M75 hand grenade
Hand grenade
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The M75 grenade (English: kashikara, Serbian Latin: kašikara, Serbian Cyrillic: кашикара) is a Yugoslav hand grenade,[1] efficient in trenches, forests and bunkers.
| M-75 anti-personnel hand grenade | |
|---|---|
The picture shows both the grenade and its plastic transportation can. | |
| Type | Hand grenade |
| Place of origin | Yugoslavia |
| Service history | |
| Wars | Yugoslav Wars |
| Production history | |
| Variants | M93 (Macedonia) |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 335 g (11.8 oz) |
| Length | 89 g (3.1 oz) |
| Diameter | 57 mm (2.2 in) |
| Filling | Plastic explosive |
| Filling weight | 33 g (1.2 oz) |
Design
The grenade consists of a body, an explosive charge and "mouse trap" style fuse mechanism, all contained in a plastic transportation can.
The core contains 3,000 steel balls with a diameter of 2.5–3 mm (0.098–0.118 in) with an effective killing radius of 12–18 m (39–59 ft), and a casualty radius of 30–54 m (98–177 ft). The explosive charge is 36–38 g (1.3–1.3 oz) of plastic explosive.
The fuse, named "bušon" in Serbian, has a delay time of 3 to 4.4 seconds. Its name comes from the Serbian word for a spoon, "kašika". In American English, the lever of the grenade is colloquially known as the "spoon".
Variant
M-93
North Macedonian production variant.
Criminal usage
Croatia
In 2021, one M75 hand grenade was used in Pakrac, Croatia.
Milorad Arsenić, a former member of Serbian paramilitary forces in Croatia[citation needed] attacked three employees of Croatian power company HEP that came to disconnect his power for unpaid bills.[2][3]
In 2024, an M75 hand grenade exploded at a party in Knin, Croatia, killing a 25-year-old man and injuring four others.[4]
Kosovo
In 2023, one M75 hand grenade was used in the ethnically-mixed 'Bosniak Neighborhood' in North Mitrovica, Kosovo.
A car was damaged, in what minister of interior Xhelal Sveçla claimed to be an attack by criminal structures in reaction to the arrest of 3 ethnic Serbs in the town of Vushtrri, suspected of war crimes in the Kosovo War.[5]
Sweden
A shipment of leftover M75 grenades (and the M-93) from the Yugoslav Wars was taken to Sweden and sold for as little as 20 kronor a piece to organised criminals and street gangs, who have been using them in numerous attacks since 2008 (ongoing as of 2025).[6][7][8]
England
M75 grenades were used by criminal families in England, including an attack that killed two police officers in 2012.[9]
Belgium
In 2018, two M75 hand grenades were used in Deurne, Antwerp. The attack is possibly linked to a drug war in Antwerp.[10]
Germany
In 2001, the M75 was used to attack the VIP-Area of a Club in Hamburg. 9 People were injured, including the singer of Lord of the Lost, Chris Harms.[11]
The M75 was used during a gang war in the region around Stuttgart in 2023. During a funeral of a gang member at the cemetery of Altbach near Esslingen, a member of a rival gang threw one M75 at the mourners. The grenade bounced of a tree branch, throwing it off course, and exploded near the ground, still leaving 15 people injured. According to police reports, a direct hit would have led to 20+ fatalities.[12][13]
See also
- M67 hand grenade – (United States)
- RGD-5 – (Soviet Union)