XM148 grenade launcher

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Launcher, Grenade, 40 mm, XM148
Colt Firearms
Specifications
Mass3 lb (1.36 kg)
Length16.5 in (42 cm)
Barrel length10 in (25 cm)
Cartridge40×46mm grenade
ActionSingle-shot
Muzzle velocity247 ft/s (74.5 m/s)
Maximum firing range437 yd (400 m)
SightsQuadrant sight

The XM148 was an experimental

US armed forces and others until its ongoing replacement with the M320
.

Description

The XM148 mounted to an early Colt AR-15 rifle.

The Colt XM148 grenade launcher was created by Colt's Design Project Engineer, gun designer Karl R. Lewis. The May 1967 "Colt's Ink" newsletter announced that he had won a national competition for his selection and treatment of materials in the design. The newsletter stated in part, "In only 47 days, he wrote the specifications, designed the launcher, drew all the original prints, and had a working model built."

The weapon was designed for installation below the barrel of

M79
correcting the problem of grenadiers relying on pistols as a secondary weapon.

In July 1966 the US Government contracted Colt Firearms to provide nearly 20,000 XM-148s with the weapon arriving in South Vietnam in December 1966. The weapon was pulled from service in the fall of 1967.[1]

Originally made for use with the

Sterling Submachine Gun.[2] The weapon was also adopted by the United States Air Force Security Forces
in 1968.

Problems

The launcher's barrel could slide forward to accept a single 40 mm round into the

breech
. It came with a primitive version of the quadrant sight later used with the M203. It differed from the later model by featuring an external cocking handle and an extended trigger that allowed the weapon to be fired without removing the hand from the rifle's pistol grip. This same extended trigger was also one source of the weapon's problems as it allowed accidental discharges of a loaded weapon if caught by tree branches, gear, or anything else capable of overcoming the 6 to 11 pound trigger pull.

Another problem with the weapon was that it was overcomplicated compared to the

U.S. Air Force Security Forces were still being trained on the XM148 in lieu of the M203 as late as 1989[citation needed
]. Some security police units still had them in their armories until the 1990s.

Users

Former users

See also

  • XM174

Sources

  1. ^ p. 38 Walter, John Rifles of the World Krause Publications, 25 Mar. 2006
  2. ^ Neville, Leigh Guns of the Special Forces 2001 – 2015 Casemate Publishers, 31 Mar 2016
  3. ^ Quann, Lee Ann. "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  • TM 9-1005-249-14 Technical Manual Rifle, 5.56-mm, M16; Rifle, 5.56-mm, XM16E1; and Launcher, Grenade, 40-mm, XM148 dated 1 August 1966 (reprint)
  • Patent US 3279114 A Grenade launcher
  • Gordon L. Rottman, US Grenade Launchers – M79, M203, and M320, Weapon series 57, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2017.
    ISBN 978 1 4728 1952 9

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