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In terms of mass production, this Russian grenade surpassed not only the well-known Kalashnikov assault rifle, but also the total number of defensive hand grenades around the world! Only its recorded production exceeded several billion, the famous "lemon" for a hundred years of its existence managed to blow up almost half of the planet. And today, the F-1 remains the best grenade in its class and is in service with many countries.

We admit that the “French pronunciation” of the Russian F-1 grenade is partly present and it came to Russia from France during the First World War under the symbol F-1 (produced in 1915). She didn’t show any special combat qualities at that time, or maybe she just gathered dust in army warehouses in huge quantities, but she was remembered only in 1925, when the needs of the Red Army for a new grenade became an urgent need.

Remember the famous phrase from the movie "White Sun of the Desert": "He has the wrong grenade system"? It was in that historical period that it turned out that all the existing grenades were either ineffective, or unsafe to use, or completely used up during the years of the Civil War. We needed our own universal and lethal grenade. The need for hand grenades for the Red Army was satisfied at that time by only 0.5 percent - there were no grenades!

It was the French grenade that was taken as the basis, which was pretty much finalized by 1928. First of all, due to the improved fuse of Fedor Koveshnikov, which was much more efficient and safer. And 10 years later, thanks to the efforts of the designer Fyodor Khrameev, the grenade acquired completely new qualities and was adopted in 1939, becoming finally a Russian grenade.

During this time, the fuse on it changed several times, but the grenade itself, which went through the Great Patriotic War and other armed conflicts, remained unchanged and the legendary "lemon" is still in service with the Russian army.

The production of this grenade during the Great Patriotic War was more than large-scale. It was produced even at former canneries, often using TNT, even smoky hunting gunpowder as a high explosive, which did not reduce its fighting qualities. During the Battle of Stalingrad, according to the artillery department of the Red Army, about 2.3 million F-1s were used, during the Battle of Kursk - more than 4 million, during the Berlin offensive - about 3 million.

The fighters took on the "lemon" both in defensive battles and in the offensive. It was used by infantry, tankers, and artillerymen. F-1 was even in the combat equipment of pilots, in case of an unforeseen landing on enemy territory. It is no coincidence that the F-1 grenade was included in the list of “Weapons of Victory”, along with the Katyushas, ​​T-34 tanks, Il-2 attack aircraft and other famous weapons of our army.

The F-1 grenade is a defensive hand grenade. Casting range - up to 50-60 meters, depending on the skill and physical fitness of the fighter. With a weight of 600 grams, not everyone can throw this grenade at such a distance, so ideally it is 30-40 meters. At the same time, the scattering of fragments, which are about three hundred, is up to 250 meters, so its use provides for the presence of a reliable shelter for the thrower himself. Ideally, this is a trench or armored vehicles that will cover from fragments.

The body of the grenade is ribbed, hence its other name “pineapple”, but this design is not associated with a gap along the edges of the “notches”, but for the convenience of throwing, unlike smooth grenades that can slip out of the same icy glove. Subsequently, the ribbing of the case proved to be effective in tying the grenade to any object (wood, stone) for use as a "stretch". By the way, the most common name for F-1 - "lemon" has several interpretations.

The first one is connected with the English Lemon grenade from the First World War, which were used in the Russian army. It was also called "pineapple" and "tortoise" - precisely because of the chopped hull shirt. In the Russian version, the most presumable name is associated with the citrus fruit of the same name, which became known to us precisely at the beginning of the twentieth century. The diminutive suffix "fenyush" also received a grenade in the Russian army. And during the war in Afghanistan, the F-1 was referred to as "efka", moreover, the letter "K" in this abbreviation was absolutely incomprehensible.

With the history of the war in Afghanistan, the F-1 grenade has not a single famous line. Despite its weight, which is much higher than that of the same offensive RGD-5, in the "unloading" of a paratrooper in the mountains, there were certainly at least two grenades of this system, plus a couple more in the shoulder RD (paratrooper's backpack).

"Efka" was the most effective melee grenade in the mountains, where, if there were shelters among the stones, it could be used in direct collision with the enemy, - says Alexander Aprelsky, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. - In open areas, this is extremely fraught for everyone due to the large scattering of fragments, but here, when spooks are down on the mountainside, it was more convenient to throw them with powerful "lemons" than to call artillery fire or use company mortars.

The tactics of actions in the mountains were built precisely on the principle - whoever is higher is stronger. And even if one unit operates at the bottom of the gorge, then those who are on the ridge must cover it from above. Sometimes, due to the long distance, it was necessary to tie the pin of the fuse of the grenade to the body with a thread - after all, the F-1 fuse slowed down for 3-4 seconds, and then it would explode in the air, and it worked already when it “landed”. Most often, it was also placed on "stretch marks" on mountain paths - after being blown up by fragments, even the grass was mowed down under the root within a radius of 5-6 meters, leaving no chance for the fallen to survive after the click of the fuse.

At one time in Afghanistan, it was considered safe for the Mujahideen to take refuge in karez - underground wells with an extensive communication system. Throwing a grenade did not give much effect - the fragments did not reach, and the blast wave flew up like a pipe. Then they came up with a special tactic - first, one grenade flies into the well, and the second one follows with a delay in the hand for two seconds. As a result, a kind of vacuum explosion is formed inside the dungeon, which diverges along the internal passages. Very risky, because the second grenade can work in the hands. Officially, as a tactical technique, this method of undermining was not "patented", but was used repeatedly.

And the "lemon" in Afghanistan was called "lovebird". This is the last grenade that was left in case of encirclement and the possibility of being captured. It was possible to undermine the F-1 not only yourself in order to avoid a painful death, but also all enemies. During the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, when even before crossing the border all the ammunition was surrendered, the "lovebirds" vigilant special officers (military counterintelligence officers), turning a blind eye to the violation, were allowed to throw into the nearest ravine, and leave the ring from the fuse fuse as a keepsake.

