No.69 Grenade

[BrodieBartfast]

Hello folks.

Picked this one up last week. These aren't hard to find by any means, but they are hard to locate at a reasonable price. This one is in lovely condition, with most of the painted markings still visible, and retains its length of tape and lead weight. I haven't yet figured out how to disassemble it fully, so haven't checked to see if the ball bearing is in place.

These grenades, first designed in 1940, were intended as an accompaniment to the No.36 'Mills bomb'. They were manufactured from Bakelite plastic to eliminate excess shrapnel, making the grenade safer to use in an out-of-cover, offensive role. Ultimately, they proved ineffective in combat, and were relegated to drill purpose use, although the 'Allways' fuze was used to greater effect in the No.73 smoke and Gammon anti-tank grenades.



Regards, B.B.

[Rescue190]

Very nice example to own. I had not ever seen one before unless I have and did not know what it was. Now I do. Thanks for sharing.
John

[vegetius]

Don't forget the No 247 Fuze was also used with the No 73 Anti Tank Grenade and the 3" Smith Gun HE Round.

[vegetius]

The rarest of them all. The No 71. A 69 but with a steel body!


Sorry about the picture. I haven't got a decent camera here today!

[vegetius]

The 247 Fuze but on a 3 inch Smith Gun HE.

Not bad considering the 247 was considered so dangerous that the Ordnance Board never actually accepted it into service!

[BrodieBartfast]

Some interesting variations there. Thanks for sharing.

B.B.

[AZPhil]

Very cool BB,
Also something I am not familiar with.
So I take it you pull that tab to activate it?
How many seconds before the BOOM on these?

Thank you all for sharing your variations!!

Semper Fi
Phil

[BrodieBartfast]

Very cool BB,
Also something I am not familiar with.
So I take it you pull that tab to activate it?
How many seconds before the BOOM on these?

Thank you all for sharing your variations!!

Semper Fi
Phil

The ‘All-Ways’ fuze used on these grenades is a bit unusual. The user unscrews the cap and throws the grenade, and as it flies through the air the tape unravels, pulled by the lead weight at the end. When it reaches the end, it pulls out the pin, releasing a heavy ball bearing. When the grenade then impacts something, the ball bearing hits a striker, which in turn ignites the detonator. There’s no timed fuze. It goes off as soon as it hits something.

The ball bearing was one of the factors that condemned this grenade to drill purpose only. When the grenade exploded, the bearing had a tendency to act as a piece of shrapnel, negating the bakelite casing’s main advantage of producing no lethal fragments.

B.B.

[Watchdog]

Very cool BB,
Also something I am not familiar with.
So I take it you pull that tab to activate it?
How many seconds before the BOOM on these?

Thank you all for sharing your variations!!

Semper Fi
Phil

It's actually a bit "Heath Robinson" really Phil. The equivalent of "pulling the pin" is I suppose, removing the screw cap. When the grenade is thrown a lead weight on the end of the tape causes it to unravel and pull out a loose pin that holds a steel ball bearing secure inside the body. Which ever way the grenade lands the impact causes the ball bearing to move and trigger the detonator so it actually explodes on impact. The fuse is aptly named the "All Ways" fuse meaning it will work without the grenade having to land in a particular orientation like a shell or mortar round.

Quite a scary thing by todays standards and the ball bearing itself tended to counter the "no shrapnell" principle as it could be propelled away from the explosion thus becoming a single piece of shrapnel itself.

Regards

Mark

[Watchdog]

Haha, too quick on the draw there for me BB!!!