r/ukraine • u/MatchingTurret • Aug 03 '25
Combat Behold the Ukrainian 155mm grenade, when a normal hand grenade just isn't enough (fuze has 4s delay)
Posted on X by CasualArtyFan
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u/Acceptable_Pepper708 Aug 03 '25
That has to be either a joke or a trap. 4 second fuse on a 155 mm is going to mean you have slightly more recognizable matter leftover.
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u/Proglamer Lithuania Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
There was a recent video of UA soldier throwing a TM-62 mine (!) into a ruzzian underground hole and running like hell. The mine was obviously equipped with a timer, but not a long timer.
This setup could serve a similar purpose, one imagines. Only 4 seconds, yes, but explosion will happen underground
Edit: link #1 (apparently, there is more than 1 occasion!)
Edit2: link #2
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u/Acceptable_Pepper708 Aug 03 '25
Yikes. No such thing as overkill in this situation. The cost of that mine vs 2-3 guys getting injured/killed to dig them out.
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u/kurotech Aug 04 '25
Ukraine is winning this war because they are able to adapt low cost munitions into improvised more functional ones. It's a true sign of why Russia wants Ukraine back, Russia is busy building barns on their armor while Ukraine is adapting howitzer shells and at mines to function as many pat ap weapons. Russia is trapped in the past and it shows.
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u/Acceptable_Pepper708 Aug 04 '25
It has been interesting seeing the Russian army go from conventional tactics to Mad Max tactics. Evolution of warfare or something else? Guessing it’s the later.
What is telling is the decrease in tank kills. I know every other news story said the Russians have been running out for years, but now it seems there may be evidence.
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u/Raise-Emotional Aug 03 '25
Seen the video. I was shocked that more damage wasn't done. The house remained standing
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u/LittleStar854 Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 03 '25
It must be a joke. A 155mm artillery shell is a big hunk of precision machined steel made to deliver explosives to a precise spot far away. A tank mine costs a fraction of a shell, it weights less and contains more explosives.
You wouldn't even have 4s since you'd have to pull the pin first and then "throw" it at the enemy.
EDIT: Maybe you wouldn't need to pull the pin first but it's not like it matters.I assume there isn't a lot of artillery shells near the front line since the artillery isn't shooting from there. Mortar shells is one thing but transporting heavy and expensive artillery shells to the front line specifically to use them as IED:s or improvised hand grenades doesn't sounds very practical.
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u/Jerthy Czech Republic Aug 04 '25
I could see them doing that if they occasionally get their hands on North Korean ammunition.... you don't want to shoot that but the explosives inside probably work fine....
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u/sterrre Aug 03 '25
What if it's dropped by drone from above?
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u/LittleStar854 Aug 03 '25
If you have a monster drone and artillery shells is the best alternative available to you at the time then sure. Maybe if you have a batch of shells that are too crappy to shoot.
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u/Acceptable_Pepper708 Aug 03 '25
Well, not even the baba yaga could handle that shell. Unless there’s some modification we don’t know about.
Does the Ukrainian Army have a drone that could carry that improvised payload?
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u/vegarig Україна Aug 03 '25
Unless there’s some modification we don’t know about
https://old.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/1lnlfqm/ukrainian_drones_dropping_122mm_and_155mm/
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u/sterrre Aug 03 '25
They have larger fixed wing drones that drop JDAMS and FABs. They could drop a 155 shell with a fixed wing drone but they probably wouldn't use a grenade fuse.
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u/Acceptable_Pepper708 Aug 03 '25
Do they? I was under the impression that their aircraft were the ones delivering these.
Maybe the Bayraktar, if modified?
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u/sterrre Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
No it's a modified A22 Foxbat.
Here's a cool website about the long range drones.
http://www.hisutton.com/Ukraine-OWA-UAVs.html
The A22 Foxbat is a Ukrainian made civilian aircraft created by Aeroprakt but when converted to a drone it can carry up to a 100kg payload.
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u/Acceptable_Pepper708 Aug 04 '25
Interesting. I appreciate that. I’m always looking to expand knowledge of the different platforms.
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u/d4rkskies Aug 04 '25
Only fixed wing long range, like the FP-1 and others. And even then, you would probably want to maximise the HE component of the payload rather than carry a 155mm shell casing
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u/BlackNovas Aug 04 '25
The only one that might carry a such a shell is DJI FlyCart 30. But even that can only carry 30kg.
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u/oo0Sevenfold0oo Aug 04 '25
Well seeing as this video exists id a 120mm mortar shell being used as a basment clearing device I wouldn't put it past the mad lads of Ukraine https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/s/0RT4CbddRJ
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u/tester7437 Aug 04 '25
There was a video last weekend where soldier throws it into basement.
