YankeeDiv Posted 30 December , 2013 Share Posted 30 December , 2013 Very nice find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garron Posted 30 December , 2013 Share Posted 30 December , 2013 Here is my little collection of grenades. The one of the right is missing its cardboard handle.Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchtrotter Posted 30 December , 2013 Share Posted 30 December , 2013 Nice little collection there Gaz. What is the one on the right? TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noyes16 Posted 31 December , 2013 Share Posted 31 December , 2013 Chaps, I know this thread is mostly about Mills Bombs but as there appear to be a number of grenade experts contributing to it I thought I'd ask about markings on my No15. I got this for Christmas and it has the markings PB and NW15 stamped on it. I'm guessing the 15 relates to the year of manufacture but have no idea what the letters stand for. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Robin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garron Posted 31 December , 2013 Share Posted 31 December , 2013 Nice little collection there Gaz. What is the one on the right? TT Cheers, I just pick up the odd one here and there if I find one for sale, not really a collector persay just another avenue of my WW1 stuff. Its an Austrian Rohr Grenade, here is what a complete example should look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calibre792x57.y Posted 31 December , 2013 Share Posted 31 December , 2013 Chaps, I know this thread is mostly about Mills Bombs but as there appear to be a number of grenade experts contributing to it I thought I'd ask about markings on my No15. I got this for Christmas and it has the markings PB and NW15 stamped on it. I'm guessing the 15 relates to the year of manufacture but have no idea what the letters stand for. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Robin Bit difficult to be sure without knowing where the markings are, and what they look like; but 15 is likely the year as most were made then. PB would be Platt Bros. & Co. Oldham, who were one of the early manufacturers involved in producing these bombs for the Battle of Loos. Could the 'NW' be 'MW' ? - Happy New Year - SW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancashire Fusilier Posted 31 December , 2013 Author Share Posted 31 December , 2013 Happy New Year to everyone. LF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchtrotter Posted 31 December , 2013 Share Posted 31 December , 2013 Nice card and HNY to all..... Q. I have recently acquired a nice inert Granatenwerfer round complete with fuze an tail fin assembly and retaining much original paint ( not an excavated example). The fuze and one fin is MM S & C. Anyone know which maker? Thanks TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noyes16 Posted 1 January , 2014 Share Posted 1 January , 2014 Bit difficult to be sure without knowing where the markings are, and what they look like; but 15 is likely the year as most were made then. PB would be Platt Bros. & Co. Oldham, who were one of the early manufacturers involved in producing these bombs for the Battle of Loos. Could the 'NW' be 'MW' ? - Happy New Year - SW Thanks for the info. The markings are on the bottom. It's definitely 'NW15'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 17 January , 2014 Share Posted 17 January , 2014 I am researching an officer, Frederic Henry Lewin, who was fatally wounded in November,1915. He was preparing a demonstration, for senior officers, of a bomb catapult. The bomb required its fuse to be lit; it appeared to have gone out, and Lewin was bending over it to light it again when it exploded. I understand that the No. 15 ball bomb had been withdrawn, following its use (and frequent failure) at Loos, so I presume that the bomb would have been the No. 16 oval type, assuming that the most modern type would have been used in a demonstration. I know that the Mills grenade was introduced soon after this date (and the name changed from bomb to grenade) but, of course, this did not require lighting of a fuse. Does anyone have an image of the No. 16 oval bomb? Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 17 January , 2014 Share Posted 17 January , 2014 I don't know whos page this is but a good pic. http://www.geocities.ws/sf_armourer/gren1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 17 January , 2014 Share Posted 17 January , 2014 As a matter of interest if you are interested in grenades this book is a good start. Identification Handbook of British Grenades 1900-1960 By Rick Landers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Haselgrove Posted 17 January , 2014 Share Posted 17 January , 2014 Hi Michael, Attached are a couple of photos of grenades in my collection. The No.15 is dated on the detonator holder September 1915 and the No.16 December 1915. According to Rick Landers the No.15 weekly production reached half a million by November 1915. Since the No.15 was authorised for use in catapults and spring guns only I would assume, in the absence of other evidence, that the accident to which you referwas more likely caused by a No.15. Regards, Michael. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 17 January , 2014 Share Posted 17 January , 2014 I don't know whos page this is but a good pic. http://www.geocities.ws/sf_armourer/gren1.html Thanks! Unfortunately, the page is obscured by a pop-up advertisement, and I can't see the grenade. "According to Rick Landers the No.15 weekly production reached half a million by November 1915. Since the No.15 was authorised for use in catapults and spring guns only I would assume, in the absence of other evidence, that the accident to which you referwas more likely caused by a No.15." Thanks, Michael, that's very helpful. I have a photo of the No. 15, with the fuse sticking out, so I can use it after all. As ever, this Forum has produced the answer. To finish the story, Frederic Lewin wasn't killed outright, which seems surprising, considering how close he was to the bomb. With severe head injuries, he was put into the passenger seat of his own two-seater open car and driven over rough ground to hospital. He had at least two operations, and lived for four weeks! Michael, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancashire Fusilier Posted 18 