Grenade Question/Dirty Dozen

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ratski

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I hope this is the right place to ask this, and before anyone gets too excited this is about a couple of scenes in the movie "The Dirty Dozen."

In a couple of scenes in the movie, we see the stars of the movie tossing bunches of grenades into an area (the antenna mast and the air vents) without pulling the pins. And then a few moments later, they toss a grenade after pulling the pin and it supposedly causes something like a chain reaction and all of the grenades in the pile explode as well.

Now, I'm not too familiar with grenades, but I thought that these were devices that, after a fuse was lit and burned, an explosive charge inside the outer casing went off throwing the fragments into an radius of several feet to yards. I wouldn't think that would set off an adjacent grenade to explode. Or if it did, it would act much like a live round tossed into a fire and pop the casing.

So, am I right? Should I send this into "Hollywood Weapons" and see if they will try it?
 

dennishoddy

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I hope this is the right place to ask this, and before anyone gets too excited this is about a couple of scenes inG the movie "The Dirty Dozen."

In a couple of scenes in the movie, we see the stars of the movie tossing bunches of grenades into an area (the antenna mast and the air vents) without pulling the pins. And then a few moments later, they toss a grenade after pulling the pin and it supposedly causes something like a chain reaction and all of the grenades in the pile explode as well.

Now, I'm not too familiar with grenades, but I thought that these were devices that, after a fuse was lit and burned, an explosive charge inside the outer casing went off throwing the fragments into an radius of several feet to yards. I wouldn't think that would set off an adjacent grenade to explode. Or if it did, it would act much like a live round tossed into a fire and pop the casing.

So, am I right? Should I send this into "Hollywood Weapons" and see if they will try it?
Grenades are not tannerite, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen as it was a made for Hollywood moment. The M-2 would not support that scenerio as far as I know.
 

rc508pir

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No, not as depicted in the movie. The one grenade would have sent the other flying.

The grenade bodies of those grenades were pretty heavy and the HE wouldnt have been set off. Military HE take heat and pressure to set it off and the bodies of the other grenades would have been protected from heat and pressure and simply go flying in varius directions.

It is possible that the flying grenades from the one blowing up could have caused the spoons to release and set off the fuses. Highly unlikely though. Its more likely the explosion would have ripped the fuses clean off and rendered them inert
 

Gideon

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They are also shown pouring gasoline into the vents. I'm not certain that fragmentation grenades would cause the gas to ignite (though there is heat and pressure created by the explosive). Would be an interesting thing to test.
 

mtnboomr

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You have to remember, they poured gasoline down the vent pipes first. It was probably meant to insinuate that a fire set off by the grenades with the pins pulled would "cook off" the other grenades in the heat.
 

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