Back in the days of the cold war, the U.S. Army actually fielded an equivalent of the imaginary "atomic hand grenade." It was called the Davy Crocket weapon system and was a recoilless rifle on steroids. The U.S. Navy had an equivalent also: it was called the Mk 17 depth charge that was part of the Mk 16 ASROC (anti-submarine rocket) system that was designed to deal with Soviet submarines. Davy Crocket Weapon System 
The Davy Crockett (shown here at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland in March 1961) was the smallest and lightest nuclear weapon ever deployed by the U.S. military. It was designed for use in Europe against Soviet troop formations.
The Davy Crockett consisted of an XM-388 projectile launched from either a 120-millimeter (XM-28) or 155-millimeter (XM-29) recoilless rifle (the 120 millimeter version is shown above). This weapon had a maximum range of 1.24 miles (120 millimeter) to 2.49 miles (155 millimeter). The XM-388 casing (including the warhead and fin assembly) weighed 76 pounds, was 30 inches long and measured 11 inches in diameter (at its widest point).
 Infantry personnel of the 101st Airborne Division preparing to fire a Davy Crockett during a training exercise at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, May 14, 1962  Soldiers conducting tests of the Davy Crockett at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, December 16, 1959 The W54 warhead used on the Davy Crockett weighed just 51 pounds and was the smallest and lightest fission bomb (implosion type) ever deployed by the United States, with a variable explosive yield of 0.01 kilotons (equivalent to 10 tons of TNT, or two to four times as powerful as the ammonium nitrate bomb which destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995), or 0.02 kilotons-1 kiloton. A 58.6 pound variant?the B54?was used in the Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM), a nuclear landmine deployed in Europe, South Korea, Guam, and the United States from 1964-1989. 
The crew of an XM-29 version of the Davy Crockett prepares it for a live fire demonstration at Fort Carson, Colorado, March 13, 1967. Here, the 37-millimeter spotting gun is being loaded (this gun is fired before the warhead to check the weapon's trajectory and make necessary adjustments).
The Davy Crockett was deployed with U.S. Army forces from 1961 to 1971. Between 1956 and 1963, 2,100 were produced at an estimated cost (excluding the warhead) of $540 million (in constant 1996 dollars). The weapon's non-nuclear components were manufactured at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, Illinois. The W54 warhead was designed at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (now the Los Alamos National Laboratory) and built by the Atomic Energy Commission.
Soldiers at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, demonstrate how to set up an XM-29 version of the Davy Crockett (1961).
Stockpiled W54 warheads were test fired at the Nevada Test Site on July 7 and 17, 1962, during the Little Feller II and Little Feller I shots. In Little Feller II on July 7, the warhead was suspended on cables about three feet above the ground (yield was 22 tons). In Little Feller I on July 17, a Davy Crockett was fired from a stationary 155 millimeter launcher (in tandem with simulated battlefield manuevers under Operation IVY FLATS) and detonated about 20 feet above the ground at a distance of 9,357 feet (1.7 miles) from the launch point (yield was 18 tons). This test, the last atmospheric detonation at the Nevada Test Site, was observed by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and presidential adviser General Maxwell D. Taylor. Footage of Operation IVY FLATS was declassified by the Department of Energy on December 22, 1997.
