Scots Guards
British Grenades
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# 36 mills bomb
Length 3.75in
Weight l lb 11.25 oz
Filing 2.5oz Baratol
Fusing 4 or 7 second delay
| The 36M grenade, popularly known as the 'Mills Bomb' The
fuse originally burned to give a 7-second delay, this length of time
being necessary when launching the grenade from a rifle cup discharger.
But in 1940 the British Expeditionary Force complained that the delay
was too long for hand throwing, the Germans being adept at picking them
up and throwing them back, and a four-second igniter set was quickly
developed and issued, which led to a number of surprised German soldiers
before the word got round. Subsequently the 4-second set was retained
for hand use while the 7- second set was available for rifle launching.
The 36M was extensively used by British troops in every theater of war. It was a 'defensive' pattern grenade, and the fragmentation could be erratic, large pieces often being flung up to a hundred yards or more from the explosion point; consequently it was vital for the thrower to take cover as soon as he had got rid of the grenade. |
# 69 Offensive
Length 4.5 in
Weight 13.5 oz
Riling 3.25 oz Lyddite, Baratol or Amatol
Fusing Impact
| The 69 grenade was one of the type known as 'Offensive' grenades, in that its bark was worse than its bite. It was simply a barrel-shaped casing of black plastic material filled with an explosive and with an 'all-ways' fuse on one end. Consequently its effect was primarily blast and shock, and there were very few lethal fragments. Its principal purpose was in assault or house to house fighting, where it could be thrown so as to shake up the recipients and leave them shocked while the thrower followed up the grenade with a sub-machine gun.The Grenade No.69 was quite widely used, particularly in Northwest Europe, as an adjunct to house clearing |
#82 Gammon Grenade
Dimensions Variable-see text
Fusing Impact all-ways
| The Gammon Grenade goes down in military history as the
only officially issued 'Do-it-yourself' grenade. The design appears to
have originated with the Airborne forces, and their object was to try
and relieve the airborne soldier of some of the weight with which he was
being threatened as the list of desirable accessories grew longer and
longer. Among the many things he was expected to carry was a supply of
plastic explosive in sticks; when demolitions were needed, a quick levy
around the men in the area would thus be sure of producing the necessary
explosive, since in the environment in which airborne troops expected to
fight it would not always be convenient to go looking for an engineer
specialist.
Thus the No.82 grenade was born; as issued it consisted of no more than an all-ways fuse attached to a cloth bag which was open at the bottom and gathered by a strong elastic band. Quite a number of these could be crushed together and carried in the soldier's pockets or pouches, and they added little weight to his burden. When a grenade was wanted, a quantity of plastic explosive was pushed into the bag, around the base of the fuse, the cap removed and the assembly thrown. The amount of plastic used depended on the user's requirement; a half-stick for blowing in a house door or clearing a dugout, two sticks to attack a tank, or any suitable amount in between. |