponding to different lengths of insertion into 
 the bore of the rifle, which in turn correspond to the various ranges. 
 There is one set of graduations in yards of range based upon an angle 
 of elevation of 45°. These graduations vary from 300 yards to 80 
 yards as a minimum. In order to cover the space between the mini- 
 mum range as marked on the stem and the firing point, an angle of 
 elevation of 80° may be used. With this angle of elevation, the 
 ranges obtained will be approximately one-fifth of the ranges marked 
 on the stem. The angle of elevation of 80° may be closely approxi- 
 mated by resting the butt of the rifle upon a level piece of ground or 
 upon a board, the surface of which is horizontal. In other words, 
 the angle between the horizontal surface and the bore of the rifle 
 with the rifle in the position of "order arms" is approximately 80°. 
 
 A range table giving more exact ranges for both the live and the 
 dummy rifle grenades is given below : 
 
 Live and dummy 
 
 Live and dummy 
 
 grenades, elevation 
 
 grenades, elevation 
 
 45°. 
 
 
 80°. 
 
 
 
 Insert stem 
 
 
 Insert stem 
 
 Range. 
 
 to gradua- 
 tion 
 
 Range. 
 
 to gradua- 
 tion 
 
 
 marked- 
 
 
 marked— 
 
 Yards. 
 
 Yards. 
 
 Yards. 
 
 Yards. 
 
 80 
 
 80 
 
 15 
 
 80 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 20 
 
 100 
 
 120 
 
 120 
 
 26 
 
 120 
 
 140 
 
 140 
 
 32 
 
 140 
 
 160 
 
 160 
 
 38 
 
 160 
 
 180 
 
 180 
 
 44 
 
 180 
 
 200 
 
 200 
 
 50 
 
 200 
 
 220 
 
 220 
 
 56 
 
 220 
 
 240 
 
 240 
 
 63 
 
 240 
 
 260 
 
 260 
 
 70 
 
 260 
 
 280 
 
 280 
 
 77 
 
 280 
 
 300 
 
 300 
 
 85 
 
 300 
 
10 
 
 The maximum pressure obtained from the special blank cartridge 
 issued with the grenades is approximately 48,000 pounds per square 
 inch, when the stem insertion is complete, i. e., when the stem ring 
 stops against the closing screw of the grenade. This pressure corre- 
 sponds, as may be seen from the range table, page 9, to a range of 
 300 yards. 
 
 In firing the rifle grenade it has been found that the best results 
 can be obtained by resting the butt of the rifle on the ground and 
 estimating the angle which the barrel makes with the horizontal, 
 which angle, as stated above, should be either 45° or 80°, these angles 
 being those used for the determination of the graduation upon the 
 stem. It has been found that the rifle grenade is not detonated by 
 impact of the small-arms bullet unless it so happens that the bullet 
 actually strikes the fulminate composition n. It will also be observed 
 that no blank cartridges other than those issued by the Ordnance 
 Departr)ient should be v^ed with t/ie 7^fe grenade. FaiLure to observe 
 this caution may result in injury to both the men and the r)iateriel. 
 Should a rifle grenade fail to detonate on impact after having been 
 fired from a rifle, it should be handled with extreme caution, in view^ 
 of the fact that the safety feature as described above has now been 
 removed. To handle such a grenade, it should be carried with the 
 stem down and if practicable thrown into deep water, from which its 
 recovery is improbable. If that be not practicable, the grenade should 
 be buried in the ground where it will not likely be recovered. If it 
 should be necessary to disassemble a grenade, either fired or unfired, 
 the work should be done only in the presence of a responsible person. 
 To do this, place the grenade, stem down, in a vise or clamp. With a 
 wrench unscrew the body and remove the plunger if free. If the 
 plunger of a fired grenade can not be removed, the safety pellets 
 have failed to burn out, and while the reassembled grenade would 
 be safe, it would probably fail again. A grenade having once failed 
 should not be again fired from the rifle. 
 
 DUMMY RIFLE GRENADES. 
 
 The dummy rifle grenade illustrated in Plate III is issued for 
 instruction purposes, and is similar to the rifle grenade in Plate 
 I of this pamphlet, except that the body is not provided with grooves. 
 It may from this feature be distinguished readily from the live 
 grenade. As a further precaution, this grenade is marked " dummy." 
 The stem of this grenade is graduated in a manner entirely similar 
 to the method used for the stem of the live grenade, and the weight 
 of the dummy grenade is equal to that of the live grenade. The 
 dummy grenade is for use in target practice. The graduations for 
 the stem of the dummy grenade are given for the same ranges as in 
 
mNPGPm/QDf. 
 
