Weapons · Japan · 1939-1945
Type 99 hand grenade
fragmentation grenade
The Type 99 was designed in 1939 to fix the unreliable, dangerously erratic fuze of the earlier Type 97 grenade, becoming the Imperial Japanese Army's standard fragmentation grenade for the rest of the war. Its smooth, flanged cast-iron body held picric acid and used a 4-to-5 second pyrotechnic delay, armed by pulling a safety pin and striking the fuze head on a hard surface such as a helmet. It could also be fired as a rifle grenade from the Type 100 grenade discharger, and American troops nicknamed it the Kiska grenade after encountering it during the Aleutian Islands campaign.
| weight | 300 g |
|---|---|
| length | 87 mm |
| diameter | 41 mm |
| filler | 58 g cast picric acid |
| fuze delay | 4-5 seconds |