Rgd-5

[Fragman]

Hi, I am looking for information on instructional grenades coming out of Bulgaria. There are RGD-5s, RGO-78s, and RG-42s all with very similar paint and markings. I am particularly interested in an RGD-5 I recently acquired. Its in near mint condition, so Id assume its an unissued factory made instructional grenade. However, where the paint has chipped away you can see a lighter green colour and there is evidence of stenciling under the outer paint (you can see a 78 to the right of the 5). If you have any knowledge of these grenades Id appreciate your comments. Thanks Colin

 

[US-Subs]

We saw a bunch of Bulgarian grenades in Kuwait that had been repainted, the thought then was that it was just a re-paint to meet customer marking requests. Have you seen them with magenta markings?

 

[Grenadier]

Hi Colin,
It's not usual for RGD-5s to have such understencilling. And the 78 is most unusual, because if this was mark of production's year (1978), it should be at the lower part of the body. And this is not RGO-78 grenade; probably (very likely) some factory mistake with stencillings, that was corrected later (from RGO-78 to RGD-5).

 

[Fragman]

Hi. Thanks for your comments. A factory mistake would make sense, as the body does not look to be refurbished, just repainted. I'm going through a bit of a "Cold War" phase at the moment, with the attached photo showing the differing type of stenciling I've come across so far. Cheers Colin

 

[Grenadier]

From top left: DDR, Soviet,
down: BG, BG