Today, the F-1 grenade, which can be considered the oldest in operation, remains in service with the Russian army. Its technical characteristics, reliability and efficiency allow us to say that the legendary "lemon" will remain in combat use for a long time.

The F-1 hand-held anti-personnel grenade was created to destroy manpower while on the defensive. Due to the long range of the fragments, it is thrown out from behind fortified positions, or from armored vehicles.

The designation F-1 comes from the name of the French F-1 grenade, which was delivered in 1915 to Russia. In addition to the French model, during the First World War, the English Limonka fragmentation grenades were also imported, which was the reason for the everyday name Limonka.

It is likely that these grenades of foreign developers served as the basis for the development of the F-1.

The scheme, according to which the Russian grenade was made, is extremely successful, and today it has not changed much. Only the fuse device was modified, which contributed to an increase in the performance of the F-1.

Despite the decent mass of a grenade, which is 600 g, a trained fighter is able to throw it 40 meters. With a radius of destruction of 30 meters and a potential area of ​​localization of fragments of 200 meters, it is desirable to be in a trench, behind a wall, or in armored vehicles.

The F-1 design includes a shell made of SCH-00 cast iron (460 g), elliptical in shape (length - 11.7 cm; diameter - 5.5 cm) with a ribbed surface, in which 50-56 g of explosive (TNT) is placed , and a fuse is screwed on top. The ribbed surface of the shell is made in the form of cubes so that, on the one hand, this gives the grenade a certain ergonomics and simplifies its throw, and, on the other hand, serves as a matrix for the formation of about 1000 fragments weighing 0.1-1.0 g (fragments weighing more than 0.8 g = 4%) at explosion.

The model of F.V. Koveshnikov was originally used as a fuse. However, since 1941, for the F-1 grenade, A. A. Bednyakov and E. M. Vitseni created a more reliable and cheaper UZRG fuse, which, at the end of hostilities, was improved and was called the modernized universal hand grenade fuse or UZRGM.

In addition to the body, the fuse has: a detonator cap, followed by a slowing wick for delay (in the fuse of Koveshnikov - 3.5-4.5 seconds, in the UZRG - 3.2-4 seconds); and an igniter primer made of a copper cap, in which a shot composition is pressed in, closed with a circle of foil.

W apals UZRG and UZRGM. UZRG - an early fuse model (it was in service in WWII, replacing the Koveshnikov fuse). However, due to shortcomings, it was modernized (UZRGM) (in particular, the lever often did not fly out and, therefore, the firing mechanism of the fuse did not work). UZRGM on top of the fuse with a larger cutout - got rid of this problem.

The use of a grenade begins from the moment when the antennae are bent, blocking the exit of the checks. Clamping the lever, the grenade is taken in hand, the pin is pulled out and a throw is made at the target. Under the buoyant force of the fuse spring, the lever flies off to the side, releasing the drummer. After 3.2-4 seconds, the grenade explodes. At the time of the explosion, it is necessary to hide behind a barrier in order to avoid injury from shrapnel.

The striking factors of a grenade is the direct high-explosive effect of the explosion, leading to shell shock at a distance of 3-5 meters. At a distance of up to 30 meters from the epicenter, there is a high chance of injuring or destroying the enemy, although large fragments can cause damage at a distance of up to 100 meters with a low probability. The most common fragments are 1-2 gram grenade fragments, they have an initial velocity of about 700 m/s.

The best effect of F-1 is manifested in a closed room, which is associated with the localization of the room in the zone of the highest danger. At the same time, the probability of shell fragments ricocheting is high, and, in addition, the enclosed space significantly increases the high-explosive effect, causing shell shock and disorganization of the enemy.

The F-1 grenade acts as a “cheap and angry” means of setting up trip wires, which is explained by the long-term preservation of the grenade’s combat capability in environmental conditions and the extensive area of ​​destruction by shrapnel. However, a delay of 4 seconds in a situation is an unfavorable factor that gives the enemy a chance to escape.

Two versions of F-1 grenades are produced: training and simulation and combat. The shell of the training-imitation grenade is black with vertical and horizontal white lines, its pin and lever segment are scarlet. In addition, there is a hole at the bottom of the shell. In combat performance, the F-1 is green, which can vary from dark to light tones.

Packing wooden boxes contain 20 grenades. In it, enclosed in two sealed cans, are the fuses of the UZRGM (10 units each). Before the battle, the cans are opened with a knife, which is also available in the boxes, and the fuses, in turn, are screwed into the grenades. The placement of grenades for long-term storage involves the removal of fuses.

The F-1 hand-held anti-personnel defensive grenade has existed for about 80 years, it belongs to the Commonwealth of Independent States, is exported to Africa, Latin America, and exact analogues of the F-1 are produced in China and Iran.

Photos and information:

http://amurec.ucoz.ru/

http://f1zapal.by.ru/

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ф-1_(grenade)

There are many weapons in the world that are truly legendary in themselves. This includes the lemon grenade, better known under the index F-1. Many believe that it appeared relatively recently, while this is far from the case: this type was already in service with the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. So when did the "lemon" appear and what are its advantages and disadvantages?

Main characteristics

This grenade belongs to the class of hand-held defensive weapons. Simply put, it is intended to defeat the enemy’s manpower with fragments as a result of its use by the soldier manually, without the use of any throwing aids. In a word, a classic grenade, the principle of operation of which has not changed since the time of the glorious scorer Pyotr Alekseevich. Deceleration time - from 3.2 to 4.2 seconds, quite "blurred".

What is the defensive variety? This term means that during the explosion a sufficiently large number of massive fragments are formed, flying to a distance significantly exceeding that for a throw. After throwing such a grenade, a soldier must jump into a fairly reliable shelter without fail. Otherwise, there is a high probability of his being hit by his own weapon. That's what grenade is called "lemon".

