Grenade Launcher



Throwing grenades and all is great, but sometimes it's better to shoot them. That's where the Grenade Launcher comes in. Size varies from an accessory to a BFG. Possibly related to Revolvers Are Just Better if it's the kind with the ginormous loading cylinder (This is known as an M32). Also included are Rifle grenades, grenades designed to be fired by sticking them on the end of a rifle.

Grenade launchers in Video Games tend to behave in an unrealistic fashion. A real launcher grenade primes itself after flying a certain distance (so the user won't accidentally blow himself up) and then explodes as soon as it hits something, doing damage to everything near it. In video games, they tend to behave more like thrown grenades, ricocheting off the walls and exploding with a timer. Sometimes, they can inexplicably tell the difference between living targets and scenery, exploding on contact with the former but not the latter. No Arc in Archery is usually averted with them, as like thrown grenades they are usually meant for arcing over cover. If an accessory, they can be used under Secondary Fire.

Anime and Manga

 * Black Lagoon:
 * Revy uses an M-79 to finish off Luak's fleeing boat in the finale of the big shootout of the third episode.
 * In the "El Baile de Muerte" arc, Roberta has one as a accessory to her Sniper Rifle, but not just any grenade launcher, a rotating cylinder one.
 * Fabiola whips out a China Lake grenade launcher (a quite rare weapon even for Black Lagoon) during the finale of her shootout in the Yellow Flag.
 * Hellsing: Incognito wields a six-shot launcher chained to his flesh.
 * Zeta Gundam: The Zeta had grenade launchers in its forearms. A few other Mobile Suits in the series also carry them.

Comic Books

 * The Lawgiver from Judge Dredd has the Hi-Ex setting, essentially making it a grenade launcher pistol when required.

Film
"Hicks: I wanna introduce you to a personal friend of mine. This is an M41A pulse rifle. Ten millimeter with over-and-under thirty millimeter pump action grenade launcher."
 * Apocalypse Now features the M79, in the hands of an American soldier near the Do Lung bridge. The soldier takes out a VC soldier with a high arcing shot aimed only by sound the VC's raving.
 * Predator: Poncho carried and used a multi-barrel grenade launcher against the rebels ("You got time to duck?"), and Dutch had an underbarrel grenade launcher on his assault rifle.
 * The pulse rifles of the Colonial Marines in Aliens have an integral grenade launcher. You know Ripley has a Badass streak when she insists Hicks teach her how to use it.

"T-800's Launcher: Bllooop! Chuff. Boom!"
 * Scarface: Tony Montana uses an M-203 grenade launcher mounted under the barrel of his M-16 for the final shootout of the movie. "Say hello to my little friend!"
 * Battle of the Bulge (1965): U.S. troops use rifle grenades against the advancing German tanks.
 * Terminator 2 has the Terminator himself using one.


 * Notable that since he doesn't kill anyone, it actually fires tear-gas.
 * Only the barrel-magazine launcher used in the office siege fires tear gas; he later uses a break-action, single shot grenade launcher on the T-1000 to impressive effect. Impressive as in it's the only infantry-portable weapon that did more than make it pause for a second, and was what sent it stumbling into the vat of molten steel.
 * In Inception, when Arthur's SCAR proves ineffective against the cover one mook is hiding behind, Eames pulls one of these out and uses it with predictable results.

Live Action TV

 * In the Stargate SG 1 episode "The Fifth Man", Jack O'Neill uses a Colt M203 grenade launcher to shoot down a death glider. The M203 has also been used in its attached-to-rifle form in both SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.

Tabletop Games

 * Traveller Classic had auto grenade launchers (rapid fire).
 * Shadowrun had both dedicated grenade launchers and underbarrel launchers for long arms (rifles, shotguns, assault rifles, etc.).
 * Imperial Guard units in Warhammer 40000 can be equipped with grenade launchers. They have two firing modes: a frag grenade which is a low damage blast weapon, and a krak grenade which is a medium damage single target weapon. The latest Codex also gives them as wargear for Space Marine characters. Tau Pulse Carbines have underslung launchers.
 * The Imperial Boltgun (and variants) are all technically rocket propelled grenade launchers. Which happen to be fully automatic.
 * Men O' War Bombardiers in War Machine are soldiers wearing steam-driven Powered Armor and wielding grenade launching chainsaws. It can't get much more awesome than that.
 * GURPS: High-Tech has a wide variety of Real Life grenade launchers from the Walther Leuchtpistole to the ATK-H&K M29. By Ultra-Tech one of the available designs include the Electromagnetic Auto Grenade Launcher which can fire for an extended time at four times the range of the High-Tech weapons.
 * Rifts also has a variety of grenade launchers, Armor-mounted braces, Full-sized normal and Automatic launchers, and even underslung launchers built into rifles (and one pistol).

