{{Short description|Non-lethal grenade}} {{redirect|Flashbang}} {{redirect|Thunderflash|the RF-84F Thunderflash reconnaissance aircraft|Republic F-84F Thunderstreak}} [[File:M-84-Flash-Bang-Grenade.jpg|thumb|M84 stun grenade]] A '''stun grenade''', also known as a '''flash grenade''', '''flashbang''', '''thunderflash''', or '''sound bomb''',<ref>{{Cite news |title=Drugs raid recovers tonnes of cocaine and marijuana in Chile |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/chile/11072826/Drugs-raid-recovers-tonnes-of-cocaine-and-marijuana-in-Chile.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904053012/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/chile/11072826/Drugs-raid-recovers-tonnes-of-cocaine-and-marijuana-in-Chile.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 4, 2014 |work=Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=September 3, 2014 }}</ref> is a non-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, a stun grenade produces a blinding flash of light and an extremely loud "bang". They are often used in close-quarters combat, door breaching, and riot control, typically to stun enemies or distract them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Joint Intermediate Force Capabilities Office > Current Intermediate Force Capabilities > M-84 Flash Bang Grenade |url=https://jnlwp.defense.gov/Current-Intermediate-Force-Capabilities/M-84-Flash-Bang-Grenade/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929104907/https://jnlwp.defense.gov/Current-Intermediate-Force-Capabilities/M-84-Flash-Bang-Grenade/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 29, 2020 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=United States Department of Defense}}</ref>
Originally developed to simulate explosions during military training, stun grenades were first used by the British Army Special Air Service's counterterrorist wing in the late 1970s,<ref>{{Cite web |title=SAS - Weapons - Flash Bang | Stun Grenade |url=http://www.eliteukforces.info/special-air-service/weapons/stun-grenade.php |publisher=Elite UK Forces |access-date=2013-05-29 |archive-date=2017-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831151008/http://www.eliteukforces.info/special-air-service/weapons/stun-grenade.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Bonneville, Leigh, ''The SAS 1983-2014 (Elite)'', Osprey Publishing, 2016, {{ISBN|1472814037}} {{ISBN|978-1472814036}}, p.9</ref> and have been used by police and military forces worldwide since.<ref>McEvoy, Matthew, et al. "State violence against protesters: Perspectives and trends in use of less lethal weapons." ''Torture Journal'' 34.1 (2024): 35.</ref>
Despite their less-lethal nature, stun grenades are still capable of causing harm, and can injure or kill when detonating in close proximity. They are also capable of sparking fires.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Angwin |first1=Julia |last2=Nehring |first2=Abbie |title=Hotter Than Lava |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/flashbangs |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=ProPublica |date=12 January 2015 }}</ref>
== Effects == thumb|upright=1.2|A stun grenade, thrown by U.S. Marines during a training exercise, detonating in a small roomStun grenades are designed to produce a blinding flash of light of around 7 megacandela (Mcd) and an intensely loud "bang" of greater than 170 decibels (dB).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Measurement of Exposure to Impulsive Noise at Indoor and Outdoor Firing Ranges During Tactical Training Exercises |url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2013-0124-3208.pdf |access-date=2013-08-25 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |archive-date=2017-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219070647/https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2013-0124-3208.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Construction == Unlike a fragmentation grenade, stun grenades are constructed with a casing designed to remain intact during detonation and avoid fragmentation injuries, while having large circular cutouts to allow the light and sound of the explosion through. The filler comprises a pyrotechnic metal-oxidant mix of magnesium or aluminium and an oxidizer such as potassium perchlorate or potassium nitrate.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tumbarska |first=Adelina |chapter=Non-Lethal Weapons in Domestic Law Enforcement: Some Legal and Ethical Aspects |date=2018 |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.18485/fb_ic4hs.2018.4 |title=4th International Conference on Human Security |pages=39–45 |place=Belgrade |publisher=University of Belgrade, Faculty of Security Studies, Human Security Research Center |doi=10.18485/fb_ic4hs.2018.4 |isbn=978-86-80144-30-6 |access-date=2023-02-08}}</ref>
== Hazards == While stun grenades are designed to limit injury, permanent hearing loss has been reported.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://kashmirobserver.net/2016/local-news/stun-grenades-cause-permanent-hearing-loss-dak-9896 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214073334/https://kashmirobserver.net/2016/local-news/stun-grenades-cause-permanent-hearing-loss-dak-9896 |archive-date=2018-02-14 |title=Stun grenades cause permanent hearing loss |work=Kashmir Observer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2009/08/military-still-trying-to-replace-dangerous-stun-grenades/|title=Military Still Trying to Replace Dangerous Stun Grenades|first=David|last=Hambling|date=August 6, 2009|magazine=Wired}}</ref> The concussive blast has the ability to cause injuries, and the heat generated may ignite flammable materials. The fires that occurred during the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London were caused by stun grenades.<ref name="embassy">{{cite web|url=https://sofrep.com/news/iranian-embassy-siege/|publisher=The SOFREP Media Group|title=40 years ago the British SAS stormed the Iranian Embassy and became world famous|access-date=June 12, 2023|last=Perry|first=Mike|date=April 30, 2020}}</ref>
==See also== * {{annotated link|Blast ball}} * {{annotated link|Dazzler (weapon)|Dazzler}} * {{annotated link|M84 stun grenade}} * {{annotated link|NICO BTV-1 flash-bang grenade}} * Smoke grenade
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{commons category}} * [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-23-30/ch1.htm FM 3-23.30 ''Grenades and Pyrotechnic Signals'']. GlobalSecurity.org, 1 September 2000. Ch. 1, Sec. 10. "Stun Hand Grenades". Retrieved on 26 May 2011.
Category:Stun grenades Category:British inventions