External differences

A characteristic feature is the ribbed body, cast from a special grade of cast iron. It is subdivided into exactly 32 segments. Theoretically, this should mean that the same 32 fragments are formed during detonation, but in practice this does not always work out. Together with the fuse of the lemon grenade, it weighs as much as 0.6 kg. TNT plays the role. Weight - 60 grams. The fuse is characterized by its versatility, as it can be used simultaneously with the RGD-5. Its index is UZRGM.

It should be remembered that combat grenades are painted strictly green, which can vary from khaki to dark olive. The training version is black, in this case there are two white stripes on the surface of the "projectile". In addition, the training grenade "lemon" has a hole in the bottom. Important! The combat fuse has no indication color.

The training grenade is different in that it has a check and the entire lower part of the pressure lever is painted scarlet. Since it is possible to make a training “lemon” (grenade) from a combat one, by unscrewing the fuse and “frying” the body on a fire (explosives will simply burn out, without an explosion), this feature should not be forgotten when making an “ersatz”. Otherwise, in the exercises, someone can "catch" a heart attack.

Where did the "lemonka" come from in the Russian land?

Most likely, the Mils grenade during the First World War served as a prototype. At that time, it was the most advanced weapon in its class. This assumption is certainly not without a grain of truth, since they are surprisingly similar in form and design principle of the fragmentation jacket. However, there is another point of view.

F. Leonidov believes that the French F-1 (!), Which was put into service in 1915, and ... the English Lemon grenade (one of the versions why the F-1 grenade is called "lemon") served as a direct model for assembly. But whether this is actually so, no one can prove.

In principle, this is not so important, because the design of the fuse is primordially domestic, and the high manufacturability of production is a tribute to the Soviet weapons tradition. Both English and French samples of the WWII times are much more difficult to manufacture and more expensive.

Various ignition options

At first, it was equipped with a fuse, the author of the design of which was F.V. Koveshnikov. According to the principle of operation, it was absolutely similar to the modern one, but it was somewhat more labor-intensive to manufacture. But its main drawback was that only the hand-held defensive grenade F-1 "lemon" "ate" it.

About correct use

Before use, the soldier must unbend the safety antennae, and then take the grenade in such a way that the hand completely fixes the clamping lever to the body. Just before the throw (!) you need to pull out the pin. You can keep the "lemon" in this position for an indefinitely long time, since when the lever is compressed, the primer is not initiated, and therefore the explosion will not occur.

As soon as the target is chosen, you should vigorously throw a grenade at it. The lever at this moment will turn, releasing the combat drummer, and fly off to the side. The striker initiates the primer (piercing it), and after three to four seconds an explosion will occur.

Do you remember how an episode was repeatedly shown in films when a desperate sailor (soldier, revolutionary, partisan, etc.) in the last, desperate jerk pulls out the pin with his teeth? If you decide to repeat this trick, make sure you have a good dentist in advance, as you will 100% have to change your front teeth. Even with a hand, if the fixing antennae are not unbent, such a feat can only be accomplished so what kind of teeth are there ... In a word, do not try to tear out the pin in this way!

Tales from the landfill, or Feedback on the use

All sorts of people get into our army. For some, the “lemon” (a training grenade, but this does not particularly affect the situation) causes such uncontrollable horror that at the firing line they begin to do a variety of “indecency”. Most often this is expressed in the fact that a person tightly squeezes it in his hands and does not hear any orders.

Others are able to throw a pin at the target or, swinging for a “heroic” throw, launch a grenade a meter and a half. It's not a firecracker - a grenade! "Lemon" in this case is indeed deadly not for the target, but for the fighter himself.

Oddly enough, but women in the army behave much more adequately when handling such a dangerous object. They are focused, efficient and diligent. Emotions at this moment do not visit them at all! But after the throw, they willingly share with their friends about the "experienced horror" and "shaking hamstrings."

Advantages of F-1

Why is it that this weapon, which actually appeared a hundred years ago, is still actively used not only in our army, but also in the Armed Forces of other states of the former USSR? The most important circumstances are simplicity, manufacturability and low cost of production. The process of the latter was extremely simple: the body was cast, molten TNT was placed in it, cooled ...

And the grenade was ready! Compare this with the release of the same RGS, when steel, plastic, and other materials are used. Limonki, on the other hand, could be produced by any enterprise that had at least some kind of foundry.

In addition, the weight of the grenade allows it to be used effectively in urban environments: being thrown with sufficient energy, it will easily fly through glass, branches, and other obstacles. In addition, the detonation does not depend in any way on the force with which the F-1 collides with the surface. It can fall on wood, stone, steel, swamp or river, but will still explode (usually).

In addition, the F-1 "lemon" grenade is quite powerful and lethal. What else do the military need? Oddly enough, a lot. These grenades also have disadvantages.

Cons of "lemon"

First, weight. As much as 0.6 kg! In combat conditions, this is a very significant mass. Secondly, the “blurred” action of the fuse: from 3.2 to 4.2 s. Moreover, in practice, samples are constantly encountered that can explode both after a shorter and after a longer time. In one of the parts of Transbaikalia, this circumstance almost led to tragedy when a grenade exploded eight seconds later!

The soldier at this time had already leaned out from behind the shelter, and only by a lucky chance he was not chopped into fragments. In addition, in combat conditions, the prolonged action of the fuse can lead to the fact that a particularly "nimble" enemy will simply throw out the "gift" that has flown to him.

Thirdly, there is no option for a grenade that would be detonated immediately after contact with the target. These are the so-called mountain models. In Afghanistan, this has repeatedly led to tragedies when a thrown projectile bounced off a stone and flew back. All these shortcomings were absent in the RGN. But they were much more expensive and more difficult to manufacture, and their release fell on the period of the collapse of the USSR. So the same “efka” remained on guard.

