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M18 smoke grenade
The M18 smoke grenade or AN/M18 was introduced in the early 1950s as a replacement for the WW2 M16 smoke grenade. It is a burning-type smoke grenade that produces a cloud of colored smoke (green, yellow, red or violet, dispensing with the blue, orange and black versions the M16 had) lasting 50-90 seconds with an average of 60, and is used primarily for signalling and as a marker for landing zones or air or artillery strikes, though it can also be used to produce obscurant smoke (less efficiently than the dedicated AN/M8 smoke grenade), and is also used as a substitute for chemical weapons in infantry training.
The smoke formula is the same type used in the M713, M715 and M716 40mm grenade rounds, being mostly a reaction of potassium chlorate with a fuel to disperse smoke loaded with a chemical dye. At some point in the late 80s or early 90s the smoke formula was changed to use sugar instead of sulfur as a fuel for safety, along with changing the composition of the dyes. It was quickly found that the new violet formulation was extremely toxic, and so newer-production M18s are only manufactured in green, yellow and red.
The M18 smoke grenade appears in the following films and video games used by the following actors:
NOTE: The M18 smoke grenade only produces colored smoke. If a smoke grenade releases white or grey smoke, it would in real life be an AN/M8 smoke grenade or M83 smoke grenade, though since in media the smoke is seldom the product of a live grenade being used (as military smoke is toxic) this is not necessarily proof of ID.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Million Ways to Die | Jeff Bridges | Matt Scudder | 1986 | |
| Full Metal Jacket | U.S. Marines | 1987 | ||
| Iron Eagle II | Jason Blicker | Technical Sergeant Hickman | 1988 | |
| Forrest Gump | Tom Hanks | Forrest Gump | 1994 | |
| Forrest Gump | U.S. Army soldiers | 1994 | ||
| Léon (The Professional) | NYPD ESU officers | 1994 | ||
| Operation Dumbo Drop | Corin Nemec | Specialist Lawrence Farley | 1995 | |
| Se7en | John C. McGinley | Officer California | 1995 | |
| Se7en | SWAT officers | 1995 | ||
| Courage Under Fire | Seth Gilliam | Sergeant Steven Altemeyer | 1996 | |
| Courage Under Fire | Matt Damon | Specialist Ilario | 1996 | |
| The Rock | Rogue Marine | Inaccurately portrayed as High-Explosive grenade | 1996 | |
| Rules of Engagement | Samuel L. Jackson | Lt. Terry Childers | 2000 | |
| Rules of Engagement | U.S. Marines | 2000 | ||
| We Were Soldiers | Jsu Garcia | Captain Tony Nadal | 2002 | |
| S.W.A.T. | Jeremy Renner | Brian Gamble | 2003 | |
| S.W.A.T. | Gang members | 2003 | ||
| Tears of the Sun | U.S. Navy SEALs | 2003 | ||
| Basic | Cristián de la Fuente | Castro | 2003 | |
| Tropic Thunder | Ben Stiller | Tugg Speedman | 2008 | |
| The Objective | Sam Hunter | SGT Tim Cole | 2009 | |
| Battle: Los Angeles | Will Rothhaar | Cpl. Lee Imlay | 2011 | |
| Battleground | Seen in The Hunter's stockpile | 2012 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return to Castle Wolfenstein | MP only | 2001 | ||
| Conflict: Desert Storm | 2002 | |||
| America's Army | With green smoke | Non-playable | 2002 | |
| Medal of Honor: Frontline | 2002 | |||
| IGI 2: Covert Strike | 2003 | |||
| Call of Duty 2 | 2005 | |||
| Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood | 2005 | |||
| Call of Duty 3 | 2006 | |||
| Kane and Lynch: Dead Men | 2007 | |||
| Rainbow Six: Vegas | 2006 | |||
| Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 | 2008 | |||
| Battlefield 2 | With purple and orange smoke | non-playable | 2005 | |
| Project Reality | With purple, yellow, green, orange, blue, and red smoke | 2005 | ||
| Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 | With Red, White and Purple | 2006 | ||
| Alliance of Valiant Arms | With purple, yellow, red, or blue smoke | 2007 | ||
| Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat | With purple, blue, red, black and gray smoke | 2007 | ||
| Combat Arms | 2008 | |||
| Combat Arms | "SA-18" | Used to mark artillery strike location | 2008 | |
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | White smoke and yellow, green, blue and red "emotion" grenades | 2008 | ||
| Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising | 2009 | |||
| 1968 Tunnel Rats (VG) | 2009 | |||
| Delta Force: Xtreme 2 | 2010 | |||
| Medal of Honor (2010) | M18 | multiplayer only | 2010 | |
| Bodycount | Grenade | Impact and timer modes | HE grenades based on M18 | 2011 |
| vietcong 2 | 2005 | |||
| Elite Warriors Vietnam | 2005 | |||
| Dead Island | 2011 | |||
| War Inc. Battlezone | 2011 | |||
| Project Reality: Falklands | 2012 | |||
| Project Reality: Vietnam | As the "AN/M18 smoke grenade" | With purple & orange smoke | 2012 | |
| Jagged Alliance: Back in Action | 2012 | |||
| Arctic Combat | 2012 | |||
| Project Reality: Normandy | As the "AN/M18 smoke grenade" | Anachronistic: should be an M16 | 2013 | |
| Rainbow Six: Siege | 2015 | |||
| Squad | Blue, white and red smoke | 2015 | ||
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered | 2016 | |||
| Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex First Assault | "Smokebomb" | Futuristic model, previously available to purchase before being moved to Specialist characters with the "Renewal" update | 2015 | |
| Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 | 2017 |
Television
| Actor | Character | Show Title / Episode | Note | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Army soldiers | Tour of Duty | 1987-1990 | ||
| Damian Lewis | Lt. Richard "Dick" Winters | Band of Brothers | Repainted to look like a period-correct M16 | 2001 |