RGD-5

Soviet anti-personnel fragmentation grenade

RGD-5
RGD-5 hand grenade with UZRGM fuze fitted
Type	Hand grenade
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1954–present
Wars	Vietnam War Six-Day War The Troubles Yom Kippur War Soviet–Afghan War Iran–Iraq War Invasion of Kuwait Gulf War First Chechen War Kosovo War Second Chechen War Iraq War Russo-Georgian War First Libyan Civil War Syrian Civil War Russo-Ukrainian War
Specifications
Mass	310 g (11 oz)
Length	114 mm (4.5 in)
Diameter	58 mm (2.3 in)

Effective firing range	15–20 m (49–66 ft)
Maximum firing range	30 m (98 ft)
Filling	Trinitrotoluene
Filling weight	110 g (3.9 oz)
Detonation mechanism	3.2 to 4.2 seconds. pyrotechnic delay fuse
Blast yield	~350 fragments

The RGD-5 (Ruchnaya Granata Distantsionnaya, English "Hand Grenade Remote") is a post–World War II Soviet anti-personnel fragmentation grenade, designed in the early 1950s. The RGD-5 was accepted into service with the Soviet Army in 1954. It was widely exported, and is still in service with many armies in the Middle East and the former Soviet bloc.

Description

The grenade is egg-shaped without ribbing, except for a lateral ridge where the two halves of the grenade join. It weighs 310 grams (11 oz), is 117 millimetres (4.6 in) in length, and 58 millimetres (2.3 in) in diameter. The surface has a few small dimples with green or olive drab paint.

It contains a 110-gram (3.9 oz) charge of TNT with an internal fragmentation liner that produces around 350 fragments with a fatality radius of around 3 metres (9.8 ft)^[1] and a wounding radius of 25 metres (82 ft).^[2]^[3]^[4]

Typically, the RGD-5 uses the 3.2 to 4.2 second delay UZRG, UZRGM, or UZRGM-2 fuze, a universal Russian type also used in the RG-41, RG-42, and F1 grenades or the more modern DVM-78 fuze. It is also possible to screw a MUV booby-trap firing device into the fuze well.^[5]

The RGD-5 can be thrown about 35 to 45 metres (115 to 148 ft) by the average soldier and on throwing, the grenade makes a loud "crack" sound as its spoon falls out activating the fuze.

It is still manufactured in Russia with copies produced in Bulgaria, China (as the Type 59) and Georgia. Millions of RGD-5s and its clones have been manufactured over the years and although not as advanced as more modern grenades specifically designed to penetrate CRISAT standard body armour, the RGD-5 is an effective and inexpensive weapon. A single RGD-5 grenade costs around $5 US, making it affordable.

Variants

Rifle grenade

AK-47 with a Kalashnikov grenade launcher mounted to its muzzle

The AK-47 can mount a (rarely used) cup-type grenade-launcher that fires standard Soviet RGD-5 hand-grenades. The soup-can shaped launcher is screwed onto the AK-47's muzzle.^[6] It is prepared for firing by inserting a standard RGD-5 hand-grenade into the launcher, removing the safety pin, and inserting a special blank cartridge into the rifle's chamber. With the butt-stock of the rifle on the ground it can be fired.

The maximum effective range is approximately 150 metres (492 ft).^[7]

URG-N

The URG-N is a reusable training model of the RGD-5 with a modified fuze containing a tiny explosive charge which simulates the detonation of the grenade. The body of this grenade is painted black with white markings.

China

Type-59 – Chinese built variant.

People's Republic of Bulgaria / Bulgaria

RGO-78 – People's Republic of Bulgarian '70s variant with DVM-78 fuse. Grenade weighed 450 g (16 oz) and contained 85 g (3.0 oz) charge of TNT.
RGN-86 – another People's Republic of Bulgarian modification with DVM-78 fuze. Weighed 265 g (9.3 oz) and contained 57 g (2.0 oz) charge of TNT.

Polish People's Republic / Poland

RGO-88 – Polish People's Republic variant with А-IX-1 filling (95% RDX and 5% Phlegmatized explosive). 60 g (2.1 oz) of explosive mass.

Lithuania

RPG-92 – Lithuanian copy manufactured by small arms factory "Vytis" between 1992–1996. Not an exact copy, this grenade uses a cylindrical shell instead of an egg shaped one.

