The RGD-5 (''Ruchnaya Granata Distantsionnaya'', English "Hand Grenade Remote") is a post–

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

anti-personnel

fragmentation grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade gene ...

, designed in the early 1950s. The RGD-5 was accepted into service with the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

in 1954. It was widely exported, and is still in service with many armies in the Middle East and the former Soviet bloc.

Description

The grenade is egg-shaped without ribbing, except for a lateral ridge where the two halves of the grenade join. It weighs , is in length and in diameter. The surface has a few small dimples with green or olive drab paint. It contains a charge of

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

with an internal fragmentation liner that produces around 350 fragments with a fatality radius of around and a wounding radius of . Typically, the RGD-5 uses the 3.2 to 4.2 second delay UZRG, UZRGM, or UZRGM-2

fuze In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze ...

, a universal Russian type also used in the

RG-41 The Soviet RG-41 was a fragmentation grenade developed during World War II. It was in production for only short time from 1941 to 1942 before being replaced by RG-42.http://army.armor.kiev.ua/hist/rg-41.shtml It contained a 150 g high explosiv ...

RG-42 The Soviet RG-42 (Ручная Граната образца 42 года > ''Ruchnaya Granata obraztsa 42 goda'', "Hand Grenade pattern of 92 year") was a fragmentation grenade designed by S.G. Korshunov. It was originally introduced during Wo ...

, and F1 grenades or the more modern DVM-78 fuze. It is also possible to screw a MUV booby-trap firing device into the fuze well. The RGD-5 can be thrown about by the average soldier and on throwing, the grenade makes a loud "crack" sound as its spoon falls out activating the fuze. It is still manufactured in Russia with copies produced in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, China (as the Type 59) and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Millions of RGD-5s and its clones have been manufactured over the years and although not as advanced as more modern grenades specifically designed to penetrate

CRISAT Collaborative Research Into Small Arms Technology (CRISAT) is the name of a series of studies conducted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), identifying and defining threats with regard to the standardisation in the manufacturing of mi ...

standard

body armour Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...

, the RGD-5 is an effective and inexpensive weapon. A single RGD-5 grenade costs around $5 US, making it affordable.

Variants

Rifle grenade

The

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...

can mount a (rarely used) cup-type grenade-launcher that fires standard Soviet RGD-5 hand-grenades. The soup-can shaped launcher is screwed onto the AK-47's muzzle. File:AK47Figure54.jpg – Wikisource. En.wikisource.org. Retrieved on 2011-09-27. It is prepared for firing by inserting a standard RGD-5 hand-grenade into the launcher, removing the safety pin, and inserting a special blank cartridge into the rifle's chamber. With the butt-stock of the rifle on the ground it can be fired. The maximum effective range is approximately .Operator's Manual for AK-47 Assault Rifle
Department of the Army

URG-N

The URG-N is a reusable training model of the RGD-5 with a modified fuze containing a tiny explosive charge which simulates the detonation of the grenade. The body of this grenade is painted black with white markings.

China

* Type-59 - Chinese built variant.

Bulgaria

* RGO-78 -

n '70s variant with DVM-78 fuse. Grenade weighed 450 grams and contained 85 grams charge of

. * RGN-86 - another

n modification with DVM-78 fuze. Weighed 265 grams and contained 57 grams charge of

Poland

* RGO-88 - Polish variant with А-IX-1 filling (95% RDX and 5%

Phlegmatized explosive A phlegmatized explosive is an explosive that has had an agent (a phlegmatizer) added to stabilize or desensitize it. Phlegmatizing usually improves the handling properties of an explosive (e.g. when munitions are filled in factories. Alfred N ...

). 60 grams of explosive mass.

Users

Former

* : Used by the

Panama Defense Forces The Panama Defense Forces ( es, Fuerzas de Defensa de Panamá; FFDD) and formerly the National Guard of Panama, were the armed forces of the Republic of Panama. It was created in 1983 led by General Manuel Antonio Noriega and his general staff. ...

Usage in US president assassination attempt

RGD-5 hand grenade (DOSAAF Museum in Minsk) 1

On 10 May 2005,

Vladimir Arutyunian Vladimir Arutyunian ( ka, ვლადიმერ არუთინიანი; hy, Վլադիմիր Հարությունյան; born 12 March 1978) is a Georgian national who attempted to assassinate United States President George W. Bush a ...

, a Georgian citizen and ethnic Armenian, waited for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

George W. Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to speak in Tbilisi's central Liberty Square. When Bush began speaking, Arutyunian threw an RGD-5 hand grenade wrapped in a red plaid handkerchief toward the podium where Bush stood as he addressed the crowd. The grenade landed from the podium, near where Saakashvili, his wife Sandra E. Roelofs,

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...

, and other officials were seated. The grenade failed to detonate. Although original reports indicated that the grenade was not live, it was later revealed that it was. After Arutyunian pulled the pin and threw the grenade, it hit a girl, cushioning its impact. The red handkerchief remained wrapped around the grenade, and it prevented the striker lever from releasing. A Georgian security officer quickly removed the grenade, and Arutyunian disappeared, but was later arrested.

References

External links

Photos of RGD-5 grenades at inert-ord.net

Various photos of Russian RGD-5s

Photo of Chinese Type 59 grenade (RGD-5 clone)

Video #2 of RGD-5 being thrown

Video #3 of RGD-5 being thrown
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Hand grenades of the Soviet Union Cold War weapons of the Soviet Union Fragmentation grenades Military equipment introduced in the 1950s