The OTO Mod. 42 is an incendiary anti-tank

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 ...

supplied to the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

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 ...

History

The Italian Royal Army had entered the war without an anti-tank bomb of national production. Only in 1942, two models were built: the Breda Mod. 42 and the OTO Mod. 42.

Features

The fuze consist of a normal OTO Mod. 35 hand grenade that is internally threaded and screwed to an aluminum handle which connects to the body bomb. The body is a glass container loaded with flamethrower liquid and gasoline, which shattered upon impact or at the moment of activation of the detonator. The project comes from handmade explosives built on the field by soldiers joining a normal OTO Mod. 35 with bottles filled with flammable liquid. Soldiers were trained to hit the air vents of the tank's engine, in order to make penetrate the incendiary liquid before ignition.

External links

* http://www.talpo.it/o.t.o..html * http://army1914-1945.org.pl/wlochy2/regio-esercito/uzbrojenie-wyposazenie-i-sprzet-regio-esercito/bron-strzelecka/229-przeciwpancerny-granat-zapalajacy-oto-mod-42-regio-esercito (Polish) {{WWIIItalianInfWeapons Grenades of Italy World War II infantry weapons of Italy Anti-tank grenades

History

Features

See also

External links