Video Games

 * Metal Gear Solid 2 has the rotating cylinder variety.
 * Metal Gear Solid 4 has the rotating cylinder variety and also a high-tech launcher with a magazine, it can be programmed to detonate the grenade at varying altitudes.
 * Super Smash Bros Brawl: Have the rotating cylinder launchers from Metal Gear Solid 2 as Snake's Final Smash.
 * Most of the Resident Evil games have these. 0, 1, 3, and 5 had the cylinder chamber type.
 * Dante gets one of these in Devil May Cry 1, though its fall-off isn't significant enough to differentiate it from a rocket launcher (which becomes its functional replacement in later games).
 * Syphon Filter has a grenade launcher small enough to be fired from one hand.
 * Killer 7: Mask de Smith uses two.
 * In Time Splitters 2, the Soviet Rifle and Plasma Rifle both had underslung grenade launchers (unlike Future Perfect, which had separate, thrown grenades).
 * The grenade launcher in Quake shared ammo with the rocket launcher. However, where the rocket launcher fires in a straight line, the grenade launcher's ammo bounces off walls, allowing it to fire around corners.
 * Quake's was one of the first, too, largely because in previous pseudo-3D engines the idea of a projectile weapon which was lobbed and reacted to scenery wouldn't actually have worked. Also, Quake did show that the rockets were a nosecone and tail attached to a grenade body.
 * Urban Terror has the Heckler & Koch HK 69.
 * Team Fortress 2: the Demoman is armed with a normal grenade launcher and a stickybomb launcher.
 * In Duke Nukem 3D, there's one less than a minute into the first level if you know where to look. It's actually a Rocket Propelled Grenade launcher though, so it behaves like a typical FPS rocket launcher.
 * In Duke Nukem 64, the RPG is replaced with a regular Grenade Launcher, which shoots grenades in an arc that bounce off of objects and explode after a set time.
 * Many guns in the Modern Warfare series include a grenade launcher as an optional attachment, known as the Noob-Tube by many players who feel that its ability to deliver unskilled kills makes it a Game Breaker used only by Noobs. Particularly when combined with the Scavenger or One-Man-Army perks which allow more than 2 grenades each life. They avert the aforementioned unrealistic portrayal as they do have impact detonation and you can Cherry Tapping by hitting someone with an unprimed nade if you're close enough. However, the unexploded grenade is actually a one hit kill
 * Marathon has a Machine Gun/underslung Grenade Launcher combo. Gamemod Marathon Rubicon has a mortar that for all purposes functioned as a dedicated grenade launcher.
 * Halo has the Brute Shot used by the Covenant, a typical example of the Brutes' utter lack of subtlety, complete with a huge-ass bayonet. Halo: Reach introduces the Concussion Rifle (pretty much the Brute Shot redesigned to look less crude in the hands of the Elites), the Plasma Launcher (which shoots homing plasma grenades) and an actual break-action human Grenade Launcher. The latter is different from many, as it will detonate on a fuse when shot 'normally', but holding down the trigger allows for remote detonation (and arms an EMP mode which shorts out shields and vehicles). Because you need to literally have it explode in somebody's face (or between their feet) for a One Hit Kill, fans and the producers have nicknamed the Grenade Launcher the 'Pro Pipe'.
 * The fuel rod cannon acted like one in the original Halo.
 * Half-Life includes a fairly realistic grenade launcher as a Secondary Fire on the MP5. The grenade fires on an arc and explodes on contact with any surface. It is unrealistic in that it can detonate immediately after being fired, taking you out as well.
 * The sequel features a similar gun that has the same behavior. Meanwhile the Combine Pulse Rifle has a high-tech equivalent to the Grenade Launcher, but seeing as it's firing what amounts to a contained ball of energy, it doesn't quite fall under standard guidelines for a grenade.
 * The Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force series features both automatic rifles with underslung launchers and dedicated grenade launchers. The Compound Grenade Launcher in the first game fires both bouncing timed grenades and sticky timed mines over short distances, while the second game features a grenade launcher firing timed grenades at much longer range.
 * Left 4 Dead 2 has one where the shots explode on impact and can be used with fire ammo and explosive ammo. Valve put the weapon in just because the fans wanted to see more stuff explode.
 * Medal of Honor: Allied Assault had a rifle that took grenades in multiplayer mode, a weapon so infamous it's almost universally banned.
 * UFO Alien Invasion features a revolver-style grenade launcher... Which can unload its entire cylinder as a 6-shot burst in a single turn.
 * In UFO: Afterlight the grenade launcher munitions can also be primed and thrown by hand. They include HE, Incendiaries, EMP and acid.
 * The 8 ball/rocket launcher in the Unreal series sometimes functions as a grenade launcher of sorts. By using Secondary Fire, rockets are ejected without igniting their motors. Just like primary fire, holding down the trigger allows you to fire up to 8, 6, or 3 at once. (Depending on the game)
