M52 rifle grenade

The Modèle 1952 34mm HE rifle grenade was in French service from 1952 to 1978. It was used alongside the APAV40 rifle grenade in French service.[1] It was propelled by being mounted atop a rifle's 22 mm grenade launching adapter, and being launched by a ballistite (blank) cartridge.

M52
TypeRifle grenade
Place of originFrance[1]
Service history
Used byFrench Army
Production history
Designed1950
Specifications
Mass500 g (18 oz)
Length270 mm (11 in)
Diameter34 mm (1.3 in)

Maximum firing range400 m (440 yd)

In common with other rifle grenades of this era, they became obsolescent when the bullet trap form of propulsion became popular at the end of the 1970s.

The Yugoslavian M60 anti-personnel grenade, similarly launched from a rifle's 22 mm grenade launching adapter by a ballistite cartridge, bears a strong resemblance.

Sources and references

  1. Archer, Denis H R, ed. (1978). Jane's Infantry Weapons (Fourth Edition) 1978. London: Macdonald and Jane's. p. 769. ISBN 978-0354005630.

French army manual on rifle grenades dated 1966 with an illustration of the Modèle 1952 and text on pages 21 to 22

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