WW1 smoke grenade perhaps? Need help-

[Cannonman17]

Can anybody tell me anything about this piece? I recieved it as part of a box full of stuff in a trade, guy thought it was a WW1 smoke grenade. Looks like it's had plenty of work done to it, don't even know if any of it is original or what it is. ANY help would be greatly appreciated in terms of I.D. and/or approximate value on the market. Thanks in advance!

[cricketchris1944]

WW1 German trainning grenade ,the stick does not look right.

[Cannonman17]

Cool. The stick not being right wouldn't surprise me at all. Why all the holes though? Is that from demilling or how they were made?

[Walkwolf]

The holes and red paint are both for identifying that it is for practice.








Regards, Steve.

[cricketchris1944]

I have one in my collection now,that I found last month in Meuse Argonne with no stick .I saw one for sale in France for 50 euros with no stick I have not seen one in the states so the price could be more ?

[Kilroy Was Here]

Hi Cannonman, nice grenade you found. It is a "practice" grenade, not a smoke grendade. The holes in the head or "can" are Not to show it is Inert......they are emission holes....to let the smoke from the practice charge out, so it can be seen. They would be able see the smoke, and determine if they were hitting their target, or their throws needed to be corrected.

Here is a link to more info:

WW1 Practice Stickgrenades


Regards, Steve
Dr. Ruby

[Walkwolf]

Hi Cannonman, nice grenade you found. The holes in the head or "can" are Not to show it is Inert......they are emission holes....to let the smoke from the practice charge out, so it can be seen. They would be able see the smoke, and determine if they were hitting their target, or their throws needed to be corrected.

Here is a link to more info:

WW1 Practice Stickgrenades


Regards, Steve
Dr. Ruby

The red colouring usually means an inert body no?,
but maybe only for Allied ordnance ? !

I don't know why there would be a need
for 'Practice' Smoke Grenades.
They are non lethal.

Maybe the difference between "Training" and "Practice" is confusing me,
as there are two distinct types ...................!






Regards, Steve.

[Kilroy Was Here]

Here is a WW1 1915 second model grenade that I made a wood handle for. I had the head and orig fitting in good shape, but no stick.
So if you do not like the shape of your repro stick, it is possible for you to play around with it until it looks correct.....or you can just make a new one, and age it.

How about a pic of the complete handle on this practice grenade Cannonman?
I could not see it completely.

Regards, Steve
Dr.Ruby

[Kilroy Was Here]

The red colouring usually means an inert body,
but maybe only for Allied ordnance ? !

I don't know why there would be a need
for 'Practice' Smoke Grenades.
They are non lethal.

Regards, Steve.

Steve....all soldiers practice before using high explosive versions. The Germans used Red for their practice grenades in WWI and WWII. They are not supposed lethal, they are for I have already described.......to perfect your throw.

Yes we (the US) used Red for a period of time in the 1920's. They say we copied it from the French, as their trainer F1's were Red. We switched to Blue color trainers in the late 1930's. The earliest blue trainer that I have seen that can verify is 1939, because the original black cardboard can it is in is dated this '39.

Here is a pic of my early US red trainer.......

Regards, Steve
P.S. Cannonman's is a Practice grenade, not a Smoke grenade.

[Walkwolf]

Indeed, this is a 'practice grenade'.

Smoke grenades are solely for masking/signaling, and are non lethal,

2 types of grenades: Training (Inert ) and Practice ( with a small charge )
Training grenades are used in teaching how to handle and use grenades safely.
Practice grenades have a hole and a charge inside which emits a puff of smoke
and a report to signal a detonation has occurred.

Your US 'red' grenade was used for practice, and this is what the red paint signifies.


I think I'm getting it now...........!







Regards, Steve.