RG-42

The

It was originally introduced during World War II from 1942 onwards as an emergency measure to replace the complex RGD-33 grenade. It continued in use with the USSR and its Warsaw Pact allies in the post-war period until replaced in 1954 by the RGD-5 grenade. Stockpiles were held for emergency or reserve issue, military aid, or foreign sales. They were eventually destroyed in the 1980s due to the TNT filling degrading and becoming unsafe.

Unlike the RGD-33, the RG-42's components were simple to produce and assemble. Only the fuze required specialized manufacture and the parts could be easily assembled by hand by cottage labor. Partisans often made copies of the simple design when out of contact.

It contained about 200 g (7.1 oz) of explosive charge (

The grenade could be thrown about 35–40 m (115–131 ft) and has an effective blast radius of around 10 m (33 ft).

The total weight of the grenade with the fuse was 420 g (15 oz).^[1]

Foreign copies

•  People's Republic of China: Type 42 grenade.

Users

•  Soviet Union^[1]
•  East Germany^[2]
•  DPRK: were used at least until 1997^[3]
•  Georgia: Used during civil conflicts in 1990s^[4]
•  Iraq^[5]
•  Poland: were used at least until 2019^[6]
•  Ukraine: were used^{[7][8][9][10]} at least until April 2024^[11]

Western Sources

• Brassey's Infantry Weapons of the World describes this grenade as having 118g of TNT, 20 meters fragmentation effect, and a 40 tossing range.^[12]

References