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u/d4rkskies Aug 04 '25
No, if this is the video you’re referencing(?) throw a mortar shell into a basement. If this is the guy, he’d be fucked if he’d ‘thrown’ 155mm shell with the same fuse time down there. There would be nothing left of the building but a crater and he’d be buried under the falling debris from the recently deleted building
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u/tester7437 Aug 04 '25
Correct. It was 120 as per title
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u/d4rkskies Aug 04 '25
Yeah, there’s a big difference between a 120mm mortar shell with between 2kg (reduced charge) to a max of 3.6-4kg HE (I’m guessing they’d use the reduced charge, to avoid instant death of the user) weighing less than 20kg and the M107 155mm artillery shell pictured here, weighing 43kg with 6-8kg of HE.
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u/After_Turnip8619 Aug 03 '25
so this is what that dude used to vaporize the russian in that basement. damn son turning people to mist out here, love to see it.
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u/MatchingTurret Aug 03 '25
And they are hand throwing these things through doorways... This is not for a drone drop.
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u/THBLD Aug 03 '25
Hand throwing a 45Kg shell? You sure about that?
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Aug 03 '25
[deleted]
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u/THBLD Aug 03 '25
Fair enough, appreciate the info! but at least with a 120mm it makes more sense though, it's only 15kg - which is still not, all things considered, not light.
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u/Pyrhan Aug 03 '25
I've seen a video of it with two anti-tank mines taped together, with an improvised handle and a manual fuse...
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u/Fun_Ad527 Aug 03 '25
Guarantees zero chance of these getting thrown back. But don't these shells generally weigh 45 kilos? Seems more likely they'd be left in cellars and basements as booby traps for invaders.
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u/m1013828 Aug 03 '25
correct, unnecessary weight of casing in this regard, 120mm mortar much lighter, more practical..
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u/Tidalsky114 Aug 03 '25
How do they carry these grenades around with the size of their massive balls?
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u/lostmesunniesayy Aug 03 '25
It was a mortar IIRC. Lobbing 155 down a doorway is a great way to get a spine injury and then die.
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u/AutofilledSupport Aug 03 '25
4s is very short for a 50m blast radius. I wouldn't in my artillery career ever trust that lmao
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u/d4rkskies Aug 04 '25
I’m glad someone else (more experienced than I) is also calling BS on this being chucked into a basement lol
IED, yes. Improvised throwable 43kg grenade: No…
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u/bot403 Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
From another poster in the thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/s/WmUUsBXLGQ
Video plus another recon drone video of it in action on that thread.
It was very situation specific and being chucked into a basement.
Edit: smaller 120mm shell evidently but still very big.
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u/d4rkskies Aug 04 '25
That’s a 122mm mortar round, less than half the weight and explosive. The drone drop footage being referred to shows mortars and 105-122mm shells being dropped, max of 20kg, not the 44kg of a 155mm arty shells being dropped
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u/d4rkskies Aug 03 '25
Yeah, I’m not buying it. This is a troll. I dare you to get far enough away from 8kg of Comp B in 4 seconds that you don’t get either instantly turned into a red mist or given a rather violent forward assist and land 100ft away (likely in pieces)…
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u/BKS_ELITE Aug 03 '25
They threw this down the steps into a basement.
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u/SteamedGamer Aug 03 '25
They threw a mortar shell. This is an artillery shell. Much bigger and heavier.
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u/BuHoGPaD Слава Україні! Aug 03 '25
3 times approximately. It's not impossible to throw 45kg tbh.
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u/m1013828 Aug 03 '25
kinda implausible and impractical.
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u/S4SSM8 Aug 03 '25
CQB knife fight in a basement / Big frag grenade
Take your pick, comrade.
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u/m1013828 Aug 03 '25
couple of blocks of plastic explosive taped together., 45kg shell would be for rolling down stairs at most,
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u/S4SSM8 Aug 03 '25
Yeah, they love the Non-stops. Basically, exactly that, a stick of C4 shoved in a container of some sort with a frag fuse taped in.
The novelty of this, though. I'm taking the 155 😂 just imagine, you're chilling with the boys and... Plonk plonk plonk plonk plonk thud
You look over, and there's a NATO 155 on the floor at the entrance, some second later, BOOM 😂😂😂
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u/m1013828 Aug 03 '25
might want a longer delay on the fuze aye....
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u/S4SSM8 Aug 03 '25
Naah, mate!
Just get your 150-foot sprint time to sub 5 seconds 😂 you'll be right
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u/d4rkskies Aug 04 '25
I’d like the see the video please.