 PLATE II 
 
 q .s 
 
 M I I I I I I I 
 
 I I 
 
 2 /AC/ZfS. 
 
PLATE III. 
 
 PUM/yJY R/FLe GJ?f^N^/:^. 
 
 S^BOT. 
 
 ST€MJ?/M^. 
 
 IPY. 
 
 -PLUG. 
 
 I I I I I I I I I 1 
 
 2 lt1CH£3. 
 
 I I 
 
11 
 
 the case of the live grenade, but owing to the fact that the stem of 
 the dummy grenade is solid and has no bore along its longitudinal 
 axis, the ranges obtained with it are slightly greater than those ob- 
 tained with the live grenade for equal lengths of stem insertion. In 
 other words, for this and other reasons, the stems of the dummy and 
 live grenades are not interchangeable. The range table for the gre- 
 nade, both for 45° elevation and 80° elevation, is given on page 9. 
 The manipulation of the dummy rifle grenade is entirely similar to 
 that of the live grenade, so far as the stem insertion and firing from 
 the rifle is concerned. The dum.my grenade may be fired repeatedly. 
 After the stem has become deformed the dummy grenade can again 
 be made serviceable by the addition of a new stem. Each dummy 
 rifle grenade issued is accompanied by 5 extra stems and 50 blank 
 cartridges. These grenades are not issued in tin packing boxes or 
 with bandoleers. 
 
 ACTION OF THE HAND GRENADE. 
 
 The construction of the hand grenade and the nomenclature of its 
 component parts are indicated in Plate II : 
 
 (PLATE II.) 
 NOMENCLATURE. 
 
 a. Streamer. 
 
 h. Streamer holder. 
 
 c. Body. 
 
 d. Trinitrotoluol. 
 
 e. Cup detonator. 
 /. Filling washer. 
 
 g. Primer closing disk. 
 Ti. Primer covering. 
 ;. Primer charge. 
 k. Primer housing. 
 
 I. Percussion composition. 
 m. Hood, 
 n. Firing pin. 
 p. Fulminate composition. 
 q. Cup-detonator sleeve. 
 r. Primer holder. 
 8. Closing screw. 
 t. Safety cup. 
 M. Firing pin holder. 
 
 The action of the hand grenade is as follows: The hood m is re- 
 moved from the grenade by twisting the hood in such a manner 
 as to release the bayonet joint. The safety cup t is then removed 
 and the hood replaced by repeating the motion of disassembling 
 in reverse order, care being exercised not to attempt to force the 
 hood past the stop pins, as the safety feature has now heen removed. 
 When the hood is in the proper position to cause the fuse to be 
 armed, the stud in the body which engages in the bayonet- joint 
 groove in the hood should be opposite the longitudinal continua- 
 tion of the bayonet- joint slot. The fuse is now armed, and when 
 the grenade is thrown so as to fall upon the firing-pin end the 
 weight of the grenade causes the thin sections of the hood m to 
 
12 
 
 be sheared by the small pins resting against the shearing sections, 
 thus allowing the grenade to move downward into the hood, tele- 
 scoping therewith, and strike the firing pin n against the percussion 
 composition I. The impact of the firing pin ignites the percussion 
 composition, which in turn ignites the powder j^ causing the detona- 
 tion of the fulminate composition p and of the trinitrotoluol d. 
 These detonations result in the fragmentation of the grenade. The 
 streamer or tail of the hand grenade is for the purpose of swinging 
 the grenade in throwing. Preparatory to throwing the grenade the 
 unravelled portion of the streamer should be wadded up in the palm 
 of the hand and grasped together with the knot. In flight, the 
 rope, acting as a tail, steadies the flight of the grenade and tends 
 to cause it to strike head on in an advantageous manner for the 
 successful action of the fuse. 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE USE OF THE HAND GRENADE. 
 
 The grenade is issued in cylindrical tin cans, hermetically sealed, 
 and provided with a tin tearing strip which should not be removed 
 until just before the hand grenade is required for use. Four hand 
 grenades are packed in these tin cans and carried in an olive drab 
 bandoleer somewhat similar to that used for the transportation of 
 small-arms ammunition. These bandoleers are provided with a strap 
 so that the bandoleer can be suspended from the shoulders. This 
 strap is folded across the back to the bandoleer and stitched in place 
 with a weak stitching. Hooks are also provided so that the bando- 
 leer may be suspended from the belt if this manner of carrying is 
 preferred. The bandoleer pouch is divided into four compartments, 
 each containing a hand grenade, and all are covered by a flap secured 
 by a buckle so that the compartments may be readily opened for 
 the extraction of the grenade. 
 
