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Helmut1642 t1_j3tlen2 wrote

Reply to comment by War_Hymn in Why were granades unused during the 15th and 16th century? by Hunter7695

Grenades were never 3-4lbs, what you are talking about is mortar/cannon shells. Most grenades were ceramic and weighted much less that. They were about the size of a modern cricket ball according to most books I've seen about early modern grenades in the UK. The small blast radius and poor fuses compared to modern grenades made them only used in sieges and storming of fortified works. They were terror weapons like fire lances and other fireworks.
There are accounts of musketeers in the English Civil War carrying a half dozen in their knapsack when storming fortified town. The is one account I remember of grenades being used to force the surrender of church where troops were holding out.

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Boomstick101 t1_j3ubyxy wrote

18th Century grenades used cast iron, not ceramic. They were fairly heavy. Interestingly musket slings were developed for grenadiers allowing them to sling the musket over their back while hurling grenades and holding the long fuse. Also the use of mitre caps and bearskins were worn to allow slinging of the musket instead of a tricorn cap which would catch up in the sling.

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War_Hymn t1_j3v8ldp wrote

>Grenades were never 3-4lbs, what you are talking about is mortar/cannon shells.

I'm pretty sure a mortar or howitzer shell during the Napoleonic Wars weighed much heavier than 3-4 pounds. A shell for a 6 inch howitzer of the French Gribeauval system would had fired a shell that weighed at least 20 pounds. For a large 12 inch siege mortar, it would had been around 150 pounds.

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