The Business End Of A MKII Grenade

**Kilroy Was Here** · 12-22-2009, 07:47 AM

Nice early WW2 yellow overpainted pineapple Dirt Det. I have a few also, I like these type. Thanks also for posting the fragments, interesting. I think they all fragmented different though there were dozens of makers of grenade castings. All made with slightly different material and methods.

Toxic Gas.....Here is good info on what is what with US grenade fuzes. I took good comparison pics of my examples and sent to Lex. American Fuzes and Igniters

Happy holidays

Steve "Dr. Ruby"

**Dirt Detective** · 12-22-2009, 04:51 PM

Here are a few pf the spoons from my collection..These are M10A2 and M10A3. The spoons with a black stripe on the indicate's the grenade was modified..I would guess something to do with the burn time of the fuze.

**Dirt Detective** · 12-22-2009, 04:56 PM

Here are some original M10A2 OD painted ones I have.

**Kilroy Was Here** · 12-22-2009, 11:41 PM

by Dirt Detective

Here are a few pf the spoons from my collection..These are M10A2 and M10A3. The spoons with a black stripe on the indicate's the grenade was modified..I would guess something to do with the burn time of the fuze.

When WW2 era fuze spoons are painted black on the lower part, this signified that were re-used spoons collected from training areas. It does not mean that they were "modified".

During WW2, we collected all spoons from the training ranges, and the usable spoons were re-used. War-time recycling. When this was done the spoons were painted black to idicate a re-used spoon. This does not make sense to me really, why you would need to know if it was a re-used spoon or not, but this is the reason.

The spoons you show that are marked "A"...are revision A fuzes. I am not sure of what exactly revision A was, but I will find the details with my continuing research and post it, if not done so by others already. How, and when, and this, and that... is pretty muddy with WW2 fuzes I think.

I send all my information, and all my pictures of my collection to Lex.......He is a great guy, and it's a great site that is getting better all the time.

Grenades, Mines and Boobytraps American Fuzes and Igniters

Inert.ord is also a good site, but it is incomplete, has mistakes, and is not as detailed as I wish it were. I like small details about grenades.

Lex has updated the U.S. fuze section recently with pics I took of my collection to show and explain, the evolution of the U.S. hand grenade fuzes from WW1 through WW2. Most of my pics say they are courtesy "Dr.Ruby" ....but he forgot to put this with these pics, and will add later he said.

It took me a long time to find correct good examples of all this crap.

Here some other interesting varieties of spoon markings, a "shamrock" fuze, and a "over stamp" spoon. These over stamps are always M10A1 fuzes. The ends of the spoons also have numbers stamped into it which are varied depending on who modified it and when. ( Sorry, no pic right now of these #'s)

The M10A1 fuzes were "recalled" very soon after introduction and production was stopped. (I beleive the M10A1 was originally designed to be used for the training grenades)There was a serious problem of what I heard was "blow by" where there was flash from delay fuze/element getting to the igniter before it should. This is not good with a hand grenade. This is why the short life of the original M10A1, and the introduction of the "revised" M10A2 & A3, and over-stamps later.

If anyone has a better M6A4C spoon, I could really use it as you can see. I do not know what idiot did this to the fuze, but at least you can read it still.

Regards, Steve

**Dirt Detective** · 12-23-2009, 12:22 AM

by Kilroy Was Here

When WW2 era fuze spoons are painted black on the lower part, this signified that were re-used spoons collected from training areas. It does not mean that they were "modified".

During WW2, we collected all spoons from the training ranges, and the usable spoons were re-used. War-time recycling. When this was done the spoons were painted black to idicate a re-used spoon. This does not make sense to me really, why you would need to know if it was a re-used spoon or not, but this is the reason.

Regards, Steve

Hi Steve,
In the past I was told by another collector, the black meant it was a reused spoon from a training area too. Never saw anything in writting stating the black signified a recyled spoon, just other collectors saying that. It also didnt make sense to me because if it was to recycle them, then why was there so much other scrap in the same are left untouched.
I have found piles of c rat cans by the 1000's, large 1 gal cans by the 1000's, 55 gal drums..sometime they burried them..sometimes they just left them in big piles..so to me, they did not recycle metal.

Then one day I found this pic in a TM and now I know what it means. Click on the pic to make it bigger and read what it says below the pic of the painted spoon. Also notice how the top of the grenade box has been marked out and remarked. I think the black was to let the soldier know the fuze was updated.

**Kilroy Was Here** · 12-23-2009, 12:42 AM

by Dirt Detective

Hi Steve,
In the past I was told by another collector, the black meant it was a reused spoon from a training area too. Never saw anything in writting stating the black signified a recyled spoon, just other collectors saying that. It also didnt make sense to me because if it was to recycle them, then why was there so much other scrap in the same are left untouched.
I have found piles of c rat cans by the 1000's, large 1 gal cans by the 1000's, 55 gal drums..sometime they burried them..sometimes they just left them in big piles..so to me, they did not recycle metal.

Then one day I found this pic in a TM and now I know what it means. Click on the pic to make it bigger and read what it says below the pic of the painted spoon. Also notice how the top of the grenade box has been marked out and remarked. I think the black was to let the soldier know the fuze was updated.

Hi, Great pictures, thanks, I never saw these before. I will get this manual.

"TM 9-1905 Ammunition Renovation", is from September 1948 though, post war. Do you have a manual that is war dated with this info?

How do you know all the items you found were WW2 era, and not Korean war era?

I think we recycled just about everything during WW2. If a grenade spoon was still good, why not use it? It would save time and materials????? These are the "mysteries" of the WW2 war production Mk2's I speak of.

Regards, Steve

**Kilroy Was Here** · 12-23-2009, 12:46 AM

Forgot, the over stamp spoons I show have stamped numbers at the very bottom of the handle, and are painted half black. The stampings appear to be dated '42. this make sense as all the over-stamps are M10A1's, a earlier fuze. I will get some pics to post of the numbers and dates on my handles.

I agree that a black stripe can also used for visual identification by the end user, the soldier. So maybe means a re-cycled modified fuze!!! ??? This is what I want to find out for sure sometime.

Steve

**Dirt Detective** · 12-23-2009, 01:12 AM

Here are a couple pics of a few of my overstamps. The end markings are 48 PMC

Also a M6A2 spoon

**Kilroy Was Here** · 12-23-2009, 01:26 AM

by Dirt Detective

Here are a couple pics of a few of my overstamps. The end markings are 48 PMC

Also a M6A2 spoon

Nice... Mike.. I believe?? How is the weather in CA.? Excuse me if incorrect. Tlak to Hayes lately?
I'll get some pics now of my markings on the handle.

Steve

**Dirt Detective** · 12-23-2009, 01:48 AM

Hi Steve, Mike is right..I know who Hayes is..bought a few things from him during the old Great Western Gun show days..but dont know him.
maybe I have sold you a few of your spoons??

Where I have found spoons, they stopped training in 43. I cant see the factory shipping fuzes without spoons and I cant see the Army going thru the effort of sending spoons back but its possible I guess. Im just not convinced yet