 Having taken the grenade from the bandoleer, the tin box is 
 opened by tearing off the soldering strip, which releases the cover of 
 the can. The hand grenade having been removed from the container, 
 the grenade must be armed before it is thrown, and this is done by 
 removing the safety cup ^, as described above. Having armed the 
 fuse of the grenade and replaced the hood m in the proper armed 
 position, the grenade is ready to be thrown. In this condition the 
 grenade should be carefully handled and not permitted to strike 
 either on the ground adjacent to the thrower or in the vicinit}^ of 
 friendly troops. The thrower and all friendly troops should have 
 cover before the grenades strike, as the fragments resulting from 
 their detonation have a longer range than the distance to which 
 the grenade as a whole may be thrown. The rope of the grenade 
 is made in a convenient length for the soldier of average stature, but 
 
PLATE IV. 
 
 DUmrH/7ND (^/^EA/ZIPL 
 
 '2£:/Qn^£P. 
 
 Sme/QMfj^ WLl?£/^. 
 
 3//VCHSS 
 
13 
 
 this length may be decreased by adding another knot. The manner 
 of throwing the grenade is dependent upon the free space available 
 for swinging it. When the thrower has ample space behind a 
 parapet, it is best to swing it around the head as with a sling, both 
 for accuracy and safety. Untrained men will naturally swing the 
 grenade in a vertical plane. The tests at the Sandy Hook Proving 
 Ground indicate that this method is accompanied by considerable 
 danger, as the thrower may strike the ground with the grenade in 
 the act of whirling it or may release it so that its flight will be nearly 
 vertical, causing the grenade to fall back near the thrower. The 
 ranges that can be attained with this form of grenade are not great 
 and vary w4th the strength and skill of the thrower. Prior to using 
 service grenades, troops should be instructed in the use of dummy 
 grenades. In assembling the hood m, after removing the safety cup t^ 
 care sTwuld he taken not to attempt to force the hood too far upon 
 the hutt of the grenade hody^ or explosion may occur. The rope of 
 the grenade should also be examined to make sure it is in good con- 
 dition and not liable to break while the grenade is being whirled. 
 
 In case a grenade which has been thrown and failed to detonate 
 is recovered, it should be handled with the greatest care. Such 
 grenades can be rendered safe for transportation bj^ cautiously with- 
 drawing the hood m from the grenade body, replacing the safety cup 
 t in the hood, and then reassembling the hood to the grenade body. 
 Or in case it be desired to throw the grenade a second time, this 
 may be accomplished by drawing back the hood m until it will have 
 its normal stroke upon impact and then throwing in the usual man- 
 ner. However, if practicable, a grenade which has failed should be 
 thrown into deep water from which its recovery is improbable, or 
 should be buried in the ground. 
 
 The weight of the bandoleer packed with four containers and hand 
 grenades is 6 pounds, and the weight of one hand grenade complete 
 is 1 pound 5 ounces. The weight of the tin container is 1.92 ounces, 
 and the weight of the bandoleer is 4.32 ounces. 
 
 DUMMY HAND GRENADES. 
 
 Dummy hand grenades are issued for instruction purposes and for 
 practice in throwing grenades. These dummies are similar in weight 
 and form to the live grenade, except that the body of the grenade is 
 made of bronze instead of cast iron or steel and not grooved, but 
 smooth upon its exterior surface so as to distinguish it from the live 
 grenade, which is provided with grooves. The dummy hand grenade 
 is also marked Avith the word " Dummy." The cords attached to 
 the dummy grenades will, with continued use, become worn and for 
 
14 
 
 this reason the cord should be examined before whirling the grenade, 
 in order to avoid accidents. To obtain accuracy and range in 
 throwing the hand grenade requires preliminary drill and practice 
 with the dummy grenade. For maximum effect the grenade should 
 be detonated within a few feet of the object at which it is thrown. 
 This requires accuracy usually acquired only by a considerable 
 amount of practice. The dummy hand grenade is shown in 
 Plate IV. 
 
 With each dummy hand grenade are issued five extra streamers. 
 
 War Department, 
 
 Office of the Chief of Ordnance, 
 
 Washington, January 12, 1917. 
 May 18, 1911. 
 Revised January 12, 1917. 
 Form No. 1741. 
 Ed. Jan. 12-17—5,000. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Dummy hand grenades .' 13 
 
 Dummy rifle grenades 10 
 
 General description 7 
 
 Hand grenade: 
 
 Action 11 
 
 Instructions for use , 12 
 
 Nomenclature 11 
 
 Range table 9 
 
 Rifle grenade: 
 
 Action 7 
 
 Instructions for use 8 
 
 Nomenclature. 7 
 
 Warning , . . 5 
 
 (15) 
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 OVERDUE. 
 
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