M26 Grenade

The M26 is a fragmentation hand grenade developed by the United States military. It entered service in 1952 and was first used in combat during the Korean War, replacing the Mk 2 of World War II. The M26 series was the primary fragmentation grenade used by American forces in the Vietnam War. It was replaced by the M33 series grenade. Its distinct lemon shape led it to being nicknamed the "lemon grenade" (compare the Russian F1 and American Mk 2 "pineapple" grenades).

History

The M26 series was created after World War II to meet criticisms of the Mk 2. Rather than relying on a cast body to produce fragments like the Mk 2 the M26 had a thin sheet-metal body and the fragments were instead created by a notched wire coiled up inside which produced smaller fragments but a greater number traveling at a higher velocity and distributed them more evenly than the Mk 2, giving it a larger effective casualty producing radius. The fragments were also more consistently sized posing less of a risk of a stray fragment traveling further than intended and endangering the user. Its Composition B filler was considered safer than the flaked or granular TNT filling used in the Mk 2. The M26 is lighter than the Mk 2 at 16 ounces to the Mk 2's 21 ounces It also benefited from the M204A1 fuse introduced late in Mk 2 production, which creates no noise, smoke, or sparks when ignited which could give away the user's position, unlike the earlier M5/M6/M10/M11 fuzes used on the Mk2 for the majority of World War II.

Development of what would become the M26 began in January 1949. After passing an expedited service test in February 1952 during the Korean War, it replaced the Mk 2 as the US military's standard fragmentation hand grenade, though the Mk 2 would see use in the Vietnam War.

The M26 series (M26/M61) began to be replaced by the M33 series grenade (M33/M67) in 1969. While the M26 proved to be effective, it also had an inconsistent casualty radius and was heavy, at . Though production ceased in the United States, remaining stockpiles remained in US service during the 1970s.

The grenades were stored inside fiberboard containers and were packed 25 or 30 to a crate.

Variants

Live Variants

T38E1

The T38E1 was the final experimental variant which was approved and redesignated as the M26.

M26

The M26 was the original variant of the M26 series. Initially it used the M204A1 fuze originally introduced towards the end of Mk 2 production. Later M26 production used the updated M204A2 fuze.

M26A1

The M26A1 is an M26 that has the fragmentation coil redesigned to have a square rather than circular cross-section and has deeper serrations to aid in fragmentation. It also added a small tetryl booster charge on its fuze to completely detonate the explosive filler (displaced to 5.5 ounces (160 g) because of the added booster charge) and used the updated M204A2 fuze. It was adopted in American service in 1958.

M26A2

The M26A2 is similar to the M26A1 but wider and shorter, without tetryl booster pellets, instead containing 6.3 ounces of Composition B filler (0.8 ounces more than the M26A1) and a larger 5⁄8-inch (16 mm) fuze well capable of accepting either the M215 delay fuze or the M217 impact fuze.

When thrown, the M217 fuze lever would fly off and the striker would ignite the primer that activated a thermal power source after 1−2 seconds. The grenade would detonate upon impact afterwards. If it did not impact or the impact mechanism failed, the thermal source would continue burning making the grenade explode after 4 seconds. If it still failed to detonate, the source would continue burning for 30 seconds and become inactive. Early M26A2s had red levers, some with the word "IMPACT" written in black letters, while later grenades had "IMPACT" embossed on their levers. The impact fuzes were impopular with soldiers: armed grenades caused friendly casualties after being accidentally dropped or if they struck vegetation. According to Rottman, some M26A2s were fitted with a M204A1 delay fuse.

M56

The M56 is the M26A2 with the M215 delay fuze with the addition of a safety clip.

M57

The M57 is the M26A2 with the M217 impact fuze with the addition of a safety clip.

M61

The M61 is the M26A1 with the addition of a safety clip (informally referred to as a "jungle clip"). The safety clip is a bent spring steel wire which loops around the neck of the fuze body and passes over the safety lever holding it down. This acts as a redundant safety preventing the grenade from detonating even if the safety pin were to be accidentally pulled such as if snagged on jungle vegetation. The user rotates the safety clip off the safety lever with the thumb of their non-throwing hand at the same time as they pull the pin with their index finger. Existing stocks of M26 and M26A1s were converted to M61s with the addition of the safety clip.

M1A2 Grenade Projection Adapter

The M26 series (with the exception of those with M217 impact fuzes) can be fired from any rifle with a NATO-standard 22mm muzzle by use of the M1A2 Grenade Projection Adapter which was originally developed for the Mk 2.

