Mills Bomb - No.36?

[Narcis]

Here is mine, found in Irak (1993)
Red band, TNT in yellow and marked POF 1980 (body), N°36 Mk1 POF 80 on the bottom and POF 83 on the plug.
POF = Pakistan Ordnance Factories?

[Watchdog]

Here is mine, found in Irak (1993)
Red band, TNT in yellow and marked POF 1980 (body), N°36 Mk1 POF 80 on the bottom and POF 83 on the fuze

Very nice and it has a split ring. I rest my case!

I don't know for sure but I think that POF might be one of the marks used by ROF Poole which was privatised in the '90s I think but closed sometime later.

Most people are not aware that in addition to items like this with a (very) post war date a great deal of unused ordnance was returned to storage depots, inspected, repackaged then stored for re-issue and or sale to other countries.

So, the grenades Steve and I speak of may well have been re-furbished in this way or be of later manufacture but they had split rings. None of this of course shows either way whether the split ring was used in WWII but it certainly was in WWI, have a look at the Royal Armouries website.

Regards

Mark

[Narcis]

POF is probably for Pakistan Ordnance Factories.

[Watchdog]

POF is probably for Pakistan Ordnance Factories.

D'Oh! Of course it is And they are still in business.

That mark appears on rifles, bayonets and all kinds of stuff.

I must have been having a senior moment

Regards

Mark

[Narcis]

"In addition to meeting the demands of Pakistan Defense Forces, POF products are in service with over 40 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Ammunition and rifles have been exported to countries such as Iraq, Croatia and Afghanistan for their respective military establishments. (Wikipedia)

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Talking of split rings... I came across the one that I kept to use as a keyring, it was in a box with my I.D disks and certificate of service. I too rest my case! Obviously, both types of ring were used.

[Heer 17]

The weight of my grenade, fully assembled and empty of explosive, is 649 grams.

B.B.

Mine is 630g - measured not on the most accurate of scales, but good enough.

Reading on Wikipedia the M36 weighs 765g.

Thanks for the help.

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Mine is 630g - measured not on the most accurate of scales, but good enough.

Reading on Wikipedia the M36 weighs 765g.

Thanks for the help.

I think that you can safely assume that your grenade is empty!

[Infanteer]

The safety fuse on a live detonator should be either a tightly woven yellow fabric or white gutta percha (rubber). The safety fuse in the original photos looks identical to a dummy detonator set in my collection. It also appears that the striker and safety lever are pitted from rust and have been cleaned so I'm going to say that they have been previously removed for cleaning.

I do have to disagree somewhat with some other comments about the detonator... the detonator is actually the most hazardous part of the grenade which is why they weren't inserted until ready for use in the field. The explosive filler in the grenade is by design relatively stable and safe to handle. Detonators by design are highly sensitive and require much more care when handling. This is based on my experience as an advanced assault pioneer with the Canadian army where I was trained in demolitions.

[Anderson]

A good point. Detonators are dangerous and can "go off" if mishandled.