Due to its shape, the M61, like the M26, is sometimes referred to as a "lemon" grenade. Once supplies of the MK-II were exhausted, the M61 became the primary grenade used by U.S. The M26 was soon replaced by the M61 as the Army's "new" grenade, but vast stocks of the MK-II remained in inventory. From the standpoint of the grunt, this fuse operated in the same way as had the fuse of its ancestor - but with a notable improvement in reliability. The smooth steel shell of the new 16-ounce grenade was filled with flake or granular TNT, and detonated by a M204A1 or M204A2 fuse. soldiers due to its inconsistent fragmentation. The heavy cast steel of the MK-II sometimes was projected back to U.S. The purpose of this design was to improve the grenades fragmentation characteristics. The M26 and M26A1 grenade supplemented the classic pineapple in the hands of GIs during the Korean War era. The M204 had the added benefit of being silent, and not emitting sparks or smoke. Accordingly, the improved M204 fuse was installed in the MK-II grenade during its post World War II use. Too often the delay time varied, sometimes with tragic results. This detonation was caused by pulling the safety pin, and releasing the arming handle, which set into motion a five second delay fuse. The pineapple shape was a result of indentions intended to cause the grenade to fracture into uniform pieces of shrapnel upon detonation.
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