M7 grenade launcher

M7 grenade launcher
An American soldier demonstrating the use of the M7 grenade launcher to fire a practice grenade with a wire or rope attached using his M1 Garand.
Type	Rifle grenade launcher attachment
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1943–1957
Used by	United States Philippine Commonwealth (1942-1946) Philippine Republic (1946-1960s)
Wars	World War II Korean War Hukbalahap Rebellion

The M7 grenade launcher, formally rifle grenade launcher, M7, was a 22 mm rifle grenade launcher attachment for the M1 Garand rifle that saw widespread use throughout World War II and the Korean War. The M7 was a tube-shaped device, with one end slotting over the barrel of the rifle, the other end holding the grenade in place. Blank cartridges were loaded into the rifle prior to firing. When fired, the expanding gases generated by the cartridges propelled the grenade forward with considerable force. The M7 could fire grenades up to 350 metres (380 yards), compared with the maximum of 30 metres (33 yards) achieved by hand grenades.

Fragmentation, anti-armor and smoke grenades were available for the M7.

When the United States entered World War II in 1941, all infantry were issued with the Mk 2 fragmentation hand grenade. Owing to its hand-thrown nature, it had a range of only 35 yards (32 meters) and could not be used against armored targets. To keep its weight down, it had to have a small charge, with a fatality radius of just 6 yards (5.5 meters). For longer ranges, rifle grenade attachments were available for the M1903 Springfield (M1 grenade launcher) and M1917 Enfield (M2 grenade launcher). These rifles were limited standard, however, and had been all but replaced by the new service rifle, the M1 Garand, by 1943. To rectify this, U.S. Army Ordnance designed a new launcher attachment for the M1 Garand, designated the M7, which could fire much heavier grenades up to 250 yards. M7 compatible fragmentation grenades had a fatality radius of 11 yards (10 meters). It entered production and service in 1943.

The M7 grenade launcher was a tube shaped device with an overall length (including the mounting bracket) was 7.5 inches. One end fitted onto the barrel of the M1 Garand rifle enclosing the muzzle and was held in place with the rifle's bayonet lug. The other end was cylindrical with a small clip that held the grenade in place by friction. To launch a grenade, a special high-powered bulletless launcher cartridge made specifically for the purpose (the .30-06 Springfield M3 grenade cartridge) was chambered in the rifle. Using markings engraved onto the device to determine the desired range, the rifle grenade was slipped over the launcher and held in place by the clip. When fired, the resulting expanding gases propelled the grenade a considerable distance depending on the grenade type, the vertical angle that the rifle was held, and how far the grenade was positioned onto the launcher. Since the device disabled the semi-automatic function of the rifle to prevent damage to the gun from firing grenades, the rifle could not be fired normally when the M7 launcher was in place, although, the gun could be fired in an emergency by cycling the action by hand. Fragmentation, anti-tank, and smoke grenades and pyrotechnic signals were available along with an adapter to enable the use of hand grenades. One to three M7 grenade launchers were issued to each rifle squad depending on period. It was also issued to support and headquarters elements.