Users

Current

Afghanistan^[8]^[9]
Armenia^[10]
Bulgaria^[11]
China: Produced locally as the Type 59 grenade^[12]
Georgia^[13]
Ethiopia^[14]
Iraq^[15]
North Korea^[16]
Palestine^[17]
Poland: Locally produced copies^[18]
Romania^[19]
Russia^[20]
Syria^[21]
Ukraine^[22]
Vietnam^[23]

Former

East Germany^[11]
Panama: Used by the Panama Defense Forces^[24]
Soviet Union^[25]

Usage in US president assassination attempt

On 10 May 2005, Vladimir Arutyunian, a Georgian citizen and ethnic Armenian, waited for the United States President George W. Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to speak in Tbilisi's central Liberty Square. When Bush began speaking, Arutyunian threw an RGD-5 hand grenade wrapped in a red plaid handkerchief toward the podium where Bush stood as he addressed the crowd. The grenade landed 18.6 metres (61 ft) from the podium, near where Saakashvili, his wife Sandra E. Roelofs, Laura Bush, and other officials were seated.^[26]

The grenade failed to detonate. Although original reports indicated that the grenade was not live, it was later revealed that it was.^[27] After Arutyunian pulled the pin and threw the grenade, it hit a girl, cushioning its impact. The red handkerchief remained wrapped around the grenade, and it prevented the striker lever from releasing. A Georgian security officer quickly removed the grenade, and Arutyunian disappeared, but was later arrested.^[26]^[28]

Bibliography

Weeks, John, ed. (1980). Jane's infantry weapons, 1980-81. Jane's Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-531-03936-6.
Hogg, Ian V. (1991). Jane's Infantry Weapons 1991-92. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-0963-9.

References

^ "Russian RDG-5 grenades in both blasts". nationmultimedia.com. The Nation.
^ "Ручная наступательная граната РГД-5". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2006. |RGD-5 data (in Russian)
^ "Hand Grenade RGD- 5". universal-dsg.com. Hartford International Group.
^ Owen, J.I.H (1975). Brassey's Infantry Weapons of the World. New York, N.Y.: Bonanza. pp. 222–223. ISBN 0-517-242346.
^ "RGD-5". Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
^ File:AK47Figure54.jpg – Wikisource. En.wikisource.org. Retrieved on 2011-09-27.
^ Operator's Manual for AK-47 Assault Rifle. Department of the Army
^ "Suicide Vest with 5x ball bearing sheets and 2x Grenades". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
^ Weeks 1980, p. 656.
^ "Analyst: Armenian-Modified Grenade thrown During Bush Address". Civil.ge. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
^ ^a ^b Nagy, Kristóf (26 October 2021). "Common Training Hand Grenades of the Warsaw Pact". The Hoplite. Armament Research Services (ARES). Retrieved 26 November 2023.
^ Rottman, Gordon L. (20 February 2015). The Hand Grenade. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-4728-0735-9.
^ Demetriou, Spyros (November 2002). Politics From The Barrel of a Gun: Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia (1989–2001) (PDF). Small Arms Survey. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
^ Ayele, Fantahun (30 October 2014). The Ethiopian Army: From Victory to Collapse, 1977-1991. Northwestern University Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-8101-3011-1.
^ Jacobson, Michael R. (1991). "Iraqi Infantry". Infantry. 81 (1). Fort Benning, GA: U.S. Army Infantry School: 34. ISSN 0019-9532. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
^ US Department of Defense. "North Korea Country Handbook 1997".
^ Herf, Jeffrey (3 May 2016). Undeclared Wars with Israel: East Germany and the West German Far Left, 1967–1989. Cambridge University Press. p. 357. ISBN 978-1-107-08986-0.
^ Weeks 1980, p. 677.
^ Weeks 1980, p. 678.
^ Военнослужащие ЦВО выполнили норматив по метанию ручных гранат РГД-5 на полигоне в Челябинской области / официальный интернет-сайт министерства обороны РФ от 20 февраля 2024
^ Campbell, David (16 June 2016). Israeli Soldier vs Syrian Soldier: Golan Heights 1967–73. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1332-9.
^ Ferguson, Jonathan; Jenzen-Jones, N.R. (November 2014). Raising Red Flags: An Examination of Arms & Munitions in the Ongoing Conflict in Ukraine, 2014 (PDF) (Report). Australia: Armament Research Services (ARES). p. 61. ISBN 978-0-9924624-3-7. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
^ Rottman, Gordon L. (29 October 2020). Vietnam War Booby Traps. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-4728-4243-5.
^ Rottman, Gordon (2010). Panama 1989-90. Elite. Vol. 37. Osprey Publishing. pp. 14, 15, 57, 62, 63. ISBN 9781855321564.
^ Yelshin, Colonel N. (October 1981). "Hand Grenades". Soviet Military Review (10). Moscow: Krasnaya Zveda Publishing House.: 30–31. ISSN 0132-0750. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
^ ^a ^b "The Case of the Failed Hand Grenade Attack: Man Who Tried to Assassinate President Convicted Overseas". Federal Bureau of Investigation. 11 January 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
^ Terry Frieden (7 September 2005). "Alleged would-be Bush assassin indicted". CNN. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
^ Nick Paton Walsh (19 May 2005). "FBI says hand grenade thrown at Bush was live". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 March 2007.