Helmet vs grenade? (2 Viewers)

[larso]

I was reading one of those accounts of a soldier who threw himself on a grenade to save his comrades the other day. He was killed and was awarded the MOH for his heroism. Now, obviously you don't have much time in these situations but I was wondering - if you were able to get your helmet on the grenade and lie on that - would it contain the blast?

 

[Go for Broke]

If I was in combat, my helmet would be strapped to my head and so would everyone else. No time to take off.

 

[Currahee Chris]

The short and simple answer is no. A hand grenade is an incredibly powerful, though random weapon. Anyone who has been around them (or artillery) knows that how they are portrayed on TV/ Movies and other media is a very far cry from the actual reality. They can shake the ground. Best option is to roll away from the blast and make yourself small and hope the blast arc doesn't have your address.

 

[johnnybach]

I once watched a demo of how powerful a thunderflash can be ( which is really a powerful firework - in comparison to a hand-grenade which is designed to kill).

The instructor pulled the tab and placed the primed thunderflash on the ground and put a galvanised steel bucket over it. Then turned and walked back to the observers who were already at a safe distance back.

When it went off - it blew the bucket about fifty feet into the air. When it came down - we all went to look at it. The bottom of the bucket had gone!

I can remember the instructors words to this day. "That was a firework - a grenade is twenty times more powerful than that!!" jb

 

[larso]

It sounds like modern grenades and well, most grenades, are far too powerful. The one the Japanese used in WW2 was apparently less so. A marine called Jack Lucas threw himself on TWO and somehow survived.
We were shown to dive to the ground and to try and get either your boots or helmet facing the explosion.
Thanks for your replies!

 

[Currahee Chris]

It sounds like modern grenades and well, most grenades, are far too powerful. The one the Japanese used in WW2 was apparently less so. A marine called Jack Lucas threw himself on TWO and somehow survived.

I could see that- especially in WW2, they weren't the most accurate things, like they have gotten these days. With all the grenades that popped in the big dance, the odds are that there would be that one guy who survived a few. Grenades are very random things so the charge can go anywhere- which is why your training, like mine, stressed protecting the extremities.

We were taught how to dig a foxhole, we were taught to dig a small hole recessed back in the back wall. if a grenade were chucked our way, we could kick it in and jump out. When I dug my first few foxholes with the 506, some of the Nam vets were like "Private, what the $#@#$ are you doing?" I explained it and they just laughed. "look son, that stuff only works in basic. If it hits that fan, just get your dumb a-- out of the hole and run ok?"

The closest I saw that adequately simulated a grenade going off was when Tom Hanks and Matt Damon were priming the fuses of the mortar rounds towards the end of SPR and chucking them at the Germans. That is the closest I have seen.

 

[larso]

"The closest I saw that adequately simulated a grenade going off was when Tom Hanks and Matt Damon were priming the fuses of the mortar rounds towards the end of SPR and chucking them at the Germans. That is the closest I have seen."

That reminds me of another story of the war with Japan. An American unit was overrun and one marine (I think?) was left in his foxhole with only a box of mortar rounds. He spent the night judging when to prime and lob one out and managed to survive by killing the dozen (?) or so Japanese that tried to get at him. That night would give me nightmares for life....