M68 AT grenade

The Grenade, rifle M68 /AT was a British anti-tank hand grenade used during World War II.

Overview

The M68 was an early form of shaped charge grenade, and has some claim to be the first High explosive anti-tank device in use. The design of the warhead was simple and failed to include several features which would have improved performance. That said, it was still capable of penetrating 2" (50mm) of armour in 1940.

Detonation occurred on impact when a striker in the tail of the grenade was thrown forward into the fuse.

The grenade was armed by removing a pin in the tail that held the striker. The grenade was launched from a rifle cup. The simple fins gave it some stability in the air and provided the grenade impacted the target at the proper angle (90 degrees) the charge would be effective.

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