4/2/2023 0 Comments Thumper grenade launcher![]() ![]() When unfolded, the leaf-type sight could be adjusted for ranges from 75 meters to 375 meters, in 25-meter increments. A grenadier may simply point and shoot with high accuracy. When folded, the leaf sight acts as a fixed sight for close range. The rear sight on the M79 is a folding ladder-style leaf-type sight. A rubber pad affixed to the buttstock absorbs some recoil. The stock is made out of wood or fiberglass. The fore-end assembly beds the barrel to the receiver. Visually, the M79 grenade launcher resembles a large bore, break-action, sawed-off shotgun, and is simple in design, having only five major parts: a receiver group, a fore-end assembly, a barrel group, a sight assembly, and a stock. The M79 has seen notable limited use during Operation Iraqi Freedom, such as for clearing IEDs. Some US Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces in Iraq have been seen using the M79 in recent years, due to its greater accuracy and range compared to the M203 (350m effective versus 150 m effective on the M203). The M203 was however a success, and was standardized in 1969 it had replaced the M79 by the end of the war, though M79s were still used in Reserve and National Guard units. ![]() The XM148 was plagued with problems and the project was dropped. Underbarrel grenade launchers, such as the XM148 and the M203, both designed as attachments for the M16 rifle, were developed during the Vietnam War, allowing the grenadier to also function as a rifleman. Moreover, its size meant that a grenadier armed with the M79 could not carry a rifle, having only a sidearm to use in a firefight after expending his grenades, though some grenadiers opted to carry a slung M16 rifle in lieu of a sidearm. Special grenades for close-in fighting were created to compensate, though a soldier was not always able to load one in the heat of battle. pistol, or fire and hope that the grenade acted as a giant slow bullet. For close-in situations, the minimum arming range (the round travels 30 meters to arm itself) and the blast radius meant a grenadier had to use his. This led the Navy to develop the China Lake Grenade Launcher, which was produced for deployed SEAL Teams. Reloading after every shot meant a slow rate of fire and an inability to keep up a constant volume of fire during a firefight. However, its single-shot nature was a serious drawback. The Marines assigned one grenadier to their three-fire team 14-man rifle squad. ![]() M79s were assigned to the specialist 4 grenadier in both 4-5-man fire teams organic to an Army rifle squad headed by a squad leader. The M79 saw combat in the Vietnam War beginning in the early days, when M79 Grenadiers assigned to major Army divisions first arrived to see combat in Vietnam in 1965, including the 1st Cavalry Division, the 1st Infantry Division, the 101st Airborne Division, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Some soldiers would cut down the stock and barrel to make the M79 even more portable. Owing to its ease of use, reliability, and firepower, the M79 became popular among American soldiers, who dubbed it "the platoon leader's artillery". In 1961, the first M79 grenade launchers were delivered to the US Army. With a new sight, the XM79 was officially adopted as the M79 on December 15, 1960. Unable to solve the problems with the multi-shot T148 launcher, the Army adopted the S-5 as the XM79. This was refined into the S-5, which resembled an oversized single-barrel shotgun. The other design was a single-shot break-open, shoulder-fired weapon, the S-3. One of the launchers at Springfield Armory was the three-shot "harmonica" T148 (not to be confused with the later, underbarrel XM148), which did see some limited production and fielding in Vietnam, but problems with the three-round magazine prevented widespread acceptance. ![]() Project Niblick created the 40 x 46 mm grenade, but was unable to create a satisfactory launcher for it that could fire more than a single shot. The M79 was a result of the US Army's Project Niblick, an attempt to increase firepower for the infantryman by having an explosive projectile more accurate with further range than rifle grenades, but more portable than a mortar. ![]()
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