Combat experience with the bazooka rocket launcher in World War Two and its larger versions in the Korean War convinced the US military that a better weapon was needed to give front-line troops a direct-fire way to attack enemy strong points. The bazooka was bulky, not particularly accurate, and created a lot of backlist signature when fired. This led to a multi-part development effort involving design of a small grenade body, reliable but cheap fusing system, and a cartridge design that could launch it.
The result was the 40x46mm grenade. It uses a "high-low" system (originally developed by Rheinmetall during World War Two) in which a powder charge is fired in a small compartment within the cartridge case. The initial pressure in this compartment is some 35,000 psi, which is plenty high to ensure complete and repeatable powder burn. At peak pressure, the internal compartment ruptures, allowing the propellant gasses to expand into the full case volume, which lowers the pressure to about 3,000 psi. This lower pressure is safe to use with an aluminum barrel, and propels the grenade at about 250 fps, giving it a range of about 400 yards without generating excessive recoil.
The M79 proved to be very accurate and reliable. It's downside was the need for a grenadier to carry a backup sidearm, as the M79 could not be used at close range. Almost as soon as it was introduced, work began on developing a launcher which could be attached to the M16 service rifle. This would first be the XM-148, and then ultimately the M203 that would replace the M79 in service. M79 launchers can still be found all over the world, however, as they are robust and reliable.
VIDEO HERE (15 minutes)
i was the 203 guy in my squad. but, my squad was a vulcan crew. i always thought that a 203 in a vulcan unit was redundant if not just ignorant. but hey, it was the army way...
ReplyDelete"It's policy. It doesn't need a reason."
DeleteFired one a bunch of times. Liked it.
ReplyDeleteCarried the M79 in VN nearly all of 1967..C 1/5th Mariens..Nick name blooper man.
DeleteI initially qualified with the -14, and did well, as I grew up barking squirrels with a .303 Enfield. When they gave me the Mattel, I couldn't hit the side of a barn, as it was too light. So they bolted on a M203, and it was nearly perfect. The upside being if I missed, I could just blow up the target. Very accurate, considering what it is, and fun as hell.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/f96p-IhcZhQ?t=83
ReplyDeleteI was a grenadier in "Nam. We did carry a .45 and a K-bar. However we also had other rounds for the M-79. The ones I can recall were: HE, illumination, star, buckshot round (made a hell of a lot of noise), flechette round, practice round, maybe some others.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you carry willy peter rounds too? I know against Geneva Convention but we had WP grenades. We used to say we were marking spots with them. Ayup. Light em up boys.
DeleteWP is illegal to use against legal combatants, not for signaling. So, you signal where the enemy is by shooting WP at them.
DeleteThe buckshot and flechette rounds were for close range and the Blooper and 203 operators could put a round in your hip pocket!!! grayman
ReplyDeleteWe got an automatic blooper on I think Hill 22. It seems the rounds were in a canvas belt. I wasn't the blooper man so I'm trying to remember. I do know the guy put it to his shoulder and was walking backwards real quick like. It seems there was a tripod or something that attached. I don't know what happened but that was the only one I ever saw. Course I was over halfway through my tour so maybe they used them more after I left. I left in 69.
ReplyDeleteI got time on a MK-19. I used one rabbit hunting in Afghanistan. I got two that were edible. I vaporized two others.
ReplyDeleteThings that happen when you are bored and have orders to eliminate 4k 40mm rounds.
A buddy of mine was a Blackhawk crew member with TF-160 in Desert Storm. They were sent to pick up a Special Forces team that had been compromised behind Iraqi lines. He was carrying a 203 and was supposed to provide suppressing fire for the SF team as they loaded the bird. He was wearing a vest full of grenades and told me he started popping them off as soon as the bird landed. The SF team loaded up and the bird took off. At some point, he looked down to see how many grenades he had left and realized that all the rounds he fired were illumination rounds. Must’ve confused the heck out of the Iraqis, considering the extraction was in the middle of the day.
ReplyDeleteLike the old saying goes: "If you can't dazzle 'em with dexterity, baffle 'em with bullshit."
DeleteI used both the M79 and M203 in Oz in the 80s. The M79 was affectionately known as the 'wombat gun'.
ReplyDeleteI carried the 203 for a bit near the inter-German/Czech borders in the early '80s. Qualified at Benning and range fire in USAREUR. I liked it. Not as much as the Pig, though.
ReplyDelete