grenade, small explosive, chemical, or gas bomb that is used at short range. The word grenade probably derived from the French word for pomegranate, because the bulbous shapes of early grenades resembled that fruit. Grenades came into use around the 15th century and were found to be particularly effective when exploded among enemy troops in the ditch of a fortress during an assault. They eventually became so important that specially selected soldiers in 17th-century European armies were trained as grenade throwers, or grenadiers (see grenadier). After about 1750, grenades were virtually abandoned because the range and accuracy of firearms had increased, lessening the opportunities for close combat. Grenades did not come back into use on an important scale until the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05). The grenade’s effectiveness in attacking enemy positions during the trench warfare of World War I led to its becoming a standard part of the combat infantryman’s equipment, which it has continued to be. More than 50,000,000 fragmentation grenades alone were manufactured by the United States for use in World War II.
The grenades most commonly used in wartime are explosive grenades, which usually consist of a core of TNT or some other high explosive encased in an iron jacket or container. Such grenades have a fuse that detonates the explosive either on impact or after a brief (usually four-second) time delay that is long enough for the grenade to be accurately thrown but is too brief for enemy soldiers to toss the grenade back once it has landed among them. A common type of explosive grenade is the fragmentation grenade, whose iron body, or case, is designed to break into small, lethal, fast-moving fragments once the TNT core explodes. Such grenades usually weigh no more than 2 pounds (0.9 kg). Explosive hand grenades are used for attacking the personnel in foxholes, trenches, bunkers, pillboxes, or other fortified positions and in street fighting.
Another major class is chemical and gas grenades, which usually burn rather than explode. This class comprises smoke, incendiary (fire-setting), illuminating, chemical-warfare, and tear-gas grenades. The latter are used by police for riot and crowd control. Several uses may be combined, as in a white phosphorous grenade that has smoke, incendiary, and antipersonnel effects.
Grenades can be launched from the muzzle of a rifle either by the force of a cartridge or by the expanding gases of a blank cartridge. Such grenades usually have long, streamlined bodies, in contrast to the round shapes of hand grenades. There are also small-arm grenade rounds, shaped like bullets but of much greater diameter (usually 40 mm). These contain their own low-energy propellant charges and are shot from special large-bore launchers similar to shotguns or from launchers attached to infantry assault rifles. Another type of grenade is the antitank grenade, which contains a special shaped-charge explosive that can pierce even the heavy armour of a tank. Since these are usually delivered by small rockets launched from shoulder-held tubes, they are commonly referred to as rocket-propelled grenades.