stun grenade
A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a non-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, a stun grenade produces a blinding flash of light and an extremely loud "bang". They are often used in close-quarters combat, door breaching, and riot control, typically to stun people or distract them. • Illustration — M84 stun grenade Originally developed to simulate explosions during military training, stun grenades were first used by the British Army Special Air Service's counterterrorist wing in the late 1970s, and have been used by police and military forces worldwide since.
Also recorded as flash grenade · flashbang
stun grenade
Lance Cpl. Joshua Murray · Public domain
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- grenade
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Effects
Effects
Despite their less-lethal nature, stun grenades are still capable of causing harm, and can injure or kill when detonating in close proximity. They are also capable of sparking fires.
• Illustration — A stun grenade, thrown by U.S. Marines during a training exercise, detonating in a small room Stun grenades are designed to produce a blinding flash of light of around 7 megacandela (Mcd) and an intensely loud "bang" of greater than 170 decibels (dB).
Construction
Construction
Unlike a fragmentation grenade, stun grenades are constructed with a casing designed to remain intact during detonation and avoid fragmentation injuries, while having large circular cutouts to allow the light and sound of the explosion through. The filler comprises a pyrotechnic metal-oxidant mix of magnesium or aluminium and an oxidizer such as potassium perchlorate or potassium nitrate.
Hazards
Hazards
While stun grenades are designed to limit injury, permanent hearing loss has been reported. The concussive blast has the ability to cause injuries, and the heat generated may ignite flammable materials. The fires that occurred during the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London were caused by stun grenades.
A Marine fire team with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines deploys a flash bang grenade prior to entering a building aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., Jan. 7. Special Operations Training Group organized the flash bang training to boost Marines' confidence before deployment.
Lance Cpl. Joshua Murray
Demonstration against judicial reforms (Tel Aviv, 1 March 2023) Stun Grenade that did not explod
Nizzan Cohen
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- “Stun grenade”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Stun grenade, revision 1375668140 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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