General
The M61 Grenade
was the standard anti-personnel grenade of the Canadian Forces in the
latter part of the 20th Century and had great lethality and dependability
as well as being light in weight. The M67 Grenade was a similar but
improved version of the M61. It was planned to issue the M67 Grenade when
stocks of the M61 were depleted. The M61 and M67 Grenades were designed to
be used in close quarter fighting to clear enemy from slit trenches,
dugouts, buildings and any position that couldn't be neutralized by direct
fire.
The M61 was
egg-shaped and had a flat base. The M67 had a spherical shape.
Both grenades
consisted of the following main components: body assembly; bursting
charge; fuze; and safety clip.
Inside the tin
body was a closely wound coil of hard drawn square steel wire. The wire
had notches cut at intervals on the interior surface and it was this which
provided the fragmentation effect of the grenade.
The M61 was
10.5 cm (4 118 in) high and 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter. The M67 was 9 cm
(3.5 in) high and 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter.
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For
markings, both grenades were painted olive drab and had the
information shown at right stencilled in yellow on the exterior. |
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These
grenades were issued in wooden boxes each containing 30 grenades.
Each grenade was packed in a fibreboard container.
The M61
and M67 were each fitted with a safety clip. The safety clip was a
single piece of steel spring which was wound around the fuze body,
the claw of which snapped over the safety lever. The safety clip
secured the safety lever even when the safety pin had been removed
and was to prevent accidental firing if the fuze safety pin and pull
ring should snag on undergrowth and be accidentally pulled from its
channel.
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Characteristics |
M61 |
M67 |
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Weight |
0.45 kg (1 lb)
|
0.45 kg (1 lb)
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Fuze |
Factory primed |
Factory primed |
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Delay
Time |
5
second |
4.5
second |
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Delivery |
-
Hand
-
L1A2 rifle launcher
-
M1A2 projector
|
Hand
only |
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Lethality |
18
metres (20 yards) |
18
metres (20 yards) |
|
Danger Radius |
up to
300 m (325 yds) from point of impact |
up to
300 m (325 yds) from point of impact |
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Mechanism
When the
safety clip and pin were removed and the safety lever released the
striker spring forced the striker to rotate on its axis and to
strike the primer. The flash from the primer ignited a safety fuze
which burned for 4.5 to 5 seconds before setting off the detonator.
The detonator in turn set off the main explosive charge in the
grenade. The explosion of the main charge caused the steel body to
rupture and to project the steel wire, which was broken into many
fragments of uniform size and weight, up to a distance of 200 metres
(approximately 215 yards).
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