The F1 "lemon" grenade, having many positive qualities, will in any case be in service with our army for many years to come.

Grenade F-1 "lemon" / Photo: vlada.io

If we approach the issue formally, then the service life of this, no doubt, an outstanding representative of the classic type of hand grenades, will be not one hundred, but eighty-nine years. In 1928, the hand-held anti-personnel defensive grenade F-1 - “lemonka” was adopted by the Red Army. But let's not rush things.

The prototype of a hand grenade has been known since the 9th century. These were earthenware vessels of various shapes, filled with energy-rich materials known at that time (lime, resin, "Greek fire"). It is clear that before the appearance of the first high explosives, it is not necessary to speak of a serious damaging effect of these ancient products. The first mention of explosive hand-held projectiles dates back to the 10th-11th century. The material for them was copper, bronze, iron, glass. Presumably, Arab merchants brought them from China or India.

An example of such a device is the bann, developed in China in the first millennium AD. an incendiary grenade with a body made from a piece of hollow bamboo stem. A charge of resin and black powder was placed inside. From above, the bann was plugged with a bunch of tow and used as a reinforced torch, sometimes a primitive wick containing saltpeter was used.

The Arabic "bortab" was a glass ball with a mixture of sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal, equipped with a wick and a chain. fastened to wood. In any case, this is how the manuscript of Nejim-Edlin-Chassan Alram "A Guide to the Art of Mounted Fighting and Various Military Vehicles" describes it. Such grenades provided not so much a striking, but a psychological and demoralizing effect on the advancing enemy.

More than 100 almost intact hand grenades made of blown glass, some of which still have wicks / Photo: Archaeological Museum of Mytilene, Lesbos.

The era of classic fragmentation grenades began in 1405, when the German inventor Konrad Kaiser von Eichstadt proposed using brittle cast iron as the body material, due to which the number of fragments formed during the explosion significantly increases. He also came up with the idea of ​​creating a cavity in the center of the powder charge, which noticeably accelerated the combustion of the mixture and increased the likelihood of pieces of the grenade body scattering into small fragmentation submunitions. The weak blasting action of black powder required an increase in the size of the grenade, while the physical capabilities of a person limited such an increase. A cast-iron ball weighing from one to four kilograms could only be thrown by very trained fighters. The lighter shells used by cavalry and boarding parties were much less effective.

Grenades were used mainly in the assaults and defenses of fortresses, in boarding battles, and during the war of the Holy League (1511-1514) they proved to be very good. But there was also a significant drawback - the fuse. The smoldering fuse in the form of a wooden tube with powder pulp quite often went out when it hit the ground, did not give an accurate idea of ​​the time before the explosion, detonating too early, even before the throw, or too late, allowing the enemy to scatter or even return the grenade back. In the 16th century, the familiar term "grenade" appears. It was first used in one of his books by the famous gunsmith from Salzburg, Sebastian Gele, comparing the new weapon with a subtropical fruit that, falling to the ground, scatters its seeds.

In the middle of the 17th century, grenades were equipped with a prototype of an inertial fuse. During the civil war in England (1642-1652), Cromwell's soldiers began to tie a bullet to the wick inside the projectile, which, when it hit the ground, continued to move by inertia and pulled the wick inside. They also proposed a primitive stabilizer to ensure that the grenade fuses backwards.

The beginning of the intensive use of grenades in field battles also dates back to the 17th century. In 1667, soldiers (4 people per company) were allocated in the English troops specifically for throwing shells. These fighters were called "grenadiers". Only soldiers with excellent physical shape and training could become them. After all, the higher the soldier and the stronger, the farther he will be able to throw a grenade. Following the example of the British, this type of weapon was introduced in the armies of almost all states. However, the development of linear tactics gradually negated the advantage of using grenades, and by the middle of the 18th century they were removed from the equipment of field units, grenadiers became only elite infantry units. Grenades remained only in service with the garrison troops.

War of Empires

The hand grenade met the 20th century as a little used, old and forgotten weapon. In fact, these were the same black powder ammunition used by the grenadiers of the 17th century. The only improvement made to the design of grenades for almost 300 years is the appearance of a grating fuse.

French spherical grenade model 1882, used during the First World War. The body of the grenade is a simple, spherical shape (the diameter of the ball was 81 mm), made of cast iron, with a fuse hole. The fuse of a grenade could be either percussion or a simple wick, set on fire with a match. But the most typical for a spherical grenade was a “bracelet” (grating) fuse / Photo: army-news.ru

English "ball" grenade No. 15 of the 1915 model. Cast iron body 3 inches in diameter, with internal notches for fragmentation, filled with black powder or ammonal. The fuse of grenade No. 15 was a typical grating fuse, which was developed by the designer Brock. The fuse was very sensitive to dampness and often failed, so it was often replaced with a piece of Fickford cord / Photo: army-news.ru

In Russia, in 1896, the Artillery Committee ordered that hand grenades be completely withdrawn from use "... due to the emergence of more advanced means of defeating the enemy, strengthening the defense of fortresses in ditches and the insecurity of hand grenades for the defenders themselves ...".

Eight years later, the Russo-Japanese War began. This was the first battle in the history of warfare in which mass armies met, equipped with rapid-fire artillery, repeating rifles and machine guns. The presence of new weapons, and especially the increase in the range of fire weapons, increased the capabilities of the troops and necessitated the use of new methods of action on the battlefield. Field shelters reliably hid opponents from each other, making firearms practically useless. This forced both sides of the conflict to recall the forgotten type of infantry weapons. And given the lack of grenades in service, improvisations began.

The first use of grenades by the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War was recorded on May 12, 1904 near Qingzhou. Japanese grenades were shell casings, bamboo tubes filled with an explosive charge, standard explosive charges wrapped in cloth, incendiary tubes were inserted into the ignition nests of which.

