History Main / ConcussionFrags

** Humorously, the descriptions for the frags throughout the series generally states that they have an effective range of two feet.

* Concussion grenades are presented fairly realistically, but act exactly like frags in the same medium. This is common in games and movies set in WorldWarII, where the Allied frags will have exactly the same effect as the concussive German "stick grenades".

* "Frag" grenades in ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.'' have a visible and rather large-radiused concussion blast]].

* "Frag" grenades in ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.'' have a visible and rather large-radiused concussion blast.

Of course, this isn't how it works in Real Life. Real frag grenades throw shrapnel, with a kill radius of fifteen meters; these fragments, of course, are no more likely to throw you into the air than a normal bullet([[BlownAcrossTheRoom let us rephrase that...]]). The Hollywood portrayal of grenades are closer to concussion grenades, which rely upon sheer explosive force; this gives them a much shorter range than frags, which is why modern militaries rarely use them.

Of course, this isn't how it works in Real Life. Real frag grenades throw shrapnel, with a kill radius of fifteen meters; these fragments, of course, are no more likely to throw you into the air than a normal bullet. The Hollywood portrayal of grenades are closer to concussion grenades, which rely upon sheer explosive force; this gives them a much shorter range than frags, which is why modern militaries rarely use them.

* This is usually averted in the [[ShownYourWork surprisingly well-researched]] spy comedy {{Archer}}, but Sterling Archer does sometimes drunkenly mix up the two.
-->'''Archer''': [[FamousLastWords Relax, Lana, it's only a smoke grenade.]]

[[/folder]]

->''"There ain’t a magical wall at 15 meters—had a hole punched in my cheek at about 90 meters over a year ago back on Ballast. Could’a lost an eye or even been killed. Remember when you hear that call or a thump to keep your head down.”''

* Virtually every video game except for intentionally realistic ones plays this trope straight.

In reality, frags actually produce rather small explosions, without the enormous shockwave or fireball that normally accompanies a grenade explosion in an action movie. Structural damage to the surrounding area is not significant unless flammables are present, and people don't get blasted into the air. The reason for this is that a frag grenade is designed to transfer as much of its chemical potential energy as possible into the kinetic energy of its shrapnel, rather than producing a powerful localized shockwave and fireball. Therefore, a frag grenade explosion in a typical room will leave it looking much the way it was before. However, a close inspection of the room would reveal countless jagged metal fragments embedded in the walls, and any men in the room would be dead. Moreover, even men in adjacent rooms might be dead or injured, depending on their proximity and the construction materials used. The velocity of the fragments is such that they will easily penetrate deeply into all normal building materials, so drywall and even wooden doors would not provide enough protection. Also, the "up and over" frag explosions are also a myth: any cover is better than no cover, and smallest profile prone is better than broadside prone, but you're still guaranteed multiple wounds unless you have an incipient Medal of Honor (posthumous) candidate [[JumpingonaGrenade intent on smothering the blast]], or (even less likely to be entirely successful) someone up to the challenge of [[GrenadeHotPotato speedballing a return pitch]]. Obviously, these aren't used haphazardly in {{Real Life}}.

Concussion grenades, to the contrary, rely on the massive overpressure caused by the explosion, which gives them entirely different application, especially due to the relatively small casualty radius (about 2 meters as opposed to 15 meters for frags). Concussion grenades are especially effective indoors, where the overpressure effect is amplified; the detonation will likely kill everybody in the room, blowing out walls and causing structural damage. They can also be used for more offensive purposes too, as their short range allows them to be effectively used to assault enemy trenches without having to worry about shrapnel cutting down your rushing allies. Contrary to Hollywood portrayal, these are very dangerous: the overpressure is extremely high in the casualty radius, breaking bones and disrupting vital organs. The blast wind is capable of [[BlownAcrosstheRoom blowing people into the air]], which is extremely problematic if there happens to be a stationary object behind them. Those on the outside of the explosion will suffer fringe concussive effects, getting extremely disoriented and becoming easy targets. That said, they're still very uncommon in modern militaries.

This isn't how it works in Hollywood and video games, though. There are several types of concussion frags seen in media:

Remember, this only applies to grenades that look like or are referred to as frags. If things are exploding when they shouldn't, the object is {{Made of Explodium}}. For stun grenades, see {{Blinded by the Light}}. May cause an {{Impairment Shot}} in video games. When frags are presented realistically, expect a bad case of {{The Coconut Effect}}. For the real-life effects of getting fragged, see {{Death of a Thousand Cuts}}.

* In {{The Rock}}, a mook, after about three seconds of "cooking", lobs a frag at Goodspeed, who happens to be in a minecart type container. After staring at it for about five seconds, Goodspeed throws it back, where it lies for another few seconds as the mook and his partner runs away. It detonates in a fiery explosion about three feet away from him, and, needless to say, nobody gets hurt.
* In {{Act of Valor}}, every time one of the SEALs throws a frag, the explosion sets everything nearby on fire. Later, when two terrorists detonate their bomb vests, shrapnel is seen flying around the area; the two SEALs nearby get thrown through the air, but don't seem to take any shrapnel wounds.

