How does a Grenade Hand Fragmentation Mark IIA1 work?

Answer 1

A hand grenade can be incredibly handy in an emergency situation. You pull the pin, throw it, and four seconds later it explodes. Let's take a look at how it works.

There are four basic parts to the grenade. There's the pin, which holds the handle on, the handle itself, the fuse, which consists of a heavy metal shell with explosives inside.

Technically the pin doesn't do anything. It's just holding the handle in place. This handle, however, is key. Once it comes off, the grenade is armed and there's no turning back. With the pin removed, the only thing holding the handle on is your hand. Once you throw the grenade, the handle flies off. That releases a spring that throws the striker down into the percussion cap. The impact ignites the cap creating a small spark. The spark ignites a slow burning material inside the fuse. the fuse ignites the detonator which sends off a small explosion inside the grenade.

The detonators explosion lights the main explosive charge inside the grenade, and that blows it apart. Flying metal fragments from the heavy metal casing are what do the damage. So that's how a grenade works.