Following the Japanese, Russian troops also began to use grenades. The first mention of their use dates back to August 1904. The production of grenades in the besieged city was carried out by the staff captain of the mine company Melik-Parsadanov and the lieutenant of the Kwantung fortress sapper company Debigoriy-Mokrievich. In the maritime department, this work was entrusted to Captain 2nd Rank Gerasimov and Lieutenant Podgursky. During the defense of Port Arthur, 67,000 hand grenades were produced and used.

Russian grenades were pieces of lead pipes, shells, in which 2-3 pyroxylin blocks were inserted. The ends of the hull were closed with wooden covers with a hole for the ignition tube. Such grenades were supplied with an incendiary tube designed for 5-6 seconds of burning. Due to the high hygroscopicity of pyroxylin, the grenades equipped with it had to be used within a certain time after manufacture. If dry pyroxylin containing 1-3% moisture exploded from a primer containing 2 g of mercury fulminate, then pyroxylin containing 5-8% moisture required an additional detonator from dry pyroxylin.

Grenades produced in Port Arthur from improvised materials / Image: topwar.ru

The illustration shows a grenade equipped with a grating igniter. It was made from a 37-mm or 47-mm artillery shell. A sleeve from a rifle cartridge was soldered to the body of the grenade, in which a grating igniter was placed. A igniter cord was inserted into the muzzle of the cartridge case and fastened there by crimping the muzzle. The lace of the grater came out through a hole in the bottom of the sleeve. The grater itself consisted of two split goose feathers, cut into one another. The contacting surfaces of the feathers were covered with an igniter composition. For the convenience of pulling, a ring or a stick was tied to the lace.

To ignite the igniter cord of such a grenade, it was necessary to pull the ring of the grating igniter. The friction between the goose feathers during mutual movement caused the ignition of the grating composition, and the beam of fire ignited the igniter cord.

In 1904, for the first time in the Russian army, a percussion grenade came into use. The creator of the grenade was the staff captain of the East Siberian mine company Lishin.

Grenade captain Lishin early sample. / Image: topwar.ru

Lessons of war

Intelligence all over the world was interested in the development of events and the course of hostilities in Manchuria. Britain sent the most observers to the Far East - it was tormented by the tragic experience of the war with the Boers. The Russian army received three British observers, and 13 British officers observed the fighting from the Japanese side. Together with the British, military attachés from Germany, France, Sweden and other countries watched the developments. Even Argentina sent a captain of the second rank, José Moneta, to Port Arthur.

The analysis of combat actions showed that significant changes must be made to the technical equipment, organization of combat training of troops and their equipment. The war required the mass production of all types of weapons and equipment. The role of the rear increased immeasurably. Uninterrupted supply of troops with ammunition and food began to play a decisive role in achieving success on the battlefield.

With the advent of more advanced weapons, positional forms of combat in the field were born. Machine guns and magazine rifles forced the final abandonment of dense battle formations of troops, chains became more rare. The machine gun and powerful fortifications sharply increased the possibility of defense, forced the attackers to combine fire and movement, use the terrain more carefully, dig in, conduct reconnaissance, conduct fire preparations for the attack, make extensive use of detours and coverage, fight even at night, better organize the interaction of troops on the field fight. Artillery began to practice firing from closed positions. The war required an increase in the caliber of guns and the widespread use of howitzers.

The Russo-Japanese War made a much stronger impression on German observers than on the French, British and militaries of other countries. The reason for this was not so much the better receptivity of the Germans to new ideas, but the tendency of the German army to view the fighting from a slightly different angle. After the signing of the Anglo-French agreement (Entente cordiale) in 1904, Kaiser Wilhelm asked Alfred von Schlieffen to develop a plan that would allow Germany to fight on two fronts at the same time, and in December 1905 von Schlieffen began work on his famous plan. The example of the use of grenades and trench mortars during the siege of Port Arthur showed the Germans that such weapons could be effectively used in the German army if it had to face similar tasks during the invasion of the territory of neighboring countries.

Already by 1913, the German military industry began mass production of the Kugelhandgranate 13 grenade. However, it is impossible to say that it was a revolutionary model. The traditional inertia of thinking of military strategists of that time, which led to the fact that grenades continued to be considered only as a means of siege warfare, had an effect. Grenades of the 1913 model were of little use as an infantry weapon, primarily because of their spherical shape, which made them difficult to carry for a soldier.

Kugelhandgranate 13 Model Aa / Photo: topwar.ru

The body of the grenade was a reworked, but almost unchanged idea from three hundred years ago - a cast iron ball with a diameter of 80 mm with a ribbed notch of a symmetrical shape and a fuse point. The grenade charge was a mixed explosive based on black powder, that is, it had a low high-explosive effect, although due to the shape and material of the grenade case, it gave quite heavy fragments.

The fuse of the grenade was quite compact and not bad for its time. It was a tube protruding from the grenade body by 40 mm with a grating and remote composition inside. A safety ring was fixed on the tube, and there was a wire loop on top, which actuated the fuse. The deceleration time was supposedly about 5-6 seconds. The undoubted positive was the absence of any detonator in the grenade, since its powder charge was ignited by the force of the flame from the remote composition of the fuse itself. This increased the safety of handling a grenade and contributed to a decrease in the number of accidents. In addition, the charge, which had low brisance, crushed the body into relatively large fragments, giving less "dust" that is harmless to the enemy than grenades in melinite or TNT equipment.

Russia also took into account the experience of the war. In 1909-1910, artillery captain Rdultovsky developed two types of grenades with a remote fuse - a small (two-pounder) "for hunting teams" and a large (three-pounder) "for a fortress war." A small grenade, according to Rdultovsky's description, had a wooden handle, a body in the form of a rectangular box made of zinc sheet, and was equipped with a quarter pound of melinite. Plates with cruciform cutouts were placed between the prismatic explosive charge and the walls of the case, and ready-made triangular fragments (0.4 g each in weight) were placed in the corners. On tests, fragments "pierced an inch board 1-3 fathoms from the place of explosion", the throw range reached 40-50 steps.