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 January , 2014 Had another dig around the workshop and re-discovered this one. No34 Mk3 Mick Mick, Nice example of the No.34 Mark III - List of Changes No. 20122 dated 15 Jan 1918. " The grenade differs from the No.34 Mark II being more elliptical in shape and not bottle necked; it is also one ounce lighter; the filling hole is in the centre rather than lower down the body. The striker may be made of either brass or steel; the striker chamber is provided with 2 flats for fixing purposes, and a paper band is shellaced over the vent holes. The grenade is filled with alumatol or ammonal, and fitted with a Mark II detonator. The grenades are packed 24 in a box together with 24 detonators in a tin cylinder, and spanner for the striker socket. " Photo shows a Mark I grenade box with 24 No.34 Mark III grenades. Regards, LF C/o Rick Landers - ' Grenade ' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancashire Fusilier Posted 18 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 January , 2014 No. 34 Mark III sectional and practice grenade. LF C/o Rick Landers - ' Grenade ' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancashire Fusilier Posted 18 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 January , 2014 Does anyone have an image of the No. 16 oval bomb? Michael Michael, Here is a photo of the No.16 Grenade - List of Changes No.18689 dated 21 May 1915. " The No.16 Grenade was the last of the so called ' emergency grenades ' introduced in the first half of 1915 along with the No.15 Grenade. Several million Nos. 15 & 16 Grenades were produced " Body length - 3.5 inches. Body diameter - 2.25 inches. Filled weight - 1 lb 2 oz. Explosive charge - 4 oz ammonal. Ignition - Brassard lit safety fuze and No.8 Mark VII detonator, fitted with a 5 second fuze. 3,831,575 were manufactured between September 1915 and September 1916 when production ceased. Regards, LF C/o Rick Landers - ' Grenade ' and D.W. Lynn ' The Grenade Recognition Manual '. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancashire Fusilier Posted 18 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 January , 2014 Here is my little collection of grenades. The one of the right is missing its cardboard handle. Gaz Gaz, Very nice collection, I particularly like the German ' Oyster Shell ' Grenade. Regards, LF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 18 January , 2014 Share Posted 18 January , 2014 The only place I have seen the remains of 'Oyster' grenades in large numbers is Roclincourt adjacent to Highland Cemetery, after deep ploughing there around 1998, hundreds were turned up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18th Battalion Posted 4 March , 2014 Share Posted 4 March , 2014 I thought I would share my latest acquisition, a No.23 Mk2. All the component parts are I believe original to this grenade, the lever, striker and pin could only be freed after chipping away the rock had chalky mud that had seized them in place. The body still has some residual shellac and has only some very minor rust pitting, the centre piece is the fabricated brass type. The lever, steel base plug and the ring have suffered some corrosion but are still pretty good as are the striker and spring which are more or less rust free. There's no date left showing on the base plug but according to info on millsgrenades.co.uk it was made by Castings Ltd, Selbourne Street, Walsall. The body has a shield logo and 216 cast into it, the number is presumably a batch number or date? Interestingly, my other (semi relic) No.23 has the same shield logo but no sign of a number. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancashire Fusilier Posted 5 March , 2014 Author Share Posted 5 March , 2014 I thought I would share my latest acquisition, a No.23 Mk2. Paul Paul, Two nice examples, both cleaned up remarkably well. Regards, LF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DAME JANET Posted 16 May , 2014 Share Posted 16 May , 2014 I am researching an officer, Frederic Henry Lewin, who was fatally wounded in November,1915. He was preparing a demonstration, for senior officers, of a bomb catapult. The bomb required its fuse to be lit; it appeared to have gone out, and Lewin was bending over it to light it again when it exploded. I understand that the No. 15 ball bomb had been withdrawn, following its use (and frequent failure) at Loos, so I presume that the bomb would have been the No. 16 oval type, assuming that the most modern type would have been used in a demonstration. I know that the Mills grenade was introduced soon after this date (and the name changed from bomb to grenade) but, of course, this did not require lighting of a fuse. Does anyone have an image of the No. 16 oval bomb? Michael Unless it is an amazing set of coincidences this was my Great Uncle. He was RSM Kings Royal Rifles, killed November 26th 1915 and he is memorialised at Loos. I never knew circumstances of his death. How did you come to be researching him? Janet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 16 May , 2014 Share Posted 16 May , 2014 Unless it is an amazing set of coincidences this was my Great Uncle. He was RSM Kings Royal Rifles, killed November 26th 1915 and he is memorialised at Loos. I never knew circumstances of his death. How did you come to be researching him? Janet Sorry, it is just a coincidence! My man was a Captain in the 3rd. Battalion, Connaught Rangers, and the accident happened in Co. Cork, Ireland, on 10th November. He died of his injuries on 8th December. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DAME JANET Posted 16 May , 2014 Share Posted 16 May , 2014 Sorry, it is just a coincidence! My man was a Captain in the 3rd. Battalion, Connaught Rangers, and the accident happened in Co. Cork, Ireland, on 10th November. He died of his injuries on 8th December. Michael Thank you for clearing that up anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony N Posted 28 May , 2014 Share Posted 28 May , 2014 I recently bought a No. 5 MKI Mills and was wondering if there was any way of telling the difference between newly made filler plugs and centrepieces and the old originals? Are No. 5 centre pieces only found in brass or other metals too? Thanks for any help. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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