The

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

F-1

hand grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

(Russian: Фугасный > ''Fugasnyy 1'', "Explosive, Type No. 1") is an anti-personnel fragmentation defensive grenade. It is based on the French F1 grenade and contains a explosive charge (

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

). The total weight of the grenade with the

fuze In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates its function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fu ...

is about . Due to its shape and its yellow-green color, it is nicknamed the (fem. 'little lemon'). It is also nicknamed ''Efka'' () for the letter F. It is similar to the American Mk 2 "pineapple grenade", which was also ultimately modeled on the French F-1. F-1 simulation-training grenade is called УРГ (учебная ручная граната), URG (training hand grenade).

Fuse

The ''Universal'nyi Zapal, Ruchnaya Granata, Modernizirovannyi'' (UZRGM) (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

for 'universal igniter, hand grenade, improved')

fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...

is a universal Russian type also used in the

RG-42 The Soviet RG-42 (Ручная Граната образца 42 года > ''Ruchnaya Granata obraztsa 42 goda'', "Hand Grenade pattern of 92 year") was a fragmentation grenade designed by S. G. Korshunov. While it was introduced as a stopgap ...

and RGD-5 grenades. The standard time delay for this fuse is 3.5 to 4 seconds. There was a myth originating from an article written by

Peter Kokalis Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

for the

Soldier of Fortune (magazine) ''Soldier of Fortune'' (''SOF''), subtitled ''The Journal of Professional Adventurers'', is a daily American web magazine founded in 1975 by Robert K. Brown. It began as a monthly U.S. periodical published from 1975 to 2016 as a magazine devoted ...

that implied UZRGM fuse variants are available in versions with delays from zero (i.e., instantaneous, specifically for use in

booby-trap A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or an animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap may b ...

s) to 13 seconds. However the UZRGM fuse never had such variants, and all UZRGM fuses have delay of 3.2 to 4.2 seconds if working correctly. The myth originated from the author reading the numbers stamped on the fuse body, which are concealed when the fuse is inserted into the grenade. This number indicates the factory production line, not the fuse delay. Having fuses without clear external marking indicating that it is "short fuse" with 0 or 1–2 seconds delay would be dangerous for soldier operating them. It is possible to hear a loud "pop" as the fuse ignites and begins to burn.

History

The F-1 was introduced during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and subsequently redesigned post-war. It has a steel exterior that is notched to facilitate fragmentation upon detonation and to prevent hands from slipping. The distance the grenade can be thrown is estimated at . The

radius In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...

of the fragment dispersion is up to (effective radius is about ,). Hence, the grenade has to be deployed from a defensive position to avoid self-harm. About 60 percent of the grenade body pulverizes during the explosion, only 30 percent of the body splits into 290 high-velocity, sharp-edged splinters each weighing around 1 gram with an initial speed of about . While the F-1 is no longer regarded as a front-line weapon with the former

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

countries, it still remain in widespread use, especially with insurgent groups.

Foreign copies

Several countries produced copies of the F-1 grenade, including China (as the Type 1), Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Georgia, Poland, and Romania. In 2024, Ukraine started production of an improved F-1 grenade which was approved for military use in September 9, 2024. Several insurgent groups have produced their own grenades based on the F-1. There are different production variations according to country of origin, including fuse and explosive filling. Poland in particular, produced a

rifle grenade A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand. The practice of projecting grenades with rifle-mounted launchers was first widely used dur ...

based on the F-1 known as the F1/N60. This variant have an impact fuse instead of a time delay fuse.

Operators

* * − Produced locally as the Type 1 grenade * * * * * * − Remained in frontline service as late as 2010 * * * * − 50,000 delivered between 1982 and 1987 by Czechoslovakia * * − Domestically produced copies *

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* Trinitrotoluene Filling (TNT)
F-1 grenade (Russian)

Soviet hand grenade F-1 (Russian)

{{WWIIUSSRInfWeapons World War II infantry weapons of the Soviet Union Hand grenades of the Soviet Union Fragmentation grenades Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1939