Grenades were then considered an engineering tool and were under the jurisdiction of the Main Engineering Directorate (GIU). On September 22, 1911, the SMI Engineering Committee considered hand grenades of several systems - Captain Rdultovsky, Lieutenant Timinsky, Lieutenant Colonel Gruzevich-Nechay. Timinsky's remark about the grenade was characteristic: "It may be recommended in case you have to make grenades in the troops," - this is how they treated these ammunition at that time. But the Rdultovsky sample aroused the greatest interest, although it required factory production. After completion, the Rdultovsky grenade was adopted under the designation "grenade arr. 1912" (RG-12).

Grenade sample 1912 (RG-12) / Photo: topwar.ru.

Just before the start of the First World War, Rdultovsky improved the design of his grenade mod. 1912, and a grenade arr. 1914 (RG-14).

Grenade sample 1914 (RG-14) / Photo: topwar.ru.

By design, a hand grenade mod. 1914 did not fundamentally differ from the 1912 model grenade. But there were still changes in the design. The 1912 model grenade did not have an additional detonator. In the 1914 sample grenade, when equipped with TNT or melinite, an additional detonator made of pressed tetryl was used, however, when equipped with ammonal, an additional detonator was not used. Equipping grenades with different types of explosives led to a scatter in their weight characteristics: a grenade equipped with TNT weighed 720 grams, melinite - 716-717 grams.

The grenade was stored without a fuse and with a lowered firing pin. Before the throw, the fighter had to put the grenade on the fuse and charge it. The first meant: remove the ring, pull the drummer, drown the lever in the handle (the hook of the lever grabbed the head of the drummer), put the safety pin across the trigger window and put the ring back on the handle and lever. The second is to move the funnel lid and insert the fuse with the long shoulder into the funnel, with the short one into the chute and fix the fuse with the lid.

To throw a grenade, it was clamped in the hand, the ring was moved forward, and the safety pin was moved with the thumb of the free hand. At the same time, the lever compresses the spring and pulls the drummer back with a hook. The mainspring was compressed between the clutch and the trigger. When thrown, the lever was pressed, the mainspring pushed the drummer, and he pricked the igniter primer with a striker. Fire along the stopin threads was transmitted to the retarder composition, and then to the detonator cap, which detonated the explosive charge. Here, perhaps, are all the samples of hand grenades that were modern at that time, which were in the arsenals of the military when the Great War broke out.

World War I

On July 28, 1914, the First World War began, one of the largest armed conflicts in the history of mankind, as a result of which four empires ceased to exist. When, after an extremely dynamic campaign, the front lines froze in trench warfare and the opponents sat in their deep trenches almost at stone-throwing distance, the history of the Russo-Japanese War repeated itself again, with one exception - Germany. The Kugelhandgranate spherical grenade was the very first to be mass-produced in large enough quantities and supplied to the troops. The rest had to improvise again. The troops began to help themselves and began to produce various homemade grenades. Using empty cans, wooden boxes, cartons, pipe cuts, and the like, often wrapped with wire or stuffed with nails, more or less effective explosive devices were produced. Also, the most diverse were the charges, as well as detonators - simple fuse cords, grating fuses, and so on. The use of such ersatz was often associated with a risk for the throwers themselves. It required a certain dexterity and composure, therefore it was limited to sapper units and small, specially trained infantry units.

In relation to the efforts expended on production, the effectiveness of homemade grenades left much to be desired. Therefore, with an increasing pace, more effective and convenient grenades began to be developed, suitable, in addition, for serial mass production.

It is not possible to consider all the samples that the designers created during the First World War in the volume of one article. Only in the German army during this period, 23 types of various hand grenades were used. Therefore, we will focus on two designs that ultimately led to the appearance of the F-1 grenade.

Taking into account the experience of the fighting in 1914, the British designer William Mills developed a very successful, one might say, classic model of a grenade. The Mills grenade was adopted by the British Army in 1915 under the name "Mills Bomb No. 5".

Mills Bomb No. 5 / Photo: topwar.ru.

The Mills grenade is an anti-personnel, defensive, remote-action fragmentation hand grenade.

Grenade No. 5 consists of a body, an explosive charge, a shock-safety mechanism, and a fuse. The body of the grenade is designed to accommodate an explosive charge and the formation of fragments during an explosion. The body is made of cast iron, it has transverse and longitudinal notches on the outside. There is a hole in the lower part of the body into which the central tube is screwed. In the central channel of the tube there is a drummer with a mainspring and an igniter primer. The fuse itself is a piece of igniter cord, at one end of which an igniter cap is fixed, and at the other end a detonator cap. It is inserted into the side channel of the tube. The housing opening is closed with a screw plug. To use the Mills Bomb No. 5 grenade, it is necessary to unscrew the washer on the underside of the grenade, insert the detonator cap into it and screw the washer back into place. To use a grenade, you must take the grenade in your right hand, pressing the lever against the body of the grenade; with your left hand, bring together the antennae of the safety pin (cotter pin) and, pulling the ring, pull the cotter pin out of the hole in the lever. After that, swinging, throw a grenade at the target and take cover.

The British managed to create a truly outstanding weapon. The Mills grenade embodied the tactical requirements of "trench warfare" for this type of weapon. Small, handy, this grenade was conveniently thrown from any position, despite its size, it gave a lot of heavy fragments, creating a sufficient area of ​​​​destruction. But the grenade's greatest merit was its fuse. This consisted in the simplicity of its design, compactness (there were no protruding parts), and the fact that, having pulled out the ring with the pin, the fighter could safely hold the grenade in his hand, waiting for the most favorable moment for the throw, since until the lever held by the hand rises , ignition of the moderator will not occur. German, Austro-Hungarian and some French grenades did not have this truly necessary feature. Having such a feature, the Russian Rdultovsky grenade was very difficult to use, its preparation for the throw required more than a dozen operations.

