F-1 Grenade

The iconic Soviet defensive fragmentation hand grenade, known as the "Limonka" — with a heavy cast-iron body and a lethal radius of 15–20 metres, it has been thrown from cover in every major war since its adoption in 1939.

Overview

The F-1 "Limonka" (little lemon) is a defensive fragmentation hand grenade, instantly recognisable by its deeply grooved, heavy cast-iron body. Unlike offensive grenades that rely on blast in the open, the F-1 is designed to be thrown from behind cover; its thick casing shatters into a hail of high-velocity fragments. One of the most widely proliferated grenades in history, it equips Russian forces and remains in the inventories of dozens of former Soviet states and Soviet-aligned militaries worldwide.

Development

The F-1’s lineage reaches back to the French F1 grenade of the First World War. The Soviet Union adopted the pattern, re-engineering it with a pre-scored cast-iron body and the universal UZRGM pyrotechnic fuze in 1939–1940, as recorded by Wikipedia and Military Factory. Production surged through the Great Patriotic War and continued largely unchanged for decades; the post-war UZRGM-2 fuze added a secondary safety feature, but the core design stayed the same.

🔒 The rest of the F-1 Grenade file is for BattlePolicy Pro members. Stop here and you miss the part that actually matters: how it performs and where it falls short, its combat record, how it stacks up head-to-head against its real counterparts, the complete specifications table, and our analysts’ procurement, supplier and assessment notes. Unlock the full file with BattlePolicy Pro →