Mk 18 Mod 0 grenade launcher
{{More citations needed|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name = Mk 18 Mod 0 grenade launcher
| image = File:Mk 18 Mod 0 & Mk 20 Mod 0 Grenade Launchers at War Remnants Museum (Ho Chi Minh City).jpg in Ho Chi Minh City.]]
| caption = Mk 18 Mod 0 grenade launchers (right and on tripod) at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City.
| origin = United States
| type = Grenade launcher
| is_ranged = YES
| is_bladed =
| is_explosive = YES
| is_artillery =
| is_UK =
| service = 1960s−1970s
| used_by = {{plainlist|
}}
| wars = Vietnam War
| designer = Honeywell Ordnance Division{{cite magazine |title=Picture News |journal=Popular Science |date=July 1967 |volume=191 |issue=1 |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qyUDAAAAMBAJ&dq=hand+crank+grenade+launcher&pg=PA36 |access-date=4 February 2025 |publisher=Bonnier Corporation |location=New York, NY |language=en}}
| design_date =
| manufacturer =Honeywell Ordnance Division
| unit_cost =
| production_date = 1965−1968
| number = 1,200{{sfn|Rottman|2017|page=44}}
| variants =
| spec_label =
| length =
| part_length = {{cvt|12|in}}{{sfn|Rottman|2017|page=44}}
| width =
| height =
| diameter =
| crew = 2
| cartridge = 40×46mm grenade
| cartridge_weight =
| caliber = {{cvt|40|mm}}
| barrels = 1
| action = Hand cranked, manual reloading
| rate = 250 rounds per minute{{sfn|Rottman|2017|page=44}}
| velocity = {{cvt|215|ft/s}}{{sfn|Friedman|1987|page=441}}
| range = {{cvt|330|yd}}{{sfn|Friedman|1987|page=441}}
| max_range =
| feed = Belt
| sights = Iron sights
}}
The Mk 18 Mod 0 was a 40x46mm grenade launcher used by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War and also the last known hand crank operated firearm since the Gatling gun. It was replaced by the Mk 19 grenade launcher in service with the United States Armed Forces.
Design
This weapon is manually-operated and belt-fed. The use of a split breech mechanism allowed the weapon to be simple. The Mk 18 Mod 0 featured a pistol grip, iron sights, and a control knob with three different settings: Safe, Load, and Fire. The only hand-cranked weapon to enter US military service since the Gatling Gun, two rounds were loaded and fired for every complete rotation, while spent cases were reinserted into the belt.{{sfn|Rottman|2017|page=44}} The weapon was light, weighing only {{convert|17|lbs}}, and had an effective range of {{convert|330|yd}}.{{sfn|Friedman|1987|page=441}}
For watercraft 48-round ammunition boxes were issued while for ground operations a 24-round box was used. Belts had to be manually loaded by the crews before use and could be reused up to four or five times.{{sfn|Rottman|2017|page=44}}
Employment
About 1,200 launchers were produced primarily for the US Navy, while the US Army purchased 20 for testing.{{sfn|Rottman|2017|page=44}}
The Mark 18 was used primarily on small boats or in fixed positions such as bunkers. The US Army mounted some on M151A1 Jeeps for patrols; their primary users were the so-called "river rats" and the SEALs. They could be mounted on M2HB, M60, M1919 tripods, or pintle mounts,{{sfn|Rottman|2017|page=44}} but could not be fired without such a mount.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}}
Armored Troop Carrier (LCM)s of the Mobile Riverine Force usually mounted two Mk 18s.{{cite book|last=Sherwood|first=John|title=War in the Shallows: U.S. Navy and Coastal and Riverine Warfare in Vietnam 1965-8|publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command|year=2015|isbn=9780945274773|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/publications/publications-by-subject/war-in-the-shallows.html|page=176}}{{PD-notice}}
After the Vietnam War, the Mk 18 Mod 0 was replaced by the Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher.{{sfn|Rottman|2017|page=44}}
Gallery
| style="margin: 0 auto;"
|File:PCF crewman loads Mk 18 Mod 0 grenade launcher.jpg crewman loads a Mk 18 Mod 0]] |
References
{{reflist}}
=Bibliography=
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book |last1=Friedman |first1=Norman |title=U.S. Small Combatants, Including PT-boats, Subchasers, and the Brown-water Navy: An Illustrated Design History |date=1987 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-0-87021-713-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3YjfAAAAMAAJ&q=hand+crank+grenade+launcher |access-date=4 February 2025 |language=en}}
- {{cite book |last1=Rottman |first1=Gordon L. |title=US Grenade Launchers: M79, M203, and M320 |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-1954-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNQxDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
{{refend}}
External links
- [http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/3100/3100.htm Mk 18 Mod 0 at Securityarms]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070614202850/http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/Split%20Breech.htm www.quarry.nildram.co.uk]
- [http://www.warboats.org/MST3.htm www.warboats.org]
Category:Automatic grenade launchers
Category:40×46mm grenade launchers