A grenadier may simply point and shoot with high accuracy. When folded, the leaf sight acts as a fixed sight for close range. The rear sight on the M79 is a folding ladder-style leaf-type sight. A rubber pad affixed to the buttstock absorbs some recoil. The stock is made out of wood or fiberglass. The fore-end assembly beds the barrel to the receiver. Visually, the M79 grenade launcher resembles a large bore, break-action, sawed-off shotgun, and is simple in design, having only five parts: a receiver group, a fore-end assembly, a barrel group, a sight assembly, and a stock. The M79 has seen notable limited use during Operation Iraqi Freedom, such as for clearing Improvised explosive devices. Some US Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces in Iraq have been seen using the M79 in recent years, most likely due to its greater accuracy and range compared to the M203 (350m effective versus 150 m effective on the M203). The M203 was a success, and was standardized in 1969 it had replaced the M79 by the end of the war, though M79s were still used in Reserve and National Guard units. The XM148 was plagued with problems and the project was dropped. Underbarrel grenade launchers, such as the XM148 and the M203, where the grenade launcher attaches to the rifle, were developed during the Vietnam War, allowing the grenadier to function also as a rifleman. Moreover, its size meant that a soldier with an M79 would be dedicated to being only a grenadier, and if he ran out of ammunition had nothing but a pistol and knife to contribute to a firefight. Specialty grenades for close-in fighting were created to compensate, though a soldier did not always have the luxury of being able to load one in the heat of battle. Also, for close-in situations, the minimum arming range (the round must travel 30 meters to arm itself) and the blast radius meant a grenadier would have to either resort to a backup pistol, if he had one to begin with, or fire and hope that the grenade would not arm itself but instead act as a giant slow bullet. However, its single-shot nature was a serious drawback having to reload after every shot meant a slow rate of fire and therefore an inability to keep up a constant volume of fire during a firefight. Some soldiers would cut down the stock and barrel to make the M79 even more portable. Owing to its ease of use, reliability, and firepower, the M79 became popular among American soldiers, who dubbed it "the platoon leader's artillery". In 1961, the first M79 grenade launchers were delivered to the US Army. With a new sight, the XM79 was officially adopted as the M79 on December 15, 1960. Unable to develop a suitable multi-shot launcher, the Army adopted the S-5 as the XM79. It was refined into the S-5, which resembled an over-sized shotgun. One of the launchers at Springfield Armory was the single-shot break-open, shoulder-fired S-3. Project Niblick created the 40 x 46 mm grenade, but was unable to create a satisfactory launcher for it that could fire more than a single shot. The M79 was a result of Project Niblick, an attempt to increase firepower for the infantryman by having an explosive projectile more accurate with further range than rifle grenades, but more portable than a mortar. While largely replaced by the M203, the M79 has remained in service in many units worldwide in niche roles. The M79 can fire a wide variety of 40 mm rounds, including explosive, anti-personnel, smoke, buckshot, flechette, and illumination. Because of its distinctive report, it has earned the nicknames of "Thumper", "Thump-Gun", "Bloop Tube", and "Blooper" among American soldiers Australian units referred to it as the "Wombat Gun". The M79 grenade launcher is a single-shot, shoulder-fired, break-action grenade launcher that fires a 40x46mm grenade which uses what the US Army calls the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low, and first appeared during the Vietnam War. Springfield Armory, Action Manufacturing Company, Exotic Metal Products, Kanarr Corporation, and Thompson-Ramo-Woolridge Vietnam War, Cambodian Civil War, Falklands War, Iraq War, Cambodian–Thai border stand-off, 2010 Burma border clashes
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