RGD-5 hand grenades.
The RGD-5 (Ruchnaya Granata Distantsionaya) English "Distance Hand Grenade" or "Time-delayed Hand Grenade", is a post World War II Soviet anti-personnel fragmentation grenade, designed in the early 1950s. RGD-5 was accepted into service in 1954, and is still in service with many of Russia's former client states and has been supplied to Iraq as well as other Arab nations.
Composition[]
The grenade contains a 110 gram charge of TNT with an internal fragmentation liner that around 350 fragments and has a lethality radiu of 25 meters. The weight of the grenade with the fuze fitted is 310g. Typically, the RGD-5 uses the 3.2 to 4 second UZRGM fuze, a universal Russian type which is also used in the RG-41, RG-42, and F1 grenades. The RGD-5 may be fitted with the more modern DVM-78 fuze, or variants of the UZRGM with delays of between zero (i.e. instantaneous for use in booby traps) and 13 seconds. It is also possible to screw an MUV booby trap firing device into the fuze well.
Description[]
The grenade is egg-shaped with no external ribbing, except for a lateral ridge where the two halves of the grenade join. The surface has a few small dimples on it, with a green or olive drab paint-scheme. The RGD-5 can be thrown about 35 to 40 meters by the average male soldier and when thrown, it is possible to hear a loud "pop" as the fuze ignites and begins to burn. The grenade can inflict injuries (e.g. penetrating eye wounds) out to 15 m from the site of detonation. Victims caught within 3m of the detonation site are almost certain to be killed or severely wounded.
RGD-5 grenade in Kuwait. Live but unfuzed.
This grenade is still manufactured in Russia with copies produced in Bulgaria, China (Type 59) and Georgia. Many millions of RGD-5s and their clones have been manufactured over the years, and although not as advanced as more modern grenades which are specifically designed to penetrate CRISAT standard body armor, the RGD-5 is still an effective and inexpensive weapon. A single RGD-5 grenade costs about $5 USD, making it highly affordable during a major conflict when many grenades are required.
The URG-N is a reuseable training model of the RGD-5 of cast iron construction (rather than sheet steel) and a modified fuze containing a compound which simulates the detonation of the grenade. The body of this grenade is painted black with white markings.
Rifle grenade[]
The AK-47 can mount a (rarely used) cup-type grenade launcher that fires standard Soviet RGD-5 hand grenades. The soup-can shaped launcher is screwed onto the AK-47's muzzle. To fire, insert a standard RGD-5 grenade into the launcher and then remove the safety pin. Then, inset a special blank cartridge into the rifle's chamber. Finally, place the buttstock of the rifle on the ground and fire from this position.
The maximum effective range is approximately 150m.