Mk 19 Grenade Launcher

The Mk 19 Grenade Launcher is an American belt-fed, API blowback-operated open bolt 40mm automatic grenade launcher. It was developed as a weapon for riverline patrol craft during the Vietnam War by the US Navy's Naval Ordnance Station in Louisville, as a successor to the interesting but limited crank-operated Mk 18 40x46mm automatic grenade launcher (or "gun, rapid fire, 40mm" as it was classified at the time) and the blow-forward 40x46mm Mk 20. This is why it uses the Navy "Mk" prefix despite now being more commonly associated with the Army.
The new weapon used the more powerful 40x53mm cartridge developed in the late 1950s and first used with the Army's M75 grenade launcher. The initial Mod 0 variant produced in 1966 and first deployed in 1968 was incredibly crude and judged to be unreliable and unsafe, but several examples of the improved Mk 19 Mod 1 were successfully deployed on patrol boats in the Mekong Delta in 1972. A total of around 1,000 Mod 1s were produced or modified from existing Mod 0s. The Mod 2 was an experimental lightweight version from 1974 which never worked properly and was abandoned in the prototype stage.
The most recognised and widespread version is the Mod 3: work on this variant began in 1976 as a broad package to simplify and improve the robustness of the still quite finicky Mod 1, and it was type classified by the US Navy as the Mk 19 Mod 3 in 1981, with the improvement sufficient that the US Army adopted the weapon as well in 1983. It has been extensively exported with some 35,000 Mk 19 Mod 3s being produced for around 30 customers, and is a robust, powerful and reliable system. Since it fires grenades that use the high / low recoil mitigation principle and uses API (advanced primer ignition) blowback operation, it has relatively gentle recoil for its size, allowing it to be mounted on light vehicles. Cyclic rate of fire is 300-400 RPM, with a practical rate of 40 RPM during sustained fire and 60 RPM for rapid emergency fire.
Several plans to replace it have come and gone over the years, mostly trying to produce something a little lighter (an empty Mk 19 Mod 3 on an M3 tripod weighs 145 pounds) and designed to accept modern optics and fire control systems (the Mk 19 is only really compatible with the elderly AN/TVS-5 starlight scope). The XM307 ACSW (50 pounds empty with tripod and fire control system, 80 pounds loaded) was ultimately cancelled, while the Mk 47 Mod 0 Grenade Launcher (90 pounds empty with tripod and fire control system), at one point mooted to be the replacement for the Mk 19, has thus far only being purchased in limited numbers by USSOCOM and similar special operations groups.
The Mk 19 grenade launcher has appeared in the following films, television series, and video games used by the following actors:
=Specifications=
(Mk 19 Mod 0: 1966-1971)(Mk 19 Mod 1: 1971-1981)(Mk 19 Mod 3: 1981-present)
* Type: Grenade machine gun / automatic grenade launcher
* Caliber(s): 40x53mm high velocity
* Weight: Mk 19 Mod 3 gun body + feed throat + for Mk 64 or Mk 93 gun cradle and for M3 tripod or for M205 tripod + for 32-round PA120 belt box or for 48-round M548 belt box
* Length: 
* Barrel length(s): 
* Capacity: Belt-fed, usually 32- or 48-round belt box
* Fire Modes: Auto only, 300-400 RPM: safe / fire selector at base of spade grips
== Film ==
Title 	Actor	Character 	Note 	Date
GoldenEye 	 	Q-Lab Technicians 	Mounted on All-Terrain Vehicle 	1995
Jurassic Park III 	 	U.S. Marines 	Mounted on AAV7A1 APC's 	2001
War of the Worlds 	 	U.S. Army soldiers	Mounted on Humvee 	2005
Jarhead 	 	U.S. Marines 	Mounted on Humvee 	2005
Battle: Los Angeles 	 	U.S. Marines 	Mounted on Humvees and AAV7A1 APC's	2011
Johnny English Reborn 	 	 	Mounted on vehicle 	2011
The Avengers 	 	National Guard 	Mounted on Humvee 	2012
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes	 	survivor colony 	 	2014
Chappie 	 	 	Mounted on MOOSE 	2015
== Television ==
Title 	Actor	Character 	Note/Episode 	Date
seaQuest DSV 	 	UEO Marines 	Mounted on Humvee; "Dagger Redux" 	1995
CSI: NY 	 	U.S. Marine 	Mounted on M113 APC;"Heroes" (S2E23)	2006
Generation Kill	 	U.S. Marines	Mounted on Humvee 	2007
Secret Invasion	 	US Soldier 	Mounted on Humvee; "Home" (S1E06) 	2023
==Anime==
Title 	Character	Note 	Date
Cat Planet Cuties	soldiers 	Mounted on Humvee	2010
 
==Video Games==
Game Title 	Appears As 	Notes 	Date
Delta Force: Land Warrior 	Auto-Grenade 	 	2000
Conflict: Desert Storm II 	 	 	2003
Far Cry 	Mortar 	Shown as very slow-firing weapon with a computerised rangefinder 	2004
Project Reality 	 	Mounted on AAV7A1 & M1126 Stryker APC's 	2005
Conflict: Global Terror 	 	 	2005
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 	 	on M3 tripod 	2006
Alliance of Valiant Arms 	 	Mounted on MOWAG Piranha, unusable 	2007
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 	 	Mounted on CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter 	2007
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames 	Emplaced GL 	w/ gun shield 	2008
Far Cry 2 	 	Mounted on Assault Trucks 	2008
America's Army 3 	 	Seen on loading screen, unusable 	2009
ArmA II 	 	Tripod and vehicle-mounted 	2009
Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising	 	Static, turret-mounted on M1025 Humvee, stern-mounted on Small Unit Riverine Craft (SURC), coaxially-mounted on AAV7A1 Amtrac	2009
Terminator Salvation 	 	mounted on APCs 	2009
Battlefield 3 	Mk 19 	Mounted on USMC Humvees 	2011
Counter-Strike Online 	"Mounted Machine Gun" 	Appears as a mounted weapon which fire non-explosive rounds 	2012
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance 	 	Custom version mounted on Grad, Mastiff and Slider unmanned vehicles 	2013
Battlefield 4 	Mk 19 	Mounted on AAVP7A1, and USMC Desert Patrol Vehicles exclusive to Second Assault DLC 	2014
Squad 	MK19 	AAVP7A1, tripod emplacement 	2015
Rainbow Six Siege 	 	Unusable; seen in cutscene 	2015
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades 	 	Fictional man-portable version 	2016
Call to Arms 	 	 	2018
Fallout 76 	"Auto Grenade Launcher"	Man-portable, incorrectly chambers low-velocity 40mm grenades, barrel modifications change flash hider appearance 	2018
=See Also=
*Alliant Techsystems - A list of all firearms manufactured by Alliant Techsystems.
*U.S. Ordnance - A list of all firearms manufactured by U.S. Ordnance.
Category:Gun
Category:Grenade Launcher