Japanese Type 97 Hand Grenade

[Bill Grist]

Japanese Type 97 Hand Grenade.......BILL

[SteveR]

Very nice. Those are hard to find.
SteveR

[ppsh33]

hi bill , i have read and enjoyed your posts for some time now . always a fine selection of high quality items .thanks for sharing your collection on the forum . very informative and interesting . a beauty of a type 97 .....paul

[DRafalske]

I have one of these that my granddad brought back from Iwo Jima... stumbled on this thread whilst searching for some information about it. What can you tell me about these?
I'll have to post some pics up of it. It's not in such nice condition as yours, but a neat relic nonetheless.
Dave

[Vegard T]

I have one of these that my granddad brought back from Iwo Jima... stumbled on this thread whilst searching for some information about it. What can you tell me about these?
I'll have to post some pics up of it. It's not in such nice condition as yours, but a neat relic nonetheless.
Dave

I hope it is deactivated

[DRafalske]

Ha! Yes, it's deactivated. As the story goes, he found it somewhere near where he had been camped. A "dud", if you will. Not sure if that's true - he died many years ago; before I ever got the chance to ask him the true story. I've read elsewhere that these were known for being unreliable, so that seems plausible enough.
D

[davejb]

Can I ask who deactivated it, was it your grandad or someone else and how was it done ?

[DRafalske]

The explosive charge has been removed, although some residue remains on the sides. There are scrape marks inside as if a spoon or perhaps even a bayonet was used to remove it. I believe the firing pin is also missing as are the pull pin and cap. No idea who did the disarming. I presume it was my grandfather himself. I was a young kid when he passed away, but from what I remember of him he was the kind of guy who have had no qualms about unscrewing the cap and scooping out the explosive.
I will try to take some detailed photos and post them up when I get home from work.
Dave