Mark 19 grenade ballistics

[FNFiveSeven]

Does anyone know anything about the ballistic trajectory of a typical high velocity 40mm grenade fired from the Mk19 or Mk47 grenade launcher? I'm having a hard time finding info out on these rounds, such as projectile mass, cross sectional density, ballistic coefficient, or even projectile drop/velocity/energy at 1000 meters. I know this is not common info, but if anyone could help me out I would appreciate it.

 

[BullfrogKen]

I have my MCI HeavyMachine Gunnery book somewhere in storage. I can dig it out, but it's sure not going to have most of that info. I can get max effective range, max range, rate of fire stuff. But the kinds of things we reloaders like to know, isn't there.

I used to know those figures off the top of my head. Its been a while . . .

 

[XDKingslayer]

I used to know it all by heart. I had one on my vehicle for 8 years.

It's cyclic rate is 325-375 rpm, with a max range of 2200 m and a max effective range of 1600m. A 60 rpm rapid fire rate and 40 rpm sustained fire rate.

I don't know what you mean by ballistic trajectory. Do you mean the actual round projectile or what we usually refer to as wound trajectory. If you mean actual trajectory, it's a high arc with a definitive pull to the right. You can physically see the rounds and our sights had a special crosshair to account for the right pull.

If you mean wound trajectory it depends on what you hit and what type round you're using. Trainers, HE, HEDP, as there are 6 rounds made for the weapon.

Muzzle velocity is a screaming 760 FPS.

The HEDP, High Explosive Dual Purpose round arms in 18-30 meters, has a kill radius of 5m and a wound radius of 15m. It's designed to penetrate 2 inches of homogeneous steel at a 0 degree obliquity.

 

[FNFiveSeven]

I mean trajectory in terms of drop, MOA holdover, that kind of stuff. If you could tell me something like how fast it's still going at 500 or 1000 meters, or how far the round drops after 500 or 1000 meters (or any distance) I could probably figure out the rest. But there doesn't seem to be much ballistic info on the high velocity 40mm grenade.

Even the mass of the projectile might be enough to work with. Thanks again for any help.

 

[Jeff White]

Why do you want to know? There is a firing table that has all the info you want. I think it's in the USMC manual that BullfrogKen mentioned. I know I bummed a copy from a Marine when I was still on active duty with the Army.

Jeff

 

[XDKingslayer]

MOA holdover? It's an area weapon...there is no MOA. And the flight path of the round can very from round to round. That's why there isn't a whole lot of info on it. It's not intended to be accurate.

Your asking for the trajectory of a weapon that essentially does nothing more than lob grenades really far.

I can shoot a 20 round burst from a locked down solid mount and not one single round will hit the same place twice. If I had to guess the MOA is about 50 feet at max range...

As far as drop goes, to get 2000 meters out of the thing you're looking at holding it at a 45 degree angle to accomplish that because of the drop. That is also why there is a 50 rpm range on the weapon. If the weapon is elevated or depressed at extreme angles the weight of the bolt actually slows the cyclic rate down. If you hold it almost straight up and fire it, it will more than likely jam.

Don't ask me how I know that...

 

[FNFiveSeven]

When I say MOA, I don't mean accuracy potential, I mean drop at any given distance.

Let me rephrase: What I need to know how far the projectile is expected to drop after travelling a given distance (e.g. 1000 meters), or how fast it is moving after travelling a given distance, or preferrably, both.

 

[XDKingslayer]

I can't answer your question specifically, and I don't think the military can either. It's hard to judge or measure drop on a round with such an arcing trajectory in the first place.

If you hold it dead level and fire it, it won't make 1000 meters due to it's drop. You'd be lucky if it made it 500. Then throw on top of that the fact that the longer the distance it travels, the more it pulls to the right.

Basically you're asking for specifics for a fastball pitcher (fast and flat) when the item is a free throw shooter (slow and arced).

 

[FNFiveSeven]

The military HAS to know the approximate drop of the thing, I mean, the weapon does have a distance calibrated sighting system, right? Somebody had to calibrate the thing. I don't need to know the exact drop at 1000m, just an approximate value (within a meter or two high/low). My guess is that the trajectory looks something like that of a downloaded heavy pistol round, say a 300 gr. 45 bullet moving at 800 ft/sec. But I can't be sure since I don't know what the cross sectional density of the Mk19 grenades.

 

[wingnutx]

Sometimes there is no drop at all, like when the grenade asplodes right after leaving the barrel.

That's a lousy way to be woken up from a nap.