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Item Title:1953 Press Photo M26 Grenade used during Korean War
PHOTO DESCRIPTION: The M26 (designated during development as the T38) is a fragmentation hand grenade developed by the United States Armed Forces.
Distributed to troops during the spring of 1953, the M26 saw limited use during the Korean War. In 1954, tests were conducted under arctic conditions: the grenade performed well under temperatures below 0°, and no duds were reported, though it was also reported that the detonation was ineffective under snow and soldiers had some difficulty pulling the pin while wearing winter gloves.
The M26A1 and M61 were widely used in Vietnam. The M26A2 and M57 impact fuzes were unpopular with soldiers: after arming they caused friendly casualties if accidentally dropped or if they struck vegetation. M26s were used in Vietnam for booby traps.
During the conflict, new grenades were fitted with safety clips during the mid-1960s. The pins could be snagged in the thick vegetation resulting in accidents and there were also occasional cases of prisoners of war suicidally lunging at their captors to pull the pin. According to Rottman, some soldiers who trained with unclipped grenades failed to remove the clips before throwing, which posed the danger of an enemy finding and throwing the grenade back. The M26A1 and M61 were also often employed as booby traps.
The M26 series (M26/M61) began to be replaced by the M33 series grenade (M33/M67) in 1969. While the M26 proved to be effective, it had an inconsistent casualty radius and was heavy, at 1 lb (0.45 kg). Though production ceased in the United States in 1968, stockpiles remained in US service during the 1970s. The M61 was listed as a standard issue grenade as late as 1988 in US Army technical manuals.
Photo measuresapproximately: 8x10in
Part number: DM1459
THEREAREA FEWMINORCREASE MARKINGS.
**** creased corners
ALL items are more than likely going to have condition wear (small creases, corner wear, etc...) due to age and touching. These photos were meant to be handled and were by the newspapers and other media outlets before we purchased them.
THERE ARE SMALL SMUDGES THAT SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE REMOVED.
SOMETIMES THE MARKINGS ON THE BACK CAN BE SEEN THROUGH ON THE FRONT.
IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE THICKNESS OF THE PHOTO.
EVERYTHING SHOWN ON FRONT/BACK OF THE ITEM IN THE LISTING IS INCLUDED.
Please take a look at the front/back photos.
THIS IS AN ACTUAL PHOTO NOT SCANS!!
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