Pallad grenade launcher
The Pallad is a 40 mm Polish underslung grenade launcher, developed for use with the AKM assault-rifle and intended to replace the kbkg wz. 1960 grenade-launcher rifle. The name of the weapon reflects the Polish-language word for palladium.
The development of the weapon drew on concepts provided by Józef Brodacki.
The wz. 1983 Pallad D, the stand-alone version of the wz. 74, features a stock and AK-type pistol grip.
There are also variants compatible with 40x46mm NATO named GP-40 and GS-40.
Design
The Pallad grenade launcher is a single-shot weapon adapted for mounting under the barrel of a rifle or as a stand-alone weapon. The wz. 1974 grenade launcher is suspended from the rifle at two points: at the front using the barrel clamp of the grenade launcher and at the rear using a bracket that connects the grenade launcher to a special rifle bed.The basic elements of the weapon are:
- A grooved barrel made of hardened aluminum alloy and permanently screwed into the receiver
- The lock - tilted, rotated on a pin and locked in the closed position with a bolt placed in the receiver.
The sight is mounted on the barrel clamp, and its main element is the setting dial, in which the front sight and rear sight are mounted. There are two setting scales marked on the dial: one for the group of flat tracks, the other for steep tracks.
Variants
- 7,62 mm karabinek-granatnik wzór 1974 – a set consisting of a Pallad grenade launcher and an AKM rifle
- 5,45 mm karabinek-granatnik wzór 1974 – a set consisting of a Pallad grenade launcher and an wz. 88 Tantal rifle
- 5,56 mm karabinek-granatnik wzór 1974 – a set consisting of a Pallad grenade launcher and an wz. 96 Beryl rifle
- granatnik wzór 1983 – stand-alone grenade launcher with folding stock
Users
- – 10 were given from Poland and in use by Lithuania before 2003
- – 7,62mm karabinek-granatnik wz. 1974, 5,45mm karabinek-granatnik wz. 1974, 5,56mm karabinek-granatnik wz.1974 and wz. 83 Pallad-D are in use by Polish Land Forces