# Stun grenade
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{{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](/source/M84_stun_grenade)]]
A '''stun grenade''', also known as a '''flash grenade''', '''flashbang''', '''thunderflash''', or '''sound bomb''',[{{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](/source/Daily_Telegraph) |location=London |date=September 3, 2014 }}] is a [non-lethal](/source/Non-lethal_weapon) [explosive device](/source/explosive_device) used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, a stun grenade produces [a blinding flash of light](/source/Flash_blindness) and an extremely loud "bang". They are often used in [close-quarters combat](/source/close-quarters_combat), [door breaching](/source/door_breaching), and [riot control](/source/riot_control), typically to stun enemies or distract them.[{{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}}]
Originally developed to simulate explosions during military training, stun grenades were first used by the [British Army](/source/British_Army) [Special Air Service](/source/Special_Air_Service)'s [counterterrorist](/source/Counterterrorism) wing in the late 1970s,[{{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 }}][Bonneville, Leigh, ''The SAS 1983-2014 (Elite)'', Osprey Publishing, 2016, {{ISBN|1472814037}} {{ISBN|978-1472814036}}, p.9] and have been used by [police](/source/police) and [military](/source/military) forces worldwide since.[McEvoy, Matthew, et al. "State violence against protesters: Perspectives and trends in use of less lethal weapons." ''Torture Journal'' 34.1 (2024): 35.]
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.[{{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 }}]
== 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](/source/megacandela) (Mcd) and an intensely loud "bang" of greater than 170 [decibel](/source/decibel)s (dB).[{{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](/source/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 }}]
== Construction ==
Unlike a [fragmentation grenade](/source/Grenade), stun grenades are constructed with a casing designed to remain intact during detonation and avoid [fragmentation](/source/Fragmentation_(weaponry)) injuries, while having large circular cutouts to allow the light and sound of the explosion through. The filler comprises a [pyrotechnic](/source/Pyrotechnics) metal-oxidant mix of [magnesium](/source/magnesium) or [aluminium](/source/aluminium) and an [oxidizer](/source/Oxidizing_agent) such as [potassium perchlorate](/source/potassium_perchlorate) or [potassium nitrate](/source/potassium_nitrate).[{{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}}]
== Hazards ==
While stun grenades are designed to limit injury, permanent hearing loss has been reported.[{{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}}][{{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}}] 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](/source/Iranian_Embassy_siege) in London were caused by stun grenades.[{{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}}]
==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](/source/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](/source/GlobalSecurity.org), 1 September 2000. Ch. 1, Sec. 10. "Stun Hand Grenades". Retrieved on 26 May 2011.
Category:Stun grenades
Category:British inventions
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stun grenade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stun_grenade) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stun_grenade?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.