G79 Grenade Launcher (2024)

"The G79 was created by the US Army to grant infantry an impressive mix of firepower, range, and accuracy and at the same time achieve being more portable than a mortar. "
— In-game description

The G79, is a grenade launcher that appears in the game Generation Zero. It uses the new grenade rounds. It is a single shot grenade launcher. It is one of the three weapons included in the US weapons pack 2.

Pros[]

• Explosive damage
• Explodes on impact
• Versatile ammunition
• Commonly found on soviet machines

Cons[]

• Weakest explosive weapon in the game
• Affected by gravity

Weapon Attachments[]

Locations[]

Dilapidated

• Potential drop from:
  • Prototype Harvesters

Worn

• Potential drop from:
  • Prototype Harvesters
  • Military Harvesters

Good

• Default from the US weapons pack 2
• Potential drop from:
  • Military Harvesters

Exceptional

• Potential drop from:
  • Military Harvesters
  • FNIX Harvesters

Special

• Potential drop from:
  • FNIX Harvesters
  • Apocalypse Harvesters

Strategy[]

• The G79 grenade launcher may be used as covering fire as allies attack large targets such as Tanks, Wolves, and Harvesters

Trivia[]

• The G79 is based on the M79 grenade launcher. A single grenade launcher that was the first grenade launcher in history to be built.
• The M79 was made as an attempt to increase firepower for the infantryman by having an explosive projectile more accurate with further range than rifle grenades, but more portable than a mortar.
• The M79 is still in use today by countries other than the US.
• The sight on the real world M79 can be folded down for close range, unlike the game's version.
  • In the weapons pack image and in its icon, the G79 grenade launcher has its sights down.
• A common trope in video games, the G79 has no co*cking arm and co*cking lever, meaning it should be unable to fire.
• The G79 is the first DLC grenade launcher to be added.
• The G79’s grenades immediately arm themselves as they leave the barrel and explode upon anything they hit, even in close range. All real world explosive 40mm grenades (including the M406 40mm HE that the one in game seems to use, based on time-period and effect), have a spin-activation safety feature, wherein the grenade needs to rotate a certain amount of times, at which point it will have reached the arming distance (14-27 meters in the case of the M406), before it can detonate, to prevent the user from harming themselves if they misjudge distance and fire into something too close to them, or if the barrel is obstructed.

real-life counterpart//history[]

The M79 was a result of the US Army's Project Niblick, an attempt to increase firepower for the infantryman by having an explosive projectile more accurate with further range than rifle grenades, but more portable than a mortar. Project Niblick created the 40 x 46 mm grenade but was unable to create a satisfactory launcher for it that could fire more than a single shot. One of the launchers at Springfield Armory was the three-shot "harmonica" T148 (not to be confused with the later, underbarrel XM148), which did see some limited production and fielding in Vietnam, but problems with the three-round magazine prevented widespread acceptance. The other design was a single-shot break-open, shoulder-fired weapon, the S-3. This was refined into the S-5, which resembled an oversized single-barrel shotgun. Unable to solve the problems with the multi-shot T148 launcher, the Army adopted the S-5 as the XM79. With a new sight, the XM79 was officially adopted as the M79 on December 15, 1960.

In 1961, the first M79 grenade launchers were delivered to the US Army. Owing to its ease of use, reliability, and firepower, the M79 became popular among American soldiers, who dubbed it "the platoon leader's artillery".^{[self-published source]} Some soldiers would cut down the stock and barrel to make the M79 even more portable.

The M79 saw combat in the Vietnam War beginning in the early days, when M79 Grenadiers assigned to major Army divisions first arrived to see combat in Vietnam in 1965, including the 1st Cavalry Division, the 1st Infantry Division, the 101st Airborne Division, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. M79s were assigned to the specialist 4 grenadier in both 4-5-man fire teams organic to an Army rifle squad headed by a squad leader. The Marines assigned one grenadier to their three-fire team 14-man rifle squad.

However, its single-shot nature was a serious drawback. Reloading after every shot meant a slow rate of fire and an inability to keep up a constant volume of fire during a firefight. This led the Navy to develop the China Lake Grenade Launcher, which was produced for deployed SEAL Teams. For close-in situations, the minimum arming range (the round travels 30 meters to arm itself) and the blast radius meant a grenadier had to use his .45 cal. (11.43 mm) pistol, or fire and hope that the grenade acted as a giant slow bullet. Special grenades for close-in fighting were created to compensate, though a soldier was not always able to load one in the heat of battle. Moreover, its size meant that a grenadier armed with the M79 could not carry a rifle, having only a sidearm to use in a firefight after expending his grenades, though some grenadiers opted to carry a slung M16 rifle in lieu of a sidearm.

Cut-down M-79 captured by Marines in 1968

Underbarrel grenade launchers, such as the XM148and the M203, both designed as attachments for the M16 rifle, were developed during the Vietnam War, allowing the grenadier to also function as a rifleman. The XM148 was plagued with problems and the project was dropped. The M203 was however a success, and was standardized in 1969; it had replaced the M79 by the end of the war, though M79s were still used in Reserve and National Guard units.

Some US Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces in Iraq have been seen using the M79 in recent years, due to its greater accuracy and range compared to the M203 (350 meters effective versus 150 meters effective). The M79 has seen notable limited use during Operation Iraqi Freedom, such as for clearing IEDs.The grenade launcher also sees continued use as a mission-specific tool with Special warfare combatant-craft crewmen.