 * The 200X games have assault rifles with integrated grenade launchers as starting weapons. Also, 2004 has a Grenade Launcher weapon which is actually a Sticky Bomb launcher: it's remote-detonated projectiles (8 max) magnetically attach themselves onto the target, exploding when their owner triggers them or dies. The Flak Cannon also has a grenade Secondary Fire that will usually one-hit kill on a direct hit.
 * The Grenade Launcher is one of the guns available for Alex Mercer in Prototype. Of all the weapons you can grab, it's one of the better ones due to a high fire rate and enough power to take on armed vehicles.
 * Chris Redfield's super moves in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 include grenade launchers.
 * In the Xbox remake of Ninja Gaiden, some Mooks use these, and the tank bosses were given these in Black to counter the old tactic of getting in close enough that Ryu could plink away without retaliation from the main gun.
 * Smash TV has two types of grenade launchers among the powerups: one with normal-looking grenades that fly level and explode on impact, one with futuristic grenades that fly up into the air and land a fixed distance away. Both with a ridiculously high rate of fire, natch.
 * Battlefield 2 features grenade launchers attached to some assault rifles. They used to explode right away, but a later patch fixed them to arm after traveling a certain distance.
 * The launcher in Battlefield: Bad Company, meanwhile, had it's damage nerfed in multiplayer for fear of it being overpowered. It's still good for knocking down walls, but not much else.
 * Battlefield 3 has the M320 grenade launcher as a possible first-slot gadget for Assault players (in place of either a Medkit or a M26 MASS pump-action shotgun; the second-slot gadget is always the Defibrillator once unlocked). Unlike other games, the M320 is a "standalone" weapon by default, and one has to equip the Underslung Rail (the starting underbarrel attachment for assault rifles) in order for the grenade launcher to be mounted underbarrel for the "fast" weapon switch time akin to Call of Duty.
 * If the player is using an AK-74M, an AEK-971, or an AN-94 with the Underslung Rail and a grenade launcher, it will take the in-game visual appearance of a GP-30, a Russian underbarrel grenade launcher.
 * Fallout Tactics Brotherhood of Steel features a grenade launcher as a not-terribly useful weapon. Ammunition is rare and it is not as powerful as true Big Guns.
 * The new SOCOM game for the PSP has this.
 * SWAT 4: the Stetchkov Syndicate had an extremely useful, bordering on Game Breaker HK69 Less-Lethal grenade launcher. It could be loaded with flashbang, tear gas, and sting grenades, as well as rubber collapsible-baton rounds.
 * Alien Swarm has one as the final unlockable. It becomes Recursive Ammo if used by a character with an explosives bonus.
 * Golden Eye 1997 on the N64 has the cylinder type and the shots can bounce off walls. With the All Guns cheat, you can wield two of them!
 * The Wii version makes it an attachment (how it works we'll never know) so you can effectively carry 3 weapons when you can only hold 2! It loses that wall bounce that the N64 version had, but it's still a One Hit Kill if the enemy is close enough.
 * The first heavy weapon you get in Mass Effect 2 is a grenade launcher. One of the early quests references how you're carrying it everywhere you go: a guard explains to a civilian why he's letting you into a quarantine zone and not her with the memorable line, "You don't have a grenade launcher, lady. Get lost."
 * Planet Side has the Thumper grenade launcher, which uses a rotating cylinder drum, and can be loaded with a variety of different special ammo types (fragmentation, plasma, jammer).
 * In Starcraft II, Marauder Powered Armor includes integral grenade launchers, one built into each "hand". They fired anti-armor grenades and could be upgraded to slow down units hit by them.
 * There's one in Alice Madness Returns. Yep, it's called a Teapot Cannon. The in-game poster states that it shoots "Tea Grenades". Probably one of the few (if not the only one) game which the weapon can overheat just after a few shots.
 * A rotating-cylinder grenade launcher is one of the many weapons Shadow the Hedgehog can pick up.
 * In Grabbed By the Ghoulies, you get to wield a grenade launcher modified to fire pop bottles.
 * Far Cry 2 has two kinds: a single shot and a 4 cylinder one. The latter is a complete game breaker in both singleplayer and multiplayer, usually banned on servers.
 * Crysis 2 has a grenade launcher attachment for the SCAR and an automatic cylinder launcher called the L-TAG. Sadly, ammo for the latter is scarce, as the ubiquitous ammo resupply boxes usually don't have L-TAG 'nades.
 * Monday Night Combat's Assault class has a grenade launcher as his secondary weapon, mostly used to shoot around corners because of the frankly ridiculous bounce the grenades possess. Super Monday Night Combat features Karl, who has his own version of the grenade launcher (that's built into his arm, no less), firing "bouncing buddies" that bounce in place once they hit the ground.
 * EYE Divine Cybermancy features the Spiculum Ovum, a 6 shot double barreled manually detonated sticky grenade launcher. The grenades fly in a nearly straight trajectory.

