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 solve the problems with the multi-shot T148 launcher, the Army adopted the S-5 as the XM79. This was refined into the S-5, which resembled an oversized single-barrel shotgun. The other design was a single-shot break-open, shoulder-fired weapon, the S-3. One of the launchers at Springfield Armory was the three-shot "harmonica" T148 (not to be confused with the later, underbarrel XM148), which did see some limited production and fielding in Vietnam, but problems with the three-round magazine prevented widespread acceptance. 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 the US Army's 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. All real world explosive 40mm grenades (including the M406 40mm HE that the one in game seems to use, based on time-period and effect), have a spin-activation safety feature, wherein the grenade needs to rotate a certain amount of times, at which point it will have reached the arming distance (14-27 meters in the case of the M406), before it can detonate, to prevent the user from harming themselves if they misjudge distance and fire into something too close to them, or if the barrel is obstructed.
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