M203: The US Military Grenade Launcher Built to Kill Anything

[rangerrebew]

M203: The US Military Grenade Launcher Built to Kill Anything

By
Brent M. Eastwood

Published
3 seconds ago

M203
U.S. Army Sgt. Paul Weber, a security forces (SECFOR) team leader with the Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team, engages a target with his M4 carbine during a small-arms training session at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Farah in Farah province, Afghanistan, June 26, 2012. During the training, Soldiers learned techniques for reloads and close-quarters shooting. The SECFOR was made up of Alaska Army National Guard infantrymen who were responsible for ensuring safety at FOB Farah. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Lovelady, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Have you ever noticed the tube that is sometimes mounted underneath M16s and M4s? For those who might not be aware, that’s an M203 grenade launcher, and it’s a really big deal for many reasons. It gives grenadiers more power in infantry squads to destroy and suppress the enemy without having to physically throw a grenade. This is like having an extra shotgun on your weapon that could lob grenades in an accurate manner. Here is a quick primer on this fascinating weapon of was that has served the US military well throughout the years.

The M79 Grenade Launcher Started It All

The idea of a grenade launcher was a concept adopted during the jungle fighting of Vietnam. The M79 grenade launcher resembled a single-shot short-barrel shotgun that fired a 40mm grenade. After firing, soldiers and marines had to break it down and load a new grenade to shoot again. It was most popular during the Vietnam War because of its greater range and accuracy compared to physically throwing a grenade.

One drawback, though, was that grenadiers during that era carried a pistol instead of an M16, this took a rifle off the battlefield.

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/12/m203-the-us-military-grenade-launcher-built-to-kill-anything/

[sneakypete]

We used to cut the M-79's down to pistol size to make them handier to use.

Of course,there was and is no way in HELL the regular army would allow their soldiers to do that,so they got stuck with only the M-79 as a defensive and offensive weapon.

Stuff like this is why I freaking LOVED being in SF instead of the regular army. We got to use what worked the best for us,even if we had to break army regulations to create it. Saving your life and lives of others on your team was more important than a regulation.

Everybody I knew that ran recon carried so much ammo and weapons that they usually had to be helped up if they sat on the ground at the launch site.

Oddly enough,nobody had to be helped up after getting off the helicopters on the target,though. Something about that "Adrenaline Stuff" seemed to take care of the extra weight. We could not only get up,but could run so fast we were almost flying at times.

Something about receiving enemy weapons fire that does that for ya.