Western Animation

 * Darkwing Duck: Trust Disney to bring us a grenade launcher, in the form of Darkwing's 'gas gun'. Granted, it also doubles as a Grappling Hook Pistol, but he's also used some rather special-purpose grenades -- smoke's the most common, but various powders (and one actual explosive) have come out of the barrel.

Real Life

 * One of the most well known grenade launchers is the M-79 "Blooper" used extensively in the Vietnam war. It was a single-shot, breach-loading break-action 40mm launcher, and the gun plus additional rounds weighed so much the soldier couldn't carry a regular rifle. Although the soldiers with M79s were also supplied with several M576 40mm rounds, which did not fire grenades, but rather fired #4 Buckshot
 * The more common M-203 grenade launcher is the ubiquitous underbarrel grenade launcher. Universal fittings allow it to be attached to any weapon that uses a rail system, and it's a breach loading single-shot weapon that loads the round behind the tube.
 * The Russian GP25/30 is the Soviet answer to the M203, and similar in many ways, though it loads from the front of the tube instead of behind it.
 * Multi-shot grenade launchers are available, including the RG-6 (a six-shot revolver style), though they tend to be a little too heavy for practical use.
 * The Mk19 (called the Mark 19) grenade launcher is a belt-fed machine gun/grenade launcher, firing about 6 rounds a second up to 2,212 (yards or 2,023 m for you metric types). That is over one mile away. It's absolutely devastating, but has a minimum range and is quite heavy. The weapon can be carried by infantry and mounted on a tripod or mounted on a variety of vehicles including helicopters, hover craft, and military Humvee style vehicles. Take That, 40k!
 * A new infantry weapon for the US Army is a grenade launcher with precisely timed grenades, designed to be shot past cover and detonate behind it in order to kill anyone hiding behind. The XM25 has been fielded to several units and apparently received rave reviews from the operators. The problem is that the required computerized grenades cost a few hundred dollars each.
 * Many modern military vehicles feature smoke grenade launchers to deploy a quick smoke screen to temporarily hide themselves from enemy view. Some vehicles, such as the French LeClerc main battle tank can swap the smoke grenades for anti-personnel rounds to defend against infantry attacks.
 * Some Awesome Personnel Carriers also feature automatic grenade launchers (such as the Mk19, mentioned above) alongside heavy machine guns as standard armament, to help compensate for their lighter armor protection. One can imagine that this makes a devastating combination against infantry and light vehicles.