In Their Words

V-B Rifle Grenades

French V-B (Viven-Bessiere after its designers) grenades were used in great numbers by A.E.F. soldiers. V-B rifle grenades fit into a discharge cup attached to the end of a rifle’s (usually a M1903 Springfield) barrel and was launched by the firing of a normal cartridge. A specific cup-shaped device, called a tromblon by the French, was used to cradle the grande on the end of a rifle’s barrel and hold it in the correct position for firing. V-B grenades garnered a reputation of being terrifically accurate and were popular with the men who used them.

The grenade body is an iron cylinder with a round, tapered top, flat bottom, and hollow tube running through its middle. A brass screw plug is affixed to the base opposite of the fuse mechanism and served to secure the detonator into the grenade body. The hollow tube that runs throughout the center of the grenade provides a path for a bullet to travel through when the grenade is mounted on a rifle. The fuse housing (seen to the top left of the grenade) contained the grenade’s primer and timed-fuse. A striker (a stub of which can be seen near the base of the fuse on the grenade to the left in the photograph) was positioned over the top of the hollow tube and served as a trigger mechanism.
As the bullet passed through the grenade by way of a hollow tube, it hit the striker and activated the grenade’s primer (located on the side of the fuse), which in turn ignited the timed fuse. Detonation typically occurred eight seconds after the grenade had been fired. The grenade was propelled away from the rifle by way of the compressed gases generated by firing the cartridge. V-B grenades had a maximum effective range of 200 yards.

Rifle grenades served in both offensive and defensive roles throughout World War I. As with other types of offensive grenades, rifle grenades such as the V-B were utilized to provide cover for advancing troops at a range where traditional artillery or small mortar fire proved unnecessary or unsafe to use. In defensive use, the V-B grenade produced a large amount of shrapnel capable of inflicting large numbers of casualties on an attacking enemy.

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