The French, who suffered from German grenades in 1914 no less than the British, also decided to create a grenade with balanced characteristics. Correctly taking into account the shortcomings of German grenades, such as a large in diameter, an inconvenient body to grasp by hand, like a grenade of the 1913 model, an unreliable fuse and a weak fragmentation action, the French developed a grenade design that was revolutionary for its time, known as F1.

F1 with shock ignition fuse / Photo: topwar.ru

Initially, the F1 was produced with a shock ignition fuse, but it was soon equipped with an automatic lever fuse, the design of which, with minor changes, is still used in many NATO armies to this day. The grenade was a cast iron ribbed egg-shaped case, with a fuse hole, which was more convenient for throwing than the round or disc-shaped case of German grenades. The charge consisted of 64 grams of explosive (TNT, Schneiderite or less powerful substitutes), and the weight of the grenade was 690 grams.

Image: topwar.ru.

Initially, the fuse was a design with a percussion igniter cap and a retarder, after which the blasting cap fired, causing the grenade to detonate. It was put into action by hitting the fuse cap on a solid object (wood, stone, butt, etc.). The cap was made of steel or brass, had a striker on the inside that broke the primer, like a rifle, setting fire to the moderator. For safety, the fuses of the F1 grenades were equipped with a wire check that prevented the primer from touching the firing pin. Before the throw, this fuse was removed. Such a simple design was good for mass production, but the use of a grenade outside the trench, when it was not possible to find that same hard object, clearly made it difficult to use the grenade. Nevertheless, the compactness, simplicity and high efficiency provided the grenade with immense popularity.

At the time of the explosion, the body of the grenade is torn into more than 200 large heavy fragments, the initial expansion velocity of which is about 730 m / s. At the same time, 38% of the hull mass goes to the formation of lethal fragments, the rest is simply sprayed. The reduced area of ​​fragmentation is 75–82 m2.

The F1 hand grenade was quite technologically advanced, did not require scarce raw materials, carried a moderate explosive charge and at the same time had great power and produced a large number of lethal fragments at that time. Trying to solve the problem of proper crushing of the hull during an explosion, the designers used a deep notch on the hull. However, combat experience has shown that with modern blasting explosives, a body of this shape is unpredictably crushed during an explosion, and the main number of fragments has a small mass and is low-lethal already within a radius of 20-25 meters, while heavy fragments of the bottom, the upper part of the grenade and the fuse have a high energy due to their mass and are dangerous up to 200 m. Therefore, all statements about the fact that the notch aims to form fragments in the form of protruding ribs is at least incorrect. The same should be said about the clearly overestimated range of destruction, since the range of continuous destruction by fragments does not exceed 10-15 meters, and the effective range, that is, one where at least half of the targets will be hit, is 25-30 meters. The figure of 200 meters is not the range of destruction, but the range of safe removal for their units. Therefore, it was necessary to throw a grenade from behind a shelter, which was quite convenient in the event of a positional war.

The shortcomings of the F1 with a shock fuse were very soon taken into account. The imperfect fuse was the Achilles' heel of the whole design, and compared to the Mills grenade, it was clearly outdated. The very design of the grenade, its efficiency and production features did not cause any complaints, on the contrary, they were outstanding.

Then, in 1915, in a short time, French designers invented an automatic spring fuse of the Mills type, however, in many respects superior to it.

F1 with automatic lever fuse / Photo: topwar.ru.

Now, a grenade ready to be thrown could be held in hands indefinitely - until a more favorable moment for the throw came, which is especially valuable in a fleeting battle.

A new automatic fuse was combined with a retarder and detonator. The fuse was screwed into the grenade from above, while Mills' fuse mechanism was integral to the body, and the detonator was inserted from below, which was very impractical - it was impossible to visually determine whether the grenade was loaded. The new F1 did not have this problem - the presence of a fuse was easily determined and meant that the grenade was ready for use. The remaining parameters, including the charge and burning rate of the moderator, remained the same as in the F1 grenade with a shock ignition fuse. In this form, the French F1 hand grenade, like the Mills grenade, has become a truly revolutionary technical solution. Its shape and weight and size indicators were so successful that they served as an example to follow and were embodied in many modern models of grenades.

During the First World War, F 1 grenades were supplied in large quantities to the Russian army. As in the west, the fighting soon revealed the urgent need for the Russian army to be armed with hand grenades. They did this at the Main Military Technical Directorate (GVTU) - the successor to the SMI. Despite the new proposals, grenades arr. 1912 and 1914. Their production is being established in state-owned technical artillery institutions - but, alas, too slowly. From the beginning of the war to January 1, 1915, only 395,930 grenades were sent to the troops, mainly mod. 1912 From the spring of 1915, grenades gradually come under the jurisdiction of the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU) and are included in the number of "main means of artillery supply."

By May 1, 1915, 454,800 grenades mod. 1912 and 155 720 - arr. 1914 Meanwhile, in July of the same year, the Chief of the GAU estimates only the monthly need for hand grenades at 1,800,000 pieces, and the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief informs the Chief of the Military Ministry of the opinion of the Supreme on the need to procure "revolvers, daggers and, especially, grenades" with reference to experience of the French army. Portable weapons and hand grenades are indeed becoming the main armament of the infantry in the trench warfare (at the same time, by the way, means of protection against hand grenades appeared in the form of nets over the trenches).

