Andy A Posted 13 February , 2009 Share Posted 13 February , 2009 Hi, i have been researching WW1 munitions makers and have found a few engineering firms who state that they were making either Cooper grenades or their parts. Does any expert on the forum have any idea what a Cooper grenade was or if it had a number? So far i have found 4 companies making said grens and bits so it was produced. Anyone with any ideas? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krithia Posted 13 February , 2009 Share Posted 13 February , 2009 There was a Cooper bomb, used by the Royal Flying Corps, could be one of those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hudsonswhistle Posted 13 February , 2009 Share Posted 13 February , 2009 This is a cooper bomb Andy it may be what you are after Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy A Posted 13 February , 2009 Author Share Posted 13 February , 2009 Not sure bud, all the refs i have all call it a Coopers grenade, however could be a bomb. Maybe it was something dropped from the air? Thanks, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy A Posted 13 February , 2009 Author Share Posted 13 February , 2009 Cheers Hudsons, i reccon thats more than likely what it is. Strange though, all the makers call it a grenade. Maybe it had to be armed by hand? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 13 February , 2009 Share Posted 13 February , 2009 Cooper bombs were not armed by hand - thats what the little prop on the nose does (I think some had a tail prop). The Cooper bomb was designed by Thomas Cooper (1854 - 1923) of Kings Lynn. Perhaps he did some grenade design but if so it appears very obscure for I can find no reference to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 14 February , 2009 Share Posted 14 February , 2009 Andy I've never heard of the Cooper grenade either. I suspect that the term grenade and bomb may have been interchangeable, as they were for the Mills Grenade / Bomb. It could have been that it was better PR to have a 'Grenade' factory located in a town rather than a 'Bomb' factory. Perhaps less alarming for the locals. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy A Posted 14 February , 2009 Author Share Posted 14 February , 2009 Hi John, the list says both bombs and grenades for all sorts of factories and all types of armaments but all that produced them called them Cooper grenades. Also calls them Mills bombs and grenades or parts thereof even down to filler screws. Anyway, thank you all for your help here, i am sure its the arial Cooper bomb that is refered to. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 14 February , 2009 Share Posted 14 February , 2009 Andy I suppose with all the detail we have about Mills Grenades, we tend to overlook the grenades that don't have names associated with them. In this case I would think it does refer to the Cooper Bomb used by the RFC / RAF. There must have been thousands of factories and workshops approved for munitions works but many may not have completed whole grenades / bombs / shells etc. I've got references to firms that made just centrepieces and others just gascheck plates. That sort of thing must have happened across the whole industry. Firms that specialised in castings would have been unlikely to be turning out filler screws as well. Completely different skills. It's good assembling all the data though. A task I'm sure nobody will finish! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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