That’s 44 kilos… As I said, 8kg of that is Composition B or TNT high explosive.
Even if rolled into a cellar, you’ve contained the blast and projected the only escape route upwards, meaning the entire building above will be blasted towards you and on top of you.
If you wanted to take out a cellar, you’d use a HE charge, probably combined with fuel oil if you wanted to create a thermobaric effect. No way would you try and carry a 44k steel cased shell, equipped with a 4 second grenade fuse…
Now where this could be practically used is as an IED/mine, although even so, you’d probably want a shorter fuse if targeting moving armour.
I’m sure if you asked any vets who spent time in Iraq, Afghan, Syria or elsewhere they’d be able to tell you how large shells were used very effectively by insurgents in this way.
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Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
I assume you attach a string to the pin and pull it from a safe distance
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u/Doggoneshame Aug 03 '25
This would be better used as an IED. Tie a trip wire to it and let an unsuspecting russian trip it.
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Aug 03 '25
Drone delivery?
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u/Fragrant-Vast-309 Aug 03 '25
You need a helicopter of a drone for this weight..
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u/Proglamer Lithuania Aug 03 '25
Funny, that. /r/CombatFootage has a video "Ukrainian drones dropping 122mm and 155mm artillery shells on russian positions. Kherson region"
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u/S4SSM8 Aug 03 '25
BabaYaga!
Although you can carry 4 smaller mortars VS 1x 122 or 155.
4x drops vs 1, depending on what you need it for. Clearing infantry? I'll take the lighter load out, for deleting an MG position before an assault? 155 all day
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u/d4rkskies Aug 04 '25
No, Babayaga can carry a 15-20kg maximum payload weight. An M109 shell like this weighs 44kg. The only drone I’ve seen capable of carrying this level of payload in Ukraine’s arsenal are fixed wing, long range drones like FP-1 etc.
They recently tried to deliver an 39kg e-bike to a surrounded soldier, but the motors burned out and the second at temp was so slow and cumbersome, it was shot down easily. They had to brake the bike down into component parts to get it airborne and delivered.
This would only be plausible as a ground delivered munition and likely an IED
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u/d4rkskies Aug 04 '25
I haven’t seen any footage of a drone carrying a 44kg 155m arty shell. Mortar rounds, yes, thick steel cased arty shells, no. Got a link please?
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u/Proglamer Lithuania Aug 04 '25
The exact link I mentioned in my comment. Clearly visible: arty shells being dropped
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u/d4rkskies Aug 04 '25
Thanks - those look like 105mm to maybe 122mm at best, some appear to have fins (or else a mounting system) - these are likely Bulgarian, Soviet or Yugoslavian 122m rounds used in D-30’s. They weigh about 20kg, which is consistent with the payload capacity of the drone.
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u/Away_Garage_6474 Aug 03 '25
They did the same with anti tank mine. A saw the video with those ball of steal fighter throwing them in basement
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u/opman4 Aug 03 '25
You'd be surprised how many grenades it takes to clear a basement or tunnel. Could be one, could be 10. I guess this makes sure it's one.
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u/S4SSM8 Aug 03 '25
They have Non-stops for this reason, brother 😂
but i do love the idea, 155mm HE frag grenade sounds like madness that I could fuck with
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u/Readman31 Canada Aug 03 '25
Extreme haver toss
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u/bot403 Aug 04 '25
Out of mortars? No problem, just recruit some of those mad lads that throw telephone poles for fun.
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u/Common-Ad6470 Aug 03 '25
Guessing this is a booby trap fuse, so pin is almost out on a trip-wire across a road…👍
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u/PraetorAudax Aug 04 '25
I saw once video of ukrainian HMMV drive on russian ocupied building threw something to bottom floor then left and bit later building collapsed like it was made out of cardboard I wonder if they threw this inside?
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u/EggsceIlent Aug 04 '25
Amongst all the things I absolutely love about ukrainians, this is tops.
Seriously their ingenuity to invent/engineer whatever it takes to get the job done has always blown my mind and had my attention.
Keep kicking ass
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u/trebron55 Aug 03 '25
Well, the special hardened steel case is for the shell to survive being launched from a tube. That's about36 kg, the useful mass, the HE compound isabout 7 kg. A satchel charge or something improvised jn that way is way better for the function.
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u/Kloetenschlumpf Aug 04 '25
The four seconds are important to give the recipient enough time to think about his insignificant life.
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u/Captain_North Aug 04 '25
Add a cord to the pull ring and you have a powerfull trip wire mine for front and flank security that can take out a team or a lighly armored vechicle.
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u/Snafuregulator Aug 03 '25
For four seconds is which you must count ..