Removing pin from a grenade with your teeth

[nthornton1979]

I have a WW1 DCM group to a chap in the Cheshires who was awarded it for a raid. His records show he was badly wounded in the right arm during the act.

The citation :-

"For most conspicuous gallantry. Although subjected to heavy fire, he put an enemy machine gun out of action by bombing,and, though wounded, continued bombing, withdrawing pins with his teeth and throwing with his left hand"

Neil

[auchonvillerssomme]

Then this subject perhaps brings into doubt the validity of his citation.

[truthergw]

I liked the wee movie, Mike. I think it could be done and if I have learned anything on the forum, it is that nothing was too daft for it to be tried. So, my guess is that considering the hundreds of thousands of men issued with Mills bombs over the duration of the war, some of them used their teeth. Whether it was a good idea or not, is another question. As far as the U Tube clip goes, anyone who was approached by two grown men dressed like that and allowed either of them near a live grenade should be locked up. I should categorize the incident as a near-darwinian event.

[Guest]

Glad you enjoyed it Tom. " a near-darwinian event. "

That guy certainly seems to have 'pulled it off'.

Mike

[Matthew]

My recollection of using modern British Army grenades in the '80s were that the pin were also under pressure from the spring of the striker. I realise that the designs are different but this might make them quite difficult to pull with your teeth. Plus the rings are loose so you will get slobber all over your ordnance trying to get the ring in your teeth!

I suspect if you want to be fast, and certain, both hands are best. If you want to win the heart of the leading lady and the audience then teeth are the way to go!

[Andy Wade]

If you want to win the heart of the leading lady and the audience then teeth are the way to go!

I thought you secretly removed the pin and then held it in your teeth, then (whilst still holding the lever) pretend to pull the pin with your teeth and chuck the grenade. Spit the pin out with disdain and the girl's yours.

Or you could just blow your head off trying to showboat.

[Ice Tiger]

I think this thread finaly solves the age old problem of how Broomer's teeth ended up in the chocolate fountain

Andy

[squirrel]

Hold dentures firmly in left hand, place the pin between the upper and lower sets and hold firmly. Grasp the grenade with right hand and pull firmly away from left hand. Raise right arm with grenade in hand and throw in the general direction of the enemy using a "bowling" action. Do not inpart leg or off spin.

[Terry_Reeves]

I agree with Jack Sheldon about the palaver of involved in preparing a 36 grenade. Incidentally, we were always instructed that the grenade should be removed from the pin and not vice versa, a good bit of advice. With that in mind, try sticking a grenade in your mouth.

TR

[truthergw]

I agree. One ( we referred to ourselves as one, in those far off and much more grammatical days) removed the grenade from the pin, rather than pulling the pin from the grenade.

[Matthew]

One of the few things about the Great War that I ever discussed with my grandfather was the fact that he was a 'bomber'. He talked about getting the grenades in a biscuit tin and putting pink detonators in the bottom. He died before I was old enough to ask all the questions I'd so like to ask him now.

[squirrel]

I agree. One ( we referred to ourselves as one, in those far off and much more grammatical days) removed the grenade from the pin, rather than pulling the pin from the grenade.

Well done - I wondered when someone would spot that - post edited.

[Matthew]

Then 'one' chucked it as quickly as 'one' could and dived behind the wall. Then the RSM grabbed me by the collar and required me to "See where its b.....y well gone first".

[Moonraker]

Siegfried Sassoon in Memoirs of an Infantry Officer mentions that he pulled a safety-pin out of a Mills bomb with his teeth when he accidentally captured an enemy trench during an impulsive sortie to seek revenge on the sniper who had killed a lance-corporal.Four pages later he concedes "how difficult it is to recover the details of war experience".

Moonraker

[truthergw]

All poets have exceptionally fine teeth. Well known, that is.

[centurion]

Siegfried Sassoon in Memoirs of an Infantry Officer mentions that he pulled a safety-pin out of a Mills bomb with his teeth when he accidentally captured an enemy trench during an impulsive sortie to seek revenge on the sniper who had killed a lance-corporal.Four pages later he concedes "how difficult it is to recover the details of war experience".

Moonraker

Whilst Sassoon's novels were based on his own experience they are not completely reliable as historical records.

[MrEd]

I have just tried this with an inert No5. The pin is a bit of a pain to pull. Is what i did was hold it in my right hand with the lever between the crook of my thumb and finger. I then used my eye teeth on the right of my mouth to get a gri[p inside the loop of the pin, i then pulled the grenade away from my mouth and the pin came out but it put a lot of pressure on my tooth. I wouldnt want to try it with a new grenade though as the pin would be tight, for example my No36 the pin is very tight and the pressure put on it by the lever is quite a bit. Its difficult to pull it out without concentrated effort.

do i think its possible? With a brand new grenade with a strong spring in it and a tight pin, sitting in my living room? No i think not. BUT massive adrenalin of being at war/actively fighting and being in a situation where you just had to do it? possible i reckon if the pin was completely straight and you depressed the lever slightly. people have performed lesser feats. its amazing what the human boby can do under pressure. However the force to pull the pin is a reasonable amount and dropping the gren would be very likely......

With my 90 odd year old No5 with original 'less than strong' spring and slack pin holes, definately do-able. I just couldnt work out how to film it without the lever flying off and blinding me......... and there is no way im trying it with the No36 as the spring is to fierce lol and i like chewing food.

[dycer]

When I was "in" in the 1970's we were told severely John Wayne antics with grenades were for the Films.

I agree the removal of grease,etc was a problem but my real worry was fusing them especially after been told the fuse was unreliable time-wise and if you held it in your hand for too long before inserting it into the grenade it could go off and remove your hand.Grenades are deadly within their spread and not to be trifled with as they will as readily kill the thrower as the recipients.

Follow the instructions for cleaning and arming,throw the thing where it's supposed to go, duck behind anything that will deflect you being caught up in its spread.Hope the thing explodes otherwise some poor sod has to go out and recover it as a misfire,they were unreliable.

I'm sure men who were used to them regularly knew how how to treat them, use them to their advantage including ease of releasing the pin.

But taking extracting the pin with your teeth is generally the stuff of American WW2 John Wayne type Films unless they used a different type and easier pin extraction grenade.

How is it that current battlefield walkers find unexploded grenades covet their continuing existence as a WW1 artefact by taking photos but will not touch them with a barge pole?

George

[MrEd]

yeah agreed, possible but very reckless and creating an unacceptable amount of risk of injury/death to you and your mates, and besides no one sane would run around shooting from the hip with one hand whilst slinging grenades with the other........

[Rob Connolly]

You have to use the specially developed 'Hollywood' Mills Bomb which always throws enemy soldiers out of foxholes and into the air, produces remarkably little gore and never sends any fragments anywhere near the thrower. These have the Kindydent (trade mark applied for) pins ("its the sort of pin Tony Curtiss would have used"), certified as enamel friendly by the American Society of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Be careful - folks here will start to call you "Denturion"

[Khaki]

Just reading these old posts, and using a great deal of imagination, I suppose a gentleman officer with a missing limb could possibly pull the pin by placing it over the hook on his Sam Browne belt.

khaki