History Main / InsertGrenadeHere

->''"My comrades tied a rope around my waist and lowered me on top of Nazi tanks. I'd stuff [[MolotovCocktail Molotovs]] under turret and cannon, and they pulled me up again. [[ChildSoldier Eight years old!]] They called me Tank Boy. I took a lot of Nazi tanks. A lot."''

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': King Bradley pulls this, but instead of pulling open the hatch he breaks a hole in the viewing window then shoves the grenade through there.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}'', you can hijack tanks this way.
** Which causes some unfortunate FridgeLogic, as you'd assume the frag grenade would probably ruin in the inside... or at least make it very, very messy. Not to mention you can take the driver's sidearm and grenade on their chest multiple times, fail to put the grenade down the hatch, and have to do same thing ''all over again''.
*** Part of the animation involves, at least some of the time, headbutting a guy wearing a helmet with your mohawked, bare-headed idiot. You also protect yourself from the blast through the open hatch by putting a finger in one ear. [[RuleOfCool Mercenaries runs on action film rules.]]
** A bizarre mod of ''Mercenaries 2'' features Sarah Palin and UsefulNotes/BarackObama as models. In [[http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2008/10/palin-no-longer-rogue-prefers-mercenary-obama-still-badass this video]] you can see the US president preforming this move.
* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'', while technically not a tank, Chris Redfield (or Sheva) after stunning the [[GiantEnemyCrab Bioweapon U-8]], has the option of [[ForceFeeding shoving a frag down its throat]].

* ''Series/TheMandalorian''. In the episode "Sanctuary" the Mandalorian throws a thermal detonator through the viewport of a former Imperial AT-ST. However given that these are nine meters off the ground, the problem lies in knocking the bipedal walker off its feet first.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!]]]]

** The infantry tactic was also used, with a similar rate of success, by Iran during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, and became a very real problem for Abrams tanks fighting in the Persian Gulf War and later Middle East conflicts, where the Abrams' juggernaut-like qualities were stymied by the tight urban spaces and guerrilla warfare of their opponents. This in turn necessitated the invention of the [=TUSK=] ([[FunWithAcronyms Tank Urban Survival Kit]]) packages, which helped to alleviate many of the concerns by adding close range anti-infantry weaponry to the Abrams' already impressive arsenal.

You run up to the tank (hopefully nobody sees you) jump on, kill the guy looking out of the hatch or open the hatch (it's never locked -- just in case the crew does need to get out ''fast'') and then toss down a few grenades before [[OutOfTheInferno jumping clear of the resulting explosion]]. Often that last part of the plan doesn't work, making it a HeroicSacrifice. Given that tank armor is usually tougher than grenade explosions, the effect is usually to reduce the crew inside to the consistency of [[ChunkySalsaEffect chunky salsa]].

->''"My comrades tied a rope around my waist and lowered me on top of Nazi tanks. I'd stuff Molotovs under turret and cannon, and they pulled me up again. Eight years old! They called me Tank Boy. I took a lot of Nazi tanks. A lot."''
-->-- '''Daskal''', ''Film/TheBeastOfWar''

** The infantry tactic was also used, with a similar rate of success, by Iran during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

* In one episode of ''Franchise/TheGreenHornet'' ("Seek, Stalk, and Destroy") Kato uses a "tear gas dart", which he throws into the open viewport of a stolen tank in order to force the tank thieves out of the tank and into the open.

* Kato does it to a tank using a smoke grenade in an issue of Dynamite's ''Franchise/TheGreenHornet'' series. Probably intended as a ShoutOut to the Live Action TV example below.

* In one of ''Literature/TheExecutioner'' novels (specifically #65: ''Cambodia Clash''), Mack Bolan does this with a tank in UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} The hatch is locked so he has to clamber up the main gun and drop the grenade down the barrel. The scene is depicted on the cover.

* ''Literature/TheTripods''. The protagonists are being hauled up into the alien Tripod by its CombatTentacles when one of them throws an AncientArtifact they found in an abandoned cache through the opening hatch. The damage causes the alien atmosphere to vent into the outside world. In the TV miniseries, the boys find themselves underneath the Tripod which is standing on loose slate. They use the grenade to cause a small avalanche that unbalances it, popping the hatch open so they can throw a second grenade inside.

* [[ThatOnePlayer Dslyecxi]] of ''Creator/ShackTactical'' did a variant of this in his video ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvROSuhvAZU Dear Tank, Signed Infantry]]''. Before the start of the video, Dslyecxi's infantry squad had been all but destroyed by a tank, and Dslyecxi decided to die by making a brave but useless gesture by charging at the tank while only holding his knife. Except... [[FailedASpotCheck the crew of the tank don't see him even when he gets close enough to touch it]]. So Dslyecxi climbs on top of the tank... and discovers that the game designers didn't design it so he could drop a grenade down the hatch. However, right at that moment one of the tank crew comes out to man the [[MoreDakka .50 caliber machine gun]] on top of the tank, which allows Dslyecxi to gleefully gun the man down, and decide everything the infantry went through was WorthIt just for that moment. (And for bonus points, the tank crewman that Dslyecxi killed was another player [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF4yWajy5Uk#t=3602%EF%BB%BF who was also recording]] what he saw in his last moments.)

