Would indirect fire for the M79 Grenade launcher be a good idea?

[Das Guuk Master]

Basically what the title says, I noticed that when I shot it like a mortar at around 80 degrees in the air at the shooting range, the round just disappears in the air. Indirect fire would be very useful in certain situations like on C in Chu Chi where you could be in front of the building, pop a round in the air, and have it land behind the building where the enemy is rushing in.

[=(e)= Lemonater47]

The shells don't disappear. They have a timed fuse to have them detonate after a certain amount of time. Perfectly timed as a matter of fact. To prevent soldiers from firing it straight up and having it land on them. It will explode about 30m in the air above them for a 90 degree shot. 80 degrees it's still blow up mid air.

It was never designed for long range indirect fire. It was designed to see your target and shoot at it.

[petiatil]

They don't disappear. Jump in the firing range, spawn with the M79 and fire it directly up. It'll explode like a firework way above your head after a few seconds.

It's useless trying to force it into some kind of light mortar role - no point.

[Sgt. Elias]

The Mas 49 Grenade Launcher on the other hand can be used for exactly this.

[JolyJew СлаваУкраине]

and to add to what the two genlemen said before me, this is not a Knee Mortar from RS1 making the thumper behave as a big mortar-launcher that can only be fired from a crouching position just doesn't make sense

[FlashBurn]

Yes, it works. But its boring and random. Lethal radius is VARY small (much smaller than reality really where wounding folks bad is possible) so its doable, but generally boring and wasting time. Sometimes and places it does work however. You dont use grenade launcher as a freaking mortar. No 80 degree firing. More like 20 degree angle and staying like 250 - 300 meters back. Use is more like a puny howitzer.

[IRDCAM]

The 40mm Grenade Launcher M-79 was specifically designed to drop a 40mm grenade by indirect fire in any 'dead space' not covered by direct fire or outside of thrown hand grenade range to around 30m minimum arm distance to 350/400m. Takes a pretty high indirect arc to get to 400m, so essential a very small 'mortar'. They were a point impact fused, no timed fuse at all. Even with the high/low pressure system still had a good 'thump' against shouder, so 'big' guys had less problems than small framed when firing. Light Infantry mortars are around 50-60mm so the 40mm round is pretty small but a 5m radius is more than enough to do what it was designed to do. I can 'bloop' the round out there indirect, and at quite a distance, and why 80* elevation? What target 25m away? Use it like a big bullet then.

If you were 'crazy' if you shot it straight up, at the top of arc the round would turn to go down and land a few meters from you and would go 'BOOM', just the way it was.

Just an easy fantasy view, timed fuse, rather than the harder reality.

[Das Guuk Master]

Yeah I guess the timed fuse does make sense.

[=(e)= Lemonater47]

Originally posted by Sgt Bob Barnes:

The 40mm Grenade Launcher M-79 was specifically designed to drop a 40mm grenade by indirect fire in any 'dead space' not covered by direct fire or outside of thrown hand grenade range to around 30m minimum arm distance to 350/400m. Takes a pretty high indirect arc to get to 400m, so essential a very small 'mortar'. They were a point impact fused, no timed fuse at all. Even with the high/low pressure system still had a good 'thump' against shouder, so 'big' guys had less problems than small framed when firing. Light Infantry mortars are around 50-60mm so the 40mm round is pretty small but a 5m radius is more than enough to do what it was designed to do. I can 'bloop' the round out there indirect, and at quite a distance, and why 80* elevation? What target 25m away? Use it like a big bullet then.

If you were 'crazy' if you shot it straight up, at the top of arc the round would turn to go down and land a few meters from you and would go 'BOOM', just the way it was.

Just an easy fantasy view, timed fuse, rather than the harder reality.

I know you were there but all 40mm HE had a timed fuse. It was a secondary fuse. Timed specifically for a grenade to explode about 30m off the ground if fired straight up.

It also means if the impact fuse didn't go off for some reason the timer will eventually set it off. Means the battlefield isn't littered with unexploded 40mm grenades. It's not based off the Gyro like the arming system is for this reason.

[IRDCAM]

Citations? All the ordinance reference material I have states the early and VN era 40X46mm grenades were solely rotation armed and impact fuzed no electronic or timed fuzing. The modern 40X53 for the Mk19 certian rounds have electronic and timed by electronic fuzing. But they are totally different 40mm rounds than the M79 rounds in game, and a later developement of the round. That may be the confusion.

We had unexploded 40X46 to deal with in the bush, as well as well into the late 80's unexploded 40X46 at live fire training ranges all over our military base system, and EOD nightmare. There are internal diagrams in the manuals, as well as on the net showing the fuzing layout and type of the era and none have a 'secondary' timer based system.

FM 23-31 40mm Grenade Launcher M203 and M79, Chapter 4, para 4-5 fuzes

4-5. Fuzes The M552 and M551 impact detonating fuzes are used with the HE and the TP rounds. The M552 fuze arms by a spin action and is armed about 3 meters from the muzzle. The M551 fuze arms by a spin and setback action and must travel between 14 and 28 meters before being armed (fig 4-1). The HE airburst round is equipped with the M536 fuze that incorporates the same spin and setback action as well as the same arming distance as the M551 fuze. Upon impact the fuze ignites a separation charge assembly which ejects a grenade into the air. At a height of about 5 feet the grenade explodes into fragments.

No mention or addendum mentioning this 'timed fuze'. The SD (self destruct) fuze action came later than the VN era, and was still rotation or impact delay, time in flight or direction SD is a far more modern concept for the later 40X53 series.

And what idiot would fire a 40mm grenade straight up?

[petiatil]

I like that the FM shows how to use it in indirect fire. Good read.

[batmack8989]

I had the chance to shoot a couple of 40x46mm rounds and they seemed pretty mild. Never heard of the time fuse, but i dealt with HEDP shells mostly, post-Vietnam made IIRC.

[Sgt. Elias]

Originally posted by petiatil:

I like that the FM shows how to use it in indirect fire. Good read.

Got a link? I wouldn't mind a look.

[IRDCAM]

More modern https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/23-31/index.html

1972 http://bulletpicker.com/pdf/FM%2023-31,%2040mm%20Grenade%20Launchers%20M203%20and%20M79.pdf

Chapter 12 of 1972 version covers indirect fire

[Saturday Lizard 鳳梨酥]

Originally posted by Sgt Bob Barnes:

And what idiot would fire a 40mm grenade straight up?

The one that seems to come with every company :P

[Lep]

I mean, it kind of does work like a mortar, if enemies are close enough, you can shoot behind the cover