Jack Sheldon Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 I am just translating out of a German a captured French document of early 1915 which mentions 'Melanit' hand grenades. These were to be used to cut wire during infantry attacks,so I assume that they must have been fairly powerful. Can anybody tell me anything about them? Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 Possibly this one? specifically intended to beach barbed wire http://www.passioncompassion1418.com/decouvertes/ImagesDecouvertes/Grenades/PetardBarb1.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 from an article by Patrick Delhomme and Rbert Yuille called 'Les Grenades Francaises de la Grande Guerre' in the Gazette des Armes nr.49 (May 1977)... dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_H Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 Jack Melanite was a picric acid based explosive, the French equivalent of Lyddite. Used widely for projectile filling. I would think that the grenades mentioned were made up charges, similar to, or an enlargement of, the grenades shown in the Delhomme aticles that Dave cites above. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sheldon Posted 17 December , 2010 Author Share Posted 17 December , 2010 Thank you all for the information. Armed with the earlier tips, I had just reached picric acid myself via Google. Well you learn something every day. I rather suspect that, given the timeframe (Feb 15), the improvised hairbrush grenades were what was meant, though it is not really possible to tell from the original Melinithandgranaten It gives me enough for a footnote, which is the main thing. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 Jack Melanite was a picric acid based explosive, the French equivalent of Lyddite. Used widely for projectile filling. I would think that the grenades mentioned were made up charges, similar to, or an enlargement of, the grenades shown in the Delhomme aticles that Dave cites above. Mike Also known as Cheddite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 Melinite (not melanite) was not the same as Cheddite, as evidenced in the French text provided by Croonaert - "...comportant 2 cartouches de melinite ou de cheddite". The end result, however, was the same. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sheldon Posted 17 December , 2010 Author Share Posted 17 December , 2010 You are correct of course Robert. I have just been looking up Cheddite which has taken me off on a voyage of discovery to the village of Chedde in Haute Savoie where making it as a general blasting explosive, primarily for quarrying, seems to have kicked off as a cottage industry. It is astonishing where simple queries lead sometimes. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 I wonder if the cottage survived Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph0ebus Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 On first read I saw cheddar and marmite. Must still be hungry. Very interesting thread. I had not heard of such devices before. I am assuming they would not leave anything behind (of the original device) once detinated? -Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now