The Davy Crockett could also be launched from specially equipped jeeps {M38A1D]. Sources: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project; Thomas B. Cochran, William M. Arkin, Milton M. Hoenig, U.S. Nuclear Forces and Capabilities, Volume I, Nuclear Weapons Databook (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1984), pp. 60, 311; Robert Standish Norris and Thomas B. Cochran, "United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 to 31 December 1992," (Washington, D.C.: Natural Resources Defense Council, 1 February 1994), NWD-94-1, p. 35; Chuck Hansen, U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History (New York: Orion Books, 1988), pp. 197-198; Ted Nicholas and Rita Rossi, U.S. Historical Military Aircraft and Missile Data Book (Fountain Valley, California: Data Search Associates, 1991), pp. 3-95, 3-101; U.S. Department of Energy. Photo Credit: National Archives Master Gunner Note: The Davy Crockett was the only weapon system that instructed the users to dig foxholes or slit trenches so that the launch crew could take cover after the weapon was fired. That was because the launch crew was within the blast radius of the W54 warhead. Somehow, I don't find that a comforting throught. ASROC with Mk 17 Depth Charge Firing of a torpedo-armed RUR-5A ASROC from USS GOLDSBOROUGH (DDG-20). The guide arm of the Mk 112 launcher contained two climate-controlled cells for the missiles. The ASROC (anti-submarine rocket) was developed from the Navy's RAT (rocket assisted torpedo) program begun at the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, CA in 1952. ASROC's original designation was RAT "C", and was a more refined weapon system. The missile, redesignated the RUR-5, carried either the Mk 44 or Mk 46 acoustic torpedo or the Mk 17 nuclear depth charge. The missile itself was approximately 192 inches long, 14.1 inches in diameter, weighed about 1,408 pounds, and had a solid propellant rocket motor (torpedo version). The weapon had no internal guidance; it followed a ballistic trajectory after launch. In the case of the torpedo, at a predetermined time after launch and motor burnout, the airframe was jettisoned. The torpedo was lowered to the water by a parachute and the depth charge followed a ballistic trajectory. Launch trajectory was computed by the Mk 114 fire control system on the ship. 
Waterline arrangement drawing of a FRAM I destroyer: twin 5"/38 gun forward; twin Mk 32 torpedo tubes forward of bridge; Mk 112 8-cell launcher between stacks; DASH hanger and landing pad aft of second stack; twin 5"/38 gun on stern. The launch platform was a GEARING-class destroyer with a FRAM (Fleet Modernization and Rehabilitation) modification. These FRAM I destroyers were fitted with the SQS-23 bow-mounted sonar, two Mk 32 torpedo tubes (triple) for Mk 44 or Mk 46 torpedoes that replaced the twin 5"/38 mount forward of the bridge, a Mk 112 eight-cell launcher for the ready ASROC rounds was located between the stacks, a drone anti-submarine (DASH) helicopter hanger and landing platform aft of the second stack, and some ships had a VDS (variable depth sonar) mounted on the stern. View of the Mk 112 launcher aboard USS ORLECK (DD-886). The warning circle on the deck is a safety measure to protect personnel when the launcher is in motion. The Mk 112 launcher had four guide arms and each arm contained two missile cells. The round circles on the blast doors are inspection ports. After the eight missiles were expended, the cells had to be manually reloaded using a special crane designed for the purpose. The nuclear-tipped ASROC entered fleet service in 1961. One of the first FRAM I conversions was USS AGERHOLM (DD-826). On 11 May 1962, about 370 miles off San Diego, CA, AGERHOLM fired the first ASROC with a live Mk 17 warhead as part of OPERATION DOMINIC. The test was called "Swordfish" to indicate that it was less than 20,000 tons of TNT. Sources do not specify the equivalent yield of the "Swordfish" warhead. It was described variously as 100 to 1,000 tons of TNT. It detonated about 4,000 yards from the ship. The AGERHOLM was badly shaken but mostly undamaged -- she could still steam and fight. USS OZBOURN (DD-884) fires an ASROC missile from her Mk 112 launcher. Note the prominent DASH hanger and helicopter flight deck that characterized the FRAM I and FRAM II conversions. ASROC had a minimum engagement range of 0.8 nautical miles and a maximum range of 5.0 nautical miles. The W44 warhead of the Mk 17 had a maximum yield equivalent to 10,000 tons of TNT. Those who witnessed the test concluded that the Mk 17 would definitely take out just about any Soviet submarine in existence (or planned), but they wondered if it made more sense to use a Mk 44 or Mk 46 torpedo instead. A 10 kiloton war-shot was powerful enough to take out both the submarine and the destroyer. Other than test shots, the Mk 17 was never used in action. All Mk 17 depth charge were retired in 1989. Improved versions of ASROC are still in-service with the fleet. The Mk 112 launcher has been replaced by the Mk 139 Vertical Launch System. The ASROC missile now carries the Mk 46 Mod 5 ADCAP (advanced capability) torpedo.  Official Navy photo showing USS AGERHOLM (DD-826) after firing the ASROC with the Mk 17 depth charge. The gas bubble formed by the exploding warhead had just broken the surface of the ocean and is not fully developed in this shot. Look closely and you can still see the elevated guide arm of the launcher behind the first stack. | 
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