Practice Variants

T39

The T39 was the experimental practice version redesignated as M30.

M30

The M30 is the practice version of the M26 grenade. It had a cast-iron body with a plastic base plug. It had a filler of 21 grains of black powder and used the M10A2/M10A3/M10A4 or M205A1/M205A2 series of fuzes. Its body is painted light blue with markings in white; earlier variants had a brown band across the middle. The body was embossed with the symbols "RFX55" for its manufacturer Richmond Foundry and Manufacturing Company. When the grenade detonated, the overpressure made the plug pop out with a loud noise and released a plume of white smoke. The body is reusable. It was originally the basis for an experimental hand grenade that was never put into production.

M50

The M50 was a "live fire" conversion of the M30 Practice grenade for use on training ranges. It sealed the base plug, used the M204A1 fuze, and replaced the low-explosive black powder filler with high-explosive Composition B. It allowed the training of recruits with greater safety because it lacked the fragmentation coil of the M26 and had a smaller blast radius. This also used up obsolete ordnance by utilizing worn M30 bodies as its base.

M52

The M52 is the practice version of the M2A2 with M217 impact fuze. It uses the M225 fuze.

M62

The M62 is the practice version of the M61, it is a M30 with the addition of a safety clip. Later versions of the M62 had a larger  5⁄8-inch (16 mm) fuze well and used the M228 fuze. Its body and lever are painted blue to identify it as a practice grenade.

M66

The M66 is the practice version of the M57, it is a M52 with a safety clip.

L2 (United Kingdom)

The L2 series (with a green shell) is the British version of the M26; it has a 4.4 second fuze. The L2 was like the early M26 (except it used the L25 series fuze), the L2A1 was like the product-improved M26A1, and the L2A2 was a variant of the L2A1 with a redesigned fuze well for ease of mass production.Military Factory ''L2 Anti-Personnel Fragmentation Hand Grenade''
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The L3 series (with a light blue shell and a black powder filler) is the Practice grenade variant.
The L4 series (with a dark blue shell, non-functional fuze, and no filler) is the inert Drill grenade variant.

DM41 (West Germany)

The DM41 or DM41A1 is a West German copy of the M26A1 hand grenade, manufactured by Diehl Defence of Nuremberg. Production ended around 1975 when the DM51 explosive fragmentation hand grenade was adopted by the Bundeswehr.

Users

*: Australia adopted the M26, but it has been replaced by the F1 grenade.
*: Used by the Brazilian Army.
*: Canada adopted the M61, but it has since been replaced by the C13 grenade, a Canadian-made version of the M67 grenade.
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*: Used by the Colombian Army. Produced by Military Industry of Colombia.
*: Used during the Korean War.
*: Used by the West German Bundeswehr until the DM51 grenade was adopted circa 1975.
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*: The M26A2 was adopted in Israel as the M26, and is still in use in that country. Its variant added an improved safety fuze in 2012, aimed to ensure the grenade will not explode if struck by an enemy bullet.
*: Used by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, ex-US Army stock.
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*: British L2 series supplied to Nigerian government forces during the Nigerian Civil War.
*: Used by North Korean Special forces.
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*: Used by Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police- Special Action Force
*: Portugal adopted the M26A1 and produced it under license as the M312.
*: South African M26 grenades supplied to the Rwandan government in October 1992.
*: South Africa produced the M963, itself a variant of the Portuguese M312, under license. Production would later comprise a copy of the standard M26 grenade designated as the M26 HE Hand Grenade, a blue training version with a reusable aluminium body designated as the M26 Practice Hand Grenade, and an inert training version designated as the M26 Drill Hand Grenade, with these designs remaining in production and in South African military and police service.
*: South Vietnam received the M26 grenade as US aid. Production and sales of the M26 continued to South Vietnam even after the US military adopted the M26A1 / M61 and M33 / M67.
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*: The L2 series replaced the M36 Mills Bomb in British service. It was replaced by the L109A1 grenade during the 2000s.
*: The M26 was introduced during the Korean War. It was limited standard issue at the beginning of the Vietnam War and was soon replaced by the M26A1 / M61 (1958), M26A2 / M57 (1960), and M33 / M67 (1968) as standard issue.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Pictures of the M26Picture of the M26A2Accidental M26 hand grenade blast injuries in the Transkei region of South Africa: A case report

Hand grenades of the United States
Fragmentation grenades
Military equipment introduced in the 1950s