grenade

[NCA]

Nice, albeit slightly worrying find!
Thought we had a contender for a Darwin award here...

[davejb]

Dean, im afraid i cannot believe that you actually advised someone to put it away for safety, if you've ever seen the destructive power of a Mills 36 I think you would change your mind pretty swiftly, our friend took a great risk in unscrewing the filler screw which should be made of brass thereby reducing the possibilty of a spark, but the explosive filling used would have been Baratol or possibly RDX, both of which become highly unstable over a prolonged period of time, a safer way would be to weigh the grenade which should be 1lb 11oz then check it on scales , a significant less weight would give some indication if filled or not, should anyone find one with the pin still in, a good course of action , apart from leaving it and reporting it , is to tie a piece of string or adhesive tape around the grenade which secures the lever in place, pins can actually break if rotted, allowing the spring to actuate and cause the striker to fly down the shaft, and possibly detonating the grenade, im glad that everything turned out ok but with any potential explosives item its best left to professionals

[aj4010]

Dean, im afraid i cannot believe that you actually advised someone to put it away for safety, if you've ever seen the destructive power of a Mills 36 I think you would change your mind pretty swiftly, our friend took a great risk in unscrewing the filler screw which should be made of brass thereby reducing the possibilty of a spark, but the explosive filling used would have been Baratol or possibly RDX, both of which become highly unstable over a prolonged period of time, a safer way would be to weigh the grenade which should be 1lb 11oz then check it on scales , a significant less weight would give some indication if filled or not, should anyone find one with the pin still in, a good course of action , apart from leaving it and reporting it , is to tie a piece of string or adhesive tape around the grenade which secures the lever in place, pins can actually break if rotted, allowing the spring to actuate and cause the striker to fly down the shaft, and possibly detonating the grenade, im glad that everything turned out ok but with any potential explosives item its best left to professionals

Yup, the lethal range on these things is further than it can be usually thrown.

Regards,

Andy

[Scout]

As an EOD fellar once said: If you can see the hand grenade, it can see you!

[aj4010]

As an EOD fellar once said: If you can see the hand grenade, it can see you!

Or, Canonical Murphy's Laws of Combat 139 :
When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not your friend.

Best Regards,

Andy

[aj4010]

Glad to hear it's safe.
Many years ago, my friend dug one of these up. He pulled the pin, threw it and ducked. Nothing happened. He then picked it up and took it home, where his father took it to the toolshed and began to attack it with a hacksaw. I still have the sawn off baseplate. Unbelievable.

Best Regards,

Andy

I have just come across the base plug. Please enjoy the photographs as an example of how not to treat ground dug ordinance. Notice the hacksaw marks.

Best Regards,

Andy

[Nige H]

Just be aware that even mint examples can contain there explosive filler, I bought a Brand New straight out of storage No 36 Mills bomb some twenty years back from a reputable UK dealer, on dismantling the centrepiece I found although this grenade was not primed it did still contain its Baratol explosive filler, so it was semi-inert , what alerted me was the shellac type sealer used to seal the centrepiece into the grenade cast iron body, had not been disturbed which made me think that there was a very good chance that it was still charged with explosive, and my hunch was right LOL.
Nige.

[Nige H]

Also again I will what I said last week about found explosive ordnance, if it was "Safer" to disarm the item instead of destroying the item with a sympathetic exposition don't you think that the EOD/ Bomb disposal persons would go for this option. Remember most explosive have a chemical and solid component in there makeup, which can separate with age in some cases the liquid alone can act as a contact explosive, also many are highly corrosive and thus this can increase the chance of the filler breaching the casing of the ordnance after being in the ground wrapped in a bath of moisture for over half a century.

Nige.

[aj4010]

Well I think that those who have had no experience of these things just have absolutely no idea of the destructive power of the Mills.
That is why, when the guy put the grenade in a vice and picked up a hacksaw, I suddenly had somewhere else to go. Immediately.
I have no personal experience with these things going bang, but my dad chucked a few on the range in WW2 and they scared the crap out of him. He told me that the base plug could be heard whizzing back over his head after he had got rid of the thing.

Best Regards,

Andy