In reality, frags actually produce rather small explosions, without the enormous shockwave or fireball that normally accompanies a grenade explosion in an action movie. Structural damage to the surrounding area is not significant unless flammables are present, and people don't get blasted into the air. The reason for this is that a frag grenade is designed to transfer as much of its chemical potential energy as possible into the kinetic energy of its shrapnel, rather than producing a powerful localized shockwave and fireball. Therefore, a frag grenade explosion in a typical room will leave it looking much the way it was before. However, a close inspection of the room would reveal countless jagged metal fragments embedded in the walls, and any men in the room would be dead. Moreover, even men in adjacent rooms might be dead or injured, depending on their proximity and the construction materials used. The velocity of the fragments is such that they will easily penetrate deeply into all normal building materials, so drywall and even wooden doors would not provide enough protection. Also, the "up and over" frag explosions are also a myth: any cover is better than no cover, and smallest profile prone is better than broadside prone, but you're still guaranteed multiple wounds unless you have an incipient MOH (posthumous) candidate [[JumpingonaGrenade intent on smothering the blast]], or (even less likely to be entirely successful) someone up to the challenge of [[GrenadeHotPotato speedballing a return pitch]]. Obviously, these aren't used haphazardly in {{Real Life}}.

* Very heavily averted in ''7.62 High Caliber'', as grenades have very small explosions and actually "fire" individually tracked projectiles upon detonation in an expanding cloud. The best response to an impending explosion that you can't run from is to drop prone, since the fragmentation cloud clears ground level in a few meters. It's also fully possible for someone within the casualty radius to be totally unharmed as the fragments manage to miss him, and they leave bullet holes in all surfaces perforated by the explosion. Fragmentation grenades mainly differ in how many fragments they throw out (and what range), and the time to detonation.

The hero [[ConcealmentEqualsCover dives behind cover]], narrowly dodging several bullets and appearing to be safe. But it's not meant to be; an enemy mook grabs a frag from his belt, [[CallingYourAttacks shouts "frag out!"]], and immediately lobs the grenade at the hero. He manages to crawl a few paces away before the frag erupts into a massive fireball, [[BlownAcrosstheRoom tossing the hero through the air]]; amazingly, the hero runs off, apparently unscathed except for a few burns. He just survived an encounter with a concussion frag.

* Played straight in {{Resident Evil 4}}, where the pressed-steel, generic fragmentation grenades blow enemies about 15 feet across the map.

** Averted in [[ResidentEvil5 5]] and [[ResidentEvilRevelations Revelations]] where they visually resemble real life concussion grenades.

* In {{The Rock}}, a mook, after about three seconds of "cooking", lobs a frag at Goodspeed, who happens to be in a minecart type container. After staring at it for about five seconds, Goodspeed throws it back, where it lies for another few seconds as the mook and his partner runs away. It detonates in a fiery explosion about three feet away from him, and, needless to say, nobody gets hurt.

In reality, frags actually produce rather small explosions, without the enormous shockwave or fireball that normally accompanies a grenade explosion in an action movie. Structural damage to the surrounding area is not significant unless flammables are present. The reason for this is that a frag grenade is designed to transfer as much of its chemical potential energy as possible into the kinetic energy of its shrapnel, rather than producing a powerful localized shockwave and fireball. Therefore, a frag grenade explosion in a typical room will leave it looking much the way it was before. However, a close inspection of the room would reveal countless jagged metal fragments embedded in the walls, and any men in the room would be dead. Moreover, even men in adjacent rooms might be dead or injured, depending on their proximity and the construction materials used. The velocity of the fragments is such that they will easily penetrate deeply into all normal building materials, so drywall and even wooden doors would not provide enough protection. Also, the "up and over" frag explosions are also a myth: any cover is better than no cover, and smallest profile prone is better than broadside prone, but you're still guaranteed multiple wounds unless you have an incipient MOH (posthumous) candidate [[JumpingonaGrenade intent on smothering the blast]], or (even less likely to be entirely successful) someone up to the challenge of [[GrenadeHotPotato speedballing a return pitch]]. Obviously, these aren't used haphazardly in {{Real Life}}.

----

->''"There ain’t a magical wall at fifteen meters—had a hole punched in my cheek at about ninety meters over a year ago back on Ballast. Could’a lost an eye or even been killed. Remember when you hear that call or a thump to keep your head down.”''

* Concussion grenades are presented fairly realistically, but act exactly like frags in the same medium. This is common in games and movies set in WWII, where the Allied frags will have exactly the same effect as the concussive German "stick grenades".
* Concussion or frag grenades have effects that neither of them have in real life; for instance, setting things on fire (although this may be justified if they're some sort of a fuel tank nearby).

Remember, this only applies to grenades that look like or are referred to as frags. If things are exploding when they shouldn't, the object is {{Made of Explodium}}. For stun grenades, see {{Blinded by the Light}}. May cause an {{Impairment Shot}} in video games. When frags are presented realistically, expect a bad case of {{The Pineapple Effect}}. For the real life effects of getting fragged, see {{Death of a Thousand Cuts}}.

In reality, frags actually produce rather small explosions, without the enormous shockwave or fireball that normally accompanies a grenade explosion in an action movie. Structural damage to the surrounding area is not significant unless flammables are present. The reason for this is that a frag grenade is designed to transfer as much of its chemical potential energy as possible into the kinetic energy of its shrapnel, rather than producing a powerful localized shockwave and fireball. Therefore, a frag grenade explosion in a typical room will leave it looking much the way it was before. However, a close inspection of the room would reveal countless jagged metal fragments embedded in the walls, and any men in the room would be dead. Moreover, even men in adjacent rooms might be dead or injured, depending on their proximity and the construction materials used. The velocity of the fragments is such that they will easily penetrate deeply into all normal building materials, so drywall and even wooden doors would not provide enough protection. Also, the "up and over" frag explosions are also a myth: any cover is better than no cover, and smallest profile prone is better than broadside prone, but you're still guaranteed multiple wounds unless you have an incipient MOH (posthumous) candidate [[JumpingonaGrenade intent on smothering the blast]], or (even less likely to be entirely successful) someone up to the challenge of [[GrenadeHotPotato speedballing a return pitch]].