US Grenade Launchers: M79, M203, and M320

In an effort to provide the US infantryman with more firepower to cover
the range gap between the hand grenade and the light mortar, the 40mm
M79 grenade launcher – a shoulder-fired, single-shot weapon – entered
service with US forces in 1961.
Reliable, easy to use, and lethally
effective, the M79 soon became an iconic symbol of the Vietnam War and
had a profound influence on small-unit tactics. As the Vietnam conflict
continued, it was joined on the front line by experimental models such
as the magazine-fed T148E1, as well as two launchers intended to be
fitted under the barrel of the new M16 assault rifle: Colt's XM148 and
AAI Corporation's M203. The M203 remains in US Army service today, while
the US Marine Corps now also fields the M32 multiple grenade launcher –
like the M79, a standalone weapon. Featuring full-colour artwork, this
is the story of the rugged and formidable grenade launchers that
equipped the United States and its allies in Vietnam and beyond from the
1960s to the present day.