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No. 73 Grenade

No. 73 Anti-Tank Grenade

anti tank-grenadeBritish ordnance factories · 1940–1943

OVERVIEW

Early British improvised anti-tank grenade used before better PIAT availability.

HISTORIAN'S COMMENTARY

Before the Storm

Introduced between 1940 and 1943, No. 73 Grenade was fielded by United Kingdom forces as a anti tank-grenade instrument for close combat and battlefield shaping.

In the Field

Loaded with Anti-tank hand grenade filling and impact fuze fuzing, this 1.8 kg munition depended on nerve and timing more than machinery. Its effective use envelope reached about 15 meters, with effects spreading near 4 meters.

Historian's Note

On the ground, it gave infantry an immediate burst of shock effect in close-quarter fighting. Its historical value came from practical battlefield utility rather than dramatic technical scale.

SPECIFICATIONS

TypeAnti-tank hand grenade
FuzingImpact fuze
FillingNitroglycerin gel
Weight1.8 kg
Effective Range15 m
Blast Radius4 m

DEVELOPMENT

The No.73 represented an emergency British anti-tank grenade concept during an urgent early-war period. It was a stopgap solution before more effective dedicated anti-armor systems became common.

COMBAT HISTORY

Its practical battlefield use required dangerous close approach and gave mixed results against armored targets. As alternatives improved, operational reliance on this design decreased quickly.

NOTABLE USES

  • [01]Early-war British home-defense and anti-armor planning. - No. 73 Grenade employment here depended on timing, distance, and unit coordination more than raw charge size.
  • [02]Limited frontline anti-tank employment under high risk. - This use case shows how engineers and infantry turned explosive tools into tactical advantage in constrained terrain.
  • [03]Transitional role before better anti-tank infantry weapons arrived. - Field application in this context illustrates why placement and doctrine governed real effect.

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