ENERGA grenade launchers for the No4 (and L1A1)

[Peter Laidler]

Maybe not quite the right place to ask this but..... Are there different sized grenade launchers for the Energa grenade? I ask because there is a tail and fin assembly on 'that' auction site and some has asked what the internal diameter size of the tube is. The British and Commonwealth ones were all the same because the Energa was the same, throughout! I have measured up a UK Military No4, L1A1 and a rarer No5 launcher and, yep, they're all the same

Any answers?

What about differences betwen any variations. What about the L1A1. I can only recall seeing one variation of that while the No4 had a few

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[breakeyp]

Peter I don't have an immediate answer for you but I do agree with you that there are launchers out there with different external diameters. There seems to be differences between Soviet, French and some Mecar launchers. Of course NATO eventually standardized the launchers and projectiles. Give me a day or so and I will have dimensions of the various launchers I have. best, p.

[Peter Laidler]

I'm particularly interested in BRITISH/Commonwealth type Energa launchers specifically Breaks! Although, thinking about it, other nations could I suppose machine down launchers slightly or even sleeve them in order to adapt to whatever type of grenades that they have in their stockpiles. Ours are a bog standard 22mm OD.

[breakeyp]

Peter, I measured these this morning. Best, p.


Measurements of Spigot Grenade Launchers
From the P. M. R. Breakey collection

The following are measurements made on the outside diameter of grenade launchers in my collection using a digital caliper.

NATO aligned

British Mecar type for No.1/No.4/No.5 rifles 21.93mm
British Mecar type for FNFAL/SLR rifle 22.12

Belgian FNFAL 21.97

Italian for US M1 Grarand 21.90

US M1 rifle 21.86
US M1 T119 made by Mecar 22.00
US M16 rifle 21.93
Communist Block aligned

SKS detachable GL 21.96
SKS Yugoslavian 21.98
AK47 Polish 19.90
Unaligned

Steyr Kropatscheck 11mm spigot launcher 27.93

Spanish CETME 20.66
Spanish FR7, FR8 bolt action 21.90
Belgian production
Mecar .30 SAFN 21.90
Mecar K98 Mauser 21.97
Mecar Gew 98 rifle 21.90

Egyptian production for SAFN49 21.99

Israeli -4 different launchers 22.16
French

French M1936-51 bolt action 21,94
French M1949-56 slr 21.60

[Peter Laidler]

That's pretty conclusive and thorough! Now I can report back that so far as the Energa is concerned, it's 22mm throughout the range.

Does anyone have any variables of the UK, Aust/Canadian L1 type Energa launcher?

Thatns again PB

[breakeyp]

Oops. I guess I was not clear in the list. British Mecar type for the SLR is an Enfield made launcher and is 22.12mm OD. I have never encountered an SLR launcher made in Canada or Australia. Commonwealth or metric SLR launchers are not all that common.

[nzl1a1collector]

There are two barrel versions of the L1A2 Grenade launchers (barrel profile). These were used to launch the No. 94 AT Grenade or L2 HE grenades on adapters or M26 HE Grenades on Adapters. The L1A2 Grenade Launcher is designed to launch 22mm diameter grenades.

The L1A2 was used in all commonwealth countries, in Canadian service it ended up being called the C1 Grenade Launcher.


A selection of projectiles (left to right)
British No. 94, Mk.2 AT Practice Grenade
American M31 AT Practice Grenade
American M26A1 with M1A2 Adapter
British Line Throwing Projectile


Here's a display I did back June 2008

[Peter Laidler]

Thanks for those pretty comprehensive answers PB and KtK. Incidentally, the bloke firing the grenads rifle in the booklet was Sgt(?) and later Warrant Officer Geoff Paine who is now retired and lives in the middle east somewhere. Nice bloke too