Abstract
This article examines the little-known LWL–Olin M79 Shotshell Adaptor for the M79 light grenade launcher, which originates with the U.S. Army’s Limited Warfare Laboratory and was produced by Winchester under a contract between the LWL and Olin Corporation. Developed in the context of jungle warfare and close-range combat encounters during the Vietnam War, the M79 Shotshell Adaptor was one of several anti-personnel developments trialled with the M79. Ultimately, it was not adopted by the U.S. military and only a limited number of prototype models were fabricated. This article draws on a review of primary and secondary source material, as well as the author’s inspection of an extant example of the adaptor, today held in the collection of the Cody Firearms Museum.
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Issue: Vol. IX No. 2
Published: 31 December, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52357/armax28608
Peer-reviewed?: Yes
Keywords: Winchester, Olin Corporation, Limited Warfare Laboratory, M79, grenade launchers, Vietnam War
Bibliographic Information
N.R. Jenzen-Jones, ‘The LWL–Olin M79 Shotshell Adaptor for the M79 Grenade Launcher’, Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms, Vol. IX № 2 (2023), pp. 59–76, <https://doi.org/10.52357/armax28608>.
About the Author
N.R. Jenzen-Jones is a technical intelligence specialist and historian focusing on arms and munitions. He is the Director of Armament Research Services (ARES), the Editor of Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms, and the founder of Helios House Press. He holds a Visiting Fellowship in the School of Law, Policing and Forensics at the University of Staffordshire and was awarded the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s 2022–2023 Resident Fellowship for his work with the Cody Firearms Museum. He serves in consultancy roles with a number of prominent organisations, and has produced extensive research and analysis on a range of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and small- and medium-calibre ammunition issues. Mr. Jenzen-Jones has also provided technical assessments of incendiary weapons, cluster munitions, indirect-fire artillery weapons, and conventional arms proliferation. He maintains a broad focus on how weapons are selected, acquired, stockpiled, and employed. Mr. Jenzen-Jones is a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, a life member of the Ordnance Society, and a member of the International Ammunition Association (IAA), the European Cartridge Research Association (ECRA), the British Institute for Libyan & Northern African Studies (BILNAS), the Pike & Shot Society, and the Arms & Armour Society.