Military Question: Tanks. Would they really be damaged in the least by a hand grenade?

Question

I play an otherwise fairly realistic video game in which tanks can be killed by multiple grenades. I find it hard to believe some tiny chunks of metal would make more than a scratch. Can they wreck treads or something?

Tell me if you really have a clue, or are just talking shite.

Answer 1

Well, it all depends on how they're used. Just a basic fragmentation grenade thrown at a tank has very little chance of damaging a tank, except through pure luck. However, if someone armed with a grenade gets close enough to a tank and places the grenade at a certain spot, then the grenade could possibly disable or destroy the tank. Remember, the damage caused by a frag grenade is not just caused by shrapnel; there is also an explosive component to the grenade. At close enough range, the explosive could do the kind of damage mentioned above.
Also, there ARE specialized anti-tank grenades, such as incendiary grenades (which produce extremely high temperatures), and grenades that utilize shaped-charges to defeat tank armor. So basically, it all depends on the situation.

And for the record, I play games like that too. Features like that are mostly just for game balance. How unfair would it be the only units capable of damaging tanks were troops armed with rocket launchers? It would be pretty unbalanced. But I see what you're getting at. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Not by a regular handgrenade being thrown, but if the tank was stationary and hand grenade was placed in tracks possibly it would blow a tread link or damage it enough to break it when the the tank was to move, a grenade attached to a tank mine would definitely blow a tread off a tank. a grenade contains composition b which is poured into all shrapnel devices , large shells, shape charges, hand grenades., a thermal grenade, if a enemy soldier was able to get on a moving tank and was able to place a grenade of this type on a turret would without a doubt do damage to a tank, due that a thermal grenade can attain temps 3000 + which if the grenade penetrated the shell could set off shells, ammo, or fuel, which also could asphxyate the crew., but the only factor in all this is how stupid the tank crew commander is in letting any enemy infiltrator that close to his tank team. Hope this helps, Remember the U.S. Military has good, and of all things the best soldiers the world has to offer, besides the British, it's the ability to make good leaders that seems to be the issue nowadays.

Answer 3

A fragmentation grenade would do little, but a shaped charge would shoot out copper plasma and depending on where it was on the tank would have at least minor to critical damage. Also, the thermite or really a magnesium handheld device can burn through just about anything i.e. armor, engines etc. depending on the size / type, but will take a while to burn through tough metal.

Answer 4

No. But if you can manage to get one inside the tank it self, it would reek havoc on the crew.