Energa AT rifle granade

The Energa is a Swiss design anti tank rifle granade introduced in 1948 and used well into the nineties of the last century by many counties. For the vast amount of different types of rifles the granade was going to be used for, many types of adepters were made that had a 22mm dia. outside diameter so the tail of the rifle grenade fitted over the adepter. Later types of rifles had a standard 22 mm dia. flash hider.
A special propelling cartridge is inserted into the weapon and the grenade is placed over the flash hider after which the granade can be fired.
The launch cartridge is placed in the tail of the grenade on delivery. The tail is closed with a black plastic cap.

The dutch army nomenclature foor the grenade is : Granaat, geweer, AT, Energa.

Calibre : 75 mm
Lenth grenade : 395 mm
Weight : 600 grams
Weight explosive charge : 300 grams
Type of explosive : RDX (cyclonite)

Effective range : 100 mtrs
Max range (fired under a 45 degr. Angle) : 260 mtrs

Penetration:
200 mm steel or 500 mm concrete at 90 degrees impact angle
100 mm steel or 250 mm concrete at 45 degrees impact angle

Impact fuze No.:15.
The firing pin cannot reach the detonator as the balls that fall in the recess in the firing pin and rest on the inner housing are locked up by the safety ring. The ring is kept in upper position by a spring. Upon firing, the safety ring moves backward -riding down the spring- , releasing the balls. The released balls fall outward and block the safety ring from moving upward again. Now the only thing keeping the firing pin away from the firing cap of the upper detonator is the firing pin spring. On impact, the firing pin is hammered into the firing cap of the detonator, exploding the detonator. The flame of this detonator is led down into the main detonator through the opened hole of safety cap No.1.
The ring on top of the fuze is made of tungsten and prevents the grenade from ricocheting on low impact angles.

Safety cap No.1:
The safety cap exists of an aluminium cap placed over a brass pipe . A double zig zag pattern is machined into the outside of the pipe in which a radial placed pin on the inside of the aluminium cap fits. Below the cap which closes the flame hole- a spring is placed with a small cap in the base. In rest , the pin rests in the fine zig zag pattern . Upon firing , the safety cap kicks back riding down the fine zig zag pattern and the spring; when the velocity is constant the spring pushes the cap forward, riding the coarse zig zag pattern forward. The safety cap, the spring and the small cap are thrown forward, opening the flame hole to the main detonator.

Regards , DJH

I believe this is the British version of the "Energa" AT grenade... (Manual anyway)

Very nice cutaway and information. Thanks. The U.S. adopted the Energa in 1950 or 1951 and rushed them into service in Korea because the U.S. M9A1 was so inadequate against the Russian tanks encountered there. It really was the best anti-tank rifle grenade in the world at that time and for many years after. The ones purchased by the U.S. Army were made by Mecar and were provided with Mecar-built launchers for the Garand and Carbine.

Practice versions are fairly easy to find in the States but interted HE grenades are very scarce here. Here is a photo of a complete one next to a cutaway. This version had a much smaller tip on the fuze with very sharp serrations to dig in and insure the round did not glance off.

Hey Ordnance... whats with the 60mm mortar round on the M1 grenade adapter?

I understood from people -whom fired these rifle grenades while in military service- that firing these grenades was feared as the kick back on launching was enough to hurt fingers and shoulders. Firing a couple of rounds could end up at the medic.
It makes me wonder about the kickback of the heavier HE using a 60 mm mortar shell
Regards DJH

Yeah, I figured someone would ask about that.

The 60mm mortar shell adapted to the M1 adapter was an officially authorized field expedient round. A Technical Bulletin was issued in January of 1944 that described the method of projecting the mortar round using the rifle adapter and grenade launcher. Interestingly, the TB does NOT authorize its use in that manner, only describes it. It states "The round will be used only in cases of emergency and then only at the discretion of ground force commanders."

Among the interesting bits of information included in the TB......

The prongs of the adapter are bent in slightly to help hold the mortar shell.

All propellant increments are removed from the mortar shell before firing.

Ranges of 100 yards at 45 degrees or 150 yards with the addition of the M7 "vitamin pill" auxiliary cartridge could be expected.

It was never to be fired from the shoulder, only from the ground and from behind cover to protect from fragments.

It was never to be fired from the M1 Carbine, only the Garand, M1903, or M1917 rifles. Even then, stock breakages would be expected.

It was never to be fired over the heads of friendly troops because of the inherent inaccuracy of the assembly.

And with all those limitations, it was expected that about 70% of the shells would be expected to explode.

I've always liked odd field expedient and patched together solutions to battlefield problems and this one is one of my favorites.

And regarding the heavy recoil when firing the Energa.......one of the interesting factors from a collectors standpoint over here in the States is the scarcity of the T-120 grenade launcher for the M1 Carbine, as built and supplied by Mecar. The T-119 launcher for the M1 Garand can be found with some effort, as can an identical version made for the Italians for use with their surplus Garands. But I've only seen or heard of 3 or 4 of the Carbine types in various collections.

My conclusion has always been that the Army was seriously curtailing the use of the Carbine as a platform for launching grenades of any type by the 1950s because of high rates of parts breakage and stock damage. I think they either opted not to buy many of the T-120s or just destroyed them after Mecar sent them over. In discussions with a Korean War vet I knew, he said he had witnessed grenades being fired from Carbines on two occasions and the stocks were broken each time. He didn't recall what they were launching but I always supected it was the Energas.