40mm grenade

40mm grenades are an ammunition type found in Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 76, Fallout Tactics and Van Buren.

Background
Created after World War II using the High-Low system developed by the Germans for the 8cm Panzerabwehrwerfer 600, the 40mm grenade offers the operator the ability to deliver a large caliber explosive round to the target with very manageable recoil. The 40mm grenade achieves this by first igniting the propellant in a cup-shaped high-pressure chamber, which then breaks through the copper cover, venting into a low-pressure chamber and propelling the grenade out of its shell and towards the target. The simple, but effective solution has made the 40mm one of the most widely used grenade launcher shells in military service.

Standard


The basic 40mm grenade is loaded with an explosive fragmentation warhead that deals respectable damage to any target it encounters.

Incendiary


A variant of the basic 40mm grenade, the warhead is loaded with an incendiary payload, designed to deal damage both through explosive force and by inflicting burns on soft targets and damaging hard ones.

Plasma


A variant of the 40mm grenade, with a magnetic containment unit placed in the warhead. Upon impact, the unit releases a plasma blast that deals excellent damage. However, plasma blooming reduces the blast radius severely.

Pulse


A variant of the standard 40mm grenade, where the warhead was replaced with a device that explodes on impact, creating a pulse of electromagnetic radiation damaging electronics in its vicinity. The limited amount of explosive used in the warhead limits blast damage, but there's no better weapon to use against robots or power armored troops.

Illumination


A specialist munition, where the warhead has been replaced with a payload that detonates on impact and burns for an extended period of time, providing illumination.