In August 1915, a demand was made to increase the supply of grenades to 3.5 million pieces per month. The range of use of grenades is growing - on August 25, the Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the North-Western Front asks for the supply of "hand bombs" to the partisan hundred for operations behind enemy lines. Okhtensky and Samara explosives plants have handed over by this time 577,290 grenades mod. 1912 and 780,336 grenades arr. 1914, i.e. their production for the whole year of the war amounted to only 2,307,626 pieces. To solve the problem, orders for grenades are being placed abroad. Among other samples, it is supplied to Russia and F1. And together with others, after the end of the World War and the Civil War, it is inherited by the Red Army.

F1 to F1

In 1922, seventeen types of hand grenades were in service with the Red Army. Moreover, not a single fragmentation defensive grenade of our own production.

As a temporary measure, the Mills grenade was adopted, the stocks of which in warehouses were about 200,000 pieces. As a last resort, French F1 grenades were allowed to be issued to the troops. French grenades were delivered to Russia with Swiss impact fuses. Their cardboard cases did not provide tightness and the detonation composition dampened, which led to massive grenade failures, and even worse, to lumbago, which was fraught with an explosion in the hands. But given that the stock of these grenades was 1,000,000 pieces, it was decided to equip them with a more advanced fuse. Such a fuse was created by F. Koveshnikov in 1927. The tests carried out made it possible to eliminate the identified shortcomings, and in 1928 the F1 grenade with a new fuse was adopted by the Red Army under the name F-1 hand grenade with a fuse of the F.V. Koveshnikov.

Image: topwar.ru

In 1939, military engineer F.I. Khrameev of the People's Commissariat of Defense plant, modeled on the French F-1 fragmentation hand grenade, developed a sample of the domestic F-1 defensive grenade, which was soon mastered in mass production. The F-1 grenade, like the French F1 model, is designed to defeat enemy manpower in defensive operations. With its combat use, the throwing fighter needed to take cover in a trench or other protective structures.

In 1941, the designers E.M. Viceni and A.A. Bednyakov developed and put into service instead of Koveshnikov's fuse, a new, safer and simpler fuse for the F-1 hand grenade. In 1942, the new fuse became the same for F-1 and RG-42 hand grenades, it was called UZRG - "unified fuse for hand grenades." The fuse of a grenade type UZRGM was intended to explode the explosive charge of a grenade. The principle of operation of the mechanism was remote.

Image: topwar.ru

The manufacture of F-1 grenades during the war years was carried out at plant No. 254 (since 1942), 230 ("Tizpribor"), 53, in the workshops of the Povenetsky ship repair plant, a mechanical plant and a railway junction in Kandalaksha, the central repair shops of the NKVD Soroklaga, artele "Primus" (Leningrad), many other non-core other domestic enterprises.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, grenades were equipped instead of TNT even with black powder. A grenade with such a filling is quite effective, although less reliable. After World War II, modernized, more reliable fuses UZRGM and UZRGM-2 began to be used on F-1 grenades.

Currently, the F-1 grenade is in service with all the armies of the countries of the former USSR, and it has also become widespread in Africa and Latin America. Bulgarian, Chinese and Iranian copies also exist. Copies of the F-1 can be considered the Polish F-1, the Taiwanese defensive grenade, the Chilean Mk2.

It would seem that the F-1 grenade, as a representative of the classic type of hand grenades with a cast iron body of virtually natural crushing and a simple, reliable remote fuse, cannot compete with modern grenades of the same purpose - both in terms of optimal fragmentation action and in terms of the versatility of the fuse . All these tasks are solved in a different way at the modern technical, scientific and production levels. Thus, the RGO grenade (defensive hand grenade) was created in the Russian Army, largely unified with the RGN grenade (offensive hand grenade). The unified fuse of these grenades has a more complex device: its design combines remote and impact mechanisms. Grenade cases also have a significantly greater fragmentation efficiency.

Image: topwar.ru

However, the F-1 grenade has not been withdrawn from service and will probably be in service for a long time. There is a simple explanation for this: simplicity, cheapness and reliability, as well as time-tested, are the most valuable qualities for a weapon. And in a combat situation, it is not always possible to oppose these qualities with the technical perfection that requires large production and economic costs. In support of this, we can say that the English Mills grenade mentioned in the article is still formally in service with the armies of NATO countries, so in 2015 the grenade also celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Why "lemon"? There is no consensus about the origin of the nickname "lemon", which is called the F-1 grenade. Some attribute this to the similarity of a grenade with a lemon, however, there are opinions claiming that this is a distortion from the surname “Lemon”, who was the designer of English grenades, which is not entirely true, because the French invented the F1.

Everyone, from the military to fans of military weapons, knows the F-1 anti-personnel hand grenade. The boys, playing in the yard and throwing stones, always imagined that this was the famous "lemon". One way or another "fenka", they called the F-1 grenade during the Great Patriotic War.

The history of the invention of the F-1 grenade began in 1939. The designer Fedor Khrameev was tasked with developing a new anti-personnel grenade in two months. He was able to complete it on time, despite the too short deadlines. The designer took as a basis the French-made F-1 grenade and the Lemon system grenade. In shape, it resembled a lemon, hence the name. And according to the official version, it came from the French counterpart.

F-1, due to its design, is in service with a large number of countries today. She was taken as a prototype by the Chinese "masters" and began to produce their own fake, which indicates its popularity. Now the F-1 is being produced in Iran, completely copying the Soviet model.

The fragmentation-type F-1 hand grenade was used to undermine equipment, it was often used during the war of 1941-1945. In addition, it was installed as a stretch mine. It was enough to pull the wire to do without the use of mines.

The Limonka grenade also gained its fame in the cinema. Not a single war film can do without it. Although, you can often see the misuse of a grenade. In particular, it was always worn in a bag, and never hung with them, so as not to trigger the Lemonka trigger mechanism. In addition, the check cannot be pulled out with your teeth, for this you need to make considerable efforts.

F-1 was widely used in the 90s. Often, together with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, it was used in gang wars. Despite its simplicity, the F-1 hand grenade has been used for over 70 years and continues to be in service.