** A flashback set during the UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2'' has the player doing this to a twin-barreled Soviet tank with a mortar shell.

** The Japanese standard became a simultaneous attack by ten men, most of whom would be killed in the attempt. The standard response was for tanks with [[MoreDakka coaxially-mounted machine guns]] to [[CombatPragmatist turn their turrets on each other]].[[note]]this is actually a valid combat tactic known as "back scratching." While some sensitive equipment such as periscopes and sighting devices may be damaged by the gunfire, it is better than the alternative, namely having two or three grenades dropped into your hatch.[[/note]] It was used by British Centurion tanks being 'hugged' by Chinese soldiers with similarly non-existent ranged anti-tank weaponry during the Korean War, and occasionally in Vietnam (though the Vietcong usually did not resort to such desperate measures against US or Australian tanks).
** The infantry tactic was also used, with a similar rate of success, by Iran during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980's.
* During ''Barbarossa'' the Soviets experimented with training dogs to associate the underside of tanks with food, then strapping mines to their backs and setting them loose when conducting counter-attacks against German panzer forces. Unfortunately for them, due to not having genuine German tanks to train them with (they used their own tanks mocked up to look like German ones - most of the following confusion likely came from the real deal running on petrol engines rather than diesel that they would have become familiar with the scent of), most of the dogs sought out their own tanks instead. The Germans caught on very quickly in any case, shooting all dogs on sight upon hearing of it.
* The "Molotov cocktail across the engine grate" version is averted by the US M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. The engine runs hotter than a Molotov can burn. (This makes it a beautiful target for anyone with even the most rudimentary thermal-imaging equipment, however; win some, lose some.)
** Luckily, the Abrams is also tough enough to survive hits there - MadeOfIron doesn't seem an adequate description.
*** A jihadi who tried to suicide bomb an M2 Bradley in Iraq and only managed to [[PinkMist paint it a nasty shade of pink]].

* Subverted in ''Anime/GhostInTheShell''. At the climax, the Major faces off against a SpiderTank using only an assault rifle. She manages to jump up on top of it, but [[spoiler:fails to open the hatch despite pulling so hard she rips one of her own arms off. The tank then grabs her and is about to crush her skull when Batou shows up with actual anti-tank ordnance to save the day at the last second.]]

You run up to the tank (hopefully nobody sees you) jump on, kill the guy looking out of the hatch or open the hatch (it's never locked -- just in case the crew does need to get out ''fast'') and then toss down a few grenades before [[OutOfTheInferno jumping clear of the resulting explosion]]. Often that last part of the plan doesn't work, making it a HeroicSacrifice.

You run up to the tank (hopefully nobody sees you) jump on, kill the guy looking out of the hatch or open the hatch (it's never locked -- just in case the crew does need to get out ''fast'') and then toss down a few grenades before jumping clear of the resulting explosion. Often that last part of the plan doesn't work, making it a HeroicSacrifice.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* In the very first episode of ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'', ActionGirl Madlax takes on a light tank, tricks the driver by "disappearing", then when he opens the hatch to look for her, kills him and tosses a grenade down the now-open hatch. And that's just one of the impossibly awesome things she does during that battle sequence.
* Subverted in ''Anime/GhostInTheShell''. At the climax, the Major faces off against a SpiderTank using only an assault rifle. She manages to jump up on top of it, but [[spoiler:fails to open the hatch despite pulling so hard she rips one of her own arms off. The tank then grabs her and is about to crush her skull when Batou shows up with actual anti-tank ordnance to save the day at the last second.]]

* King Bradley in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' pulls this, but instead of pulling open the hatch he breaks a hole in the viewing window then shoves the grenade through there.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Sometimes done in ''Film/TheDeltaForce'' movies, one of them is done using a MolotovCocktail.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Luke does this to an AT-AT by grappling up to the underside and cutting a hole in the bottom with a lightsaber.
** Jar-Jar does a variation in Phantom Menace with one of those [[BuffySpeak weird electronics-killing water balloon things]] the Gungans have.
* ''Film/BattleOfTheBulge'' (1965). Lt. Colonel Kiley (Henry Fonda) shoots the commander of a German tank, climbs up the tank and drops a grenade through the open hatch, killing everyone inside.
* The same thing was done in ''Defiance'', Zus arrived with TheCavalry, climbs up from behind the tank, guns down the German tank commander, and drops a grenade into the hatch.

* Subverted in ''Film/AllTheQueensMen'' - at the start of the film, a Nazi tank is pursuing a double agent that hijacked a second tank. The Nazi tank fires a few shells at the agent's tank, and it stops - one of its crewmen then jumps out of the tank and runs over to the hijacked tank, throws a grenade in, and fires a few bursts into the crew quarters with his submachine gun. He then enters the crew quarters and after a few seconds comes out with a confused look on his face - just in time to see the double agent ride off in the other tank.
* In ''{{Film/Avatar}}'', Jake does this with Quaritch's gunship, throwing grenades onto its outer vents. It's not a straight tank example, since it's a flying vehicle, and Jake gets on top of it by means of his GiantFlyer.
* [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Captain America]] performs this on a three-story tall [[StupidJetpackHitler HYDRA]] tank, following it by jumping off of the tank as it explodes.
* ''Film/{{Megaforce}}'' has an awesome stunt (which unfortunately doesn't compensate for the awful plot) where a member of the eponymous force riding a CoolBike does a stunt jump over a tank while dropping a grenade down the hatch. Subverted later when the commander of Megaforce raps on the turret hatch of the tank commanded by Duke Gurerra; when the hatch opens, instead of dropping a grenade inside he just [[FriendlyEnemy exchanges friendly banter]].
* In ''Film/{{Fury|2014}}'', this is how the Germans finish off the crew of the eponymous tank. Not before said crew unleashed hell upon them for hours.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In the ''Literature/GearsOfWar'' novel, Aspho Fields Helena Stroud does this to help out the air-support but gets snagged on the gun turret while jumping away and ends up getting blow apart.

* The Literature/CiaphasCain novels feature several examples. In ''Cain's Last Stand,'' he is tempted to chew out a pair of cadets who nearly got themselves killed doing it, but he let them off since they lived.
** They also reveal they had a contingency plan in case the hatch was closed.
** Ragnar does this in the prologue to ''[[Literature/SpaceWolf Ragnar's Claw]]''.
* In the ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''Necropolis'', the scratch company fighters use [[ImprovisedWeapon static mining charges]] against enemy tanks. [[Awesome/GauntsGhosts They destroy twenty-four tanks in this way]].
--> '''Bulwar''' How many men has it cost you?
--> '''Soric''' [[HeroicSacrifice Twenty-four, of course]].

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In one episode of ''Franchise/TheGreenHornet'' ("Seek, Stalk, and Destroy") Kato uses a "tear gas dart", which he throws into the open viewport of a stolen tank in order to force the tank thieves out of the tank and into the open.

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* Happens all the time in ''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}} Warhammer 40,000]]''. Any close-combat hits on a vehicle (with the exception of walkers) automatically succeed, and are always resolved as being against the vehicle's rear armor to reflect infantry scrambling around it to find its [[AttackItsWeakPoint weak points]]. While a standard close-combat attack by a typical infantryman will rarely do any damage to even a light vehicle, many can be issued anti-armor grenades specifically for this purpose, such as krak grenades, melta-bombs, and EMP grenades.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

** Yoda did it as well, and though he had a lightsabre, it worked even better.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

** Much more recently, during a NATO field exercise in Denmark: a particularly pissed-off British Para managed to lob a thunderflash (pyrotechnic designed to simulate a grenade) right into the open hatch of a German Army APC with a full complement of uncharacteristically dozy Panzergrenadiers inside. In the confined space, it ruptured the eardrums of thirteen German soldiers. The Bundeswehr was not amused and compensation was paid. The errant Para was officially bollocked, but privately congratulated by his Colonel for the accuaracy of his aim and for teaching the Jerries a good lesson - never drive in a combat zone with the lid open.

** Ragnar does this in the prologue to ''[[SpaceWolf Ragnar's Claw]]''.

* The Black Rider does this to an APC in MarvelComics ''SixGuns'' mini-series.

* In ''Film/{{Fury}}'', this is how the Germans finish off the crew of the eponymous tank. Not before said crew unleashed hell upon them for hours.

** When you revisit the site in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', if you call Otacon at this point, he'll mention that he once asked a veteran soldier once about how one goes about fighting a tank on foot, and was told, "Don't." He then goes on to gush about how awesome Snake was for managing it.

* Master Chief is capable of this on ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' against Wraiths and Scorpions. If he jacks a vehicle from the rear he can plant a grenade the the Wraith's turbine/Scorpion's engine grill and destroy it.
** Or he can skip that bit and literally [[{{Badass}} punch the tank until it explodes.]]
** Or he can [[{{DoWellButNotPerfect}} punch it enough to kill the pilot]], and then [[{{ExclusiveEnemyEquipment}} steal the vehicle for his own use.]]
** Turns out Master Chief isn't the only one who can do this: [=ODSTs=] in [[VideoGame/Halo3ODST the eponymous game]] can as well. They can't punch open tank covers, though, so they just pop them open and drop a grenade in. If you don't have any grenades? They ''improvise''.
** Chief does this against a Hunter in part 5 of ''Film/Halo4ForwardUntoDawn'' by jumping onto its back and ramming a frag grenade into the exposed area. The Hunter has an OhCrap moment before exploding.