egbert Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 Mills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 Yes indeed, Mills No.5's. Still very dangerous, leave well alone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 The one on the right looks definately like a No.5 Mills, but I'd say the one on the left looks (to me) more likely to be a No.23 Mk.II Mills (difficult to see, but it could also be a No.23 Mk.I, which is less common). Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGEL Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 Egbert where are you getting the stuff from ?? is it that easy to find like that ??are you using a metal detector ?/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 It is ploughing time on the Somme at the moment, and this sort of stuff can be found. However, do remember it is someones land, and as Egbert will tell you - as a serving solider - UXO should be photographed and left well alone. It kills people every year, even 90 years afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 Dave, you could be very right. Nigel, Mills bombs can be found lying on the surface in the Great War battlefields quite easily. In one day last year I came across five in various fields in a few hours. If you find them, photograph but do not touch - many of these items have become more unstable and more dangerous than they were 90 years ago. If you carry a metal detector or spade onto a French field and the Gendarmes spot you you are in big trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Noble Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 I think one of the biggest piles of Mills bombs i've ever seen, was near Regina Trench Cemetery, Somme. A sad relic of how ferocious the fighting was in the locality. Photograph by all means, but don't touch. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGEL Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 If its that easy to find how come the disposal people dont do something ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 They do, but not every day. In most case they remove shells every quarter, unless it is obviously gas or larger calibre (6-inch and above). In that case they come and remove it immediately. If you rang them up for a Mills, they would likely laugh and put the phone down on you! Curiously enough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
303man Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 In some areas up to 2 tons of shells landed per Square meter and up to 25% failure rate in some cases. Due to numerous reasons Graze and impact fuzes being fitted and failing to function when the shell plops into soft churned up ground, Poor manifacturing and quality control checks and incorrect fuze setting by soldiers under an immense amount of pressure tired and shelled themselves. The de minuers working in france have enough work for several hundred years et the rate they are clearing. As everyone says photo from a distance stay safe even the experts get killed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 If you carry a metal detector or spade onto a French field you are about to cause a big Bang (or Boom as the French say) Very Dangerous stuff . As it happens every inside door in our house has a fuse cap as a stop and we use a Mauser with loaded (but neutralised magazine) for a door prop on the outer door. Mothers knitting needles rest in a shell case and the neighbours dog keeps well away. The best kit was in the sixties when the farmers first got mechanised rather than using horses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 30 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 30 August , 2004 Nigel, as Paul mentioned already: if you like to join the Great War Army early, just kick and play around with these live ammo! But if you love life: don't you ever handle this devils stuff. It looks harmless but is still dangerous. I have lots of respect and never touch it. Besides: if you read this I am at 37.000ft on my way back to Alabama and it would be no good onboard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIRKY Posted 30 August , 2004 Share Posted 30 August , 2004 this is a M1 mills grenade and would strongly suggest that you leave this item alone. Many people are killed by fiddling with live ammo thats all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somme1916 Posted 30 August , 2004 Share Posted 30 August , 2004 I've seen some demilled grenades and shells for sell by man in France who was missing the lower 3/4 of one of his arms. Though I didn't ask I assumed he did his own recovery and demilling work! Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter van den Heuvel Posted 30 August , 2004 Share Posted 30 August , 2004 Some years ago after Eastern I saw several Mills No. 5 hanging on a tree attached with a white ribbon. What I can remember it was in the neighbourhood of Queens Trench near Courcelette. I still drive my car with two hands and don't wonder anymore.... Peter H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somme1916 Posted 30 August , 2004 Share Posted 30 August , 2004 Some years ago after Eastern I saw several Mills No. 5 hanging on a tree attached with a white ribbon. What I can remember it was in the neighbourhood of Queens Trench near Courcelette. Peter H. That must have been Paul Reed's place! Sorry Paul I couldn't resist. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 30 August , 2004 Share Posted 30 August , 2004 Some years ago after Eastern I saw several Mills No. 5 hanging on a tree attached with a white ribbon. What I can remember it was in the neighbourhood of Queens Trench near Courcelette. I won't even ask what you might have been drinking that day... very strange. Never seen anything like it, myself. And Queen's Trench... Courcelette? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 30 August , 2004 Share Posted 30 August , 2004 I saw this one just south of Trones Wood in July. There might not be much of it left but I'm sure that could cause serious enough injuries on its own. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 30 August , 2004 Share Posted 30 August , 2004 The British Army killed its enemies with weapons made to the highest standard. On the inside, these bombs are as good as new. Only the external corrosion and mud are keeping things in their right place. A friend of mine told me how a battlefield visitor brought a Mills Bomb back from the Somme and left it in the kitchen sink under a running tap, prior to brushing off the mud with a nail-brush. (I know - I know ) The accumulated mud, of course, had for some years been performing the original function of the long-ago-rusted-away soft iron retaining-pin, and holding the bomb in the "safe" position. Released from the hold of the tight-packed mud, the firing pin did what comes naturally and allowed the spring to drive it down into the detonator. The resulting explosion demolished the kitchen sink. The kitchen window was glistening all over the lawn. The "cold" tap was never found and the jet of water from the decapitated water-pipe was hitting the ceiling. Fortunately, the "collector" was in another part of the house at the critical time. Others have not been so lucky. In 1997 the head of the war studies department at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst was found dead in his study. His injuries were so extensive that paramedics immediately called police, believing that he had been the victim of a frenzied shooting. Forensic investigations led police to believe that the lecturer had been examining a Mills Bomb (part of a collection of relics he kept in his study) when it exploded. I don't think the danger of these things can be over-stated. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 30 August , 2004 Share Posted 30 August , 2004 Jon, the gentleman you describe sounds like Eric, he is a well known dealer in the Somme area and yes you are absolutely right about his disablement. There are a few guys like him at the fairs who learnt the hard way. The grenade Ken illustrates has seemingly already detonated, almost certainly at the intended time ie 14-18. Quite often the inner assembly remains attached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 31 August , 2004 Share Posted 31 August , 2004 The grenade Ken illustrates has seemingly already detonated, almost certainly at the intended time ie 14-18. Quite often the inner assembly remains attached. Giles, Would this have been a partial detonation? The photo doesn't show it, but alongside the central 'column' (does that contain the plunger mechanism?) there was another, smaller tube laying alongside it (detonator?). That was what led me to believe that it hadn't previously gone off. And that was also why I didn't touch it. Better safe than sorry Regards, Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 31 August , 2004 Share Posted 31 August , 2004 Ken, As always the rule must be (seems to be on many threads at the moment!) do not touch. You are correct in your description of the layout and purpose of the two tubes. The smaller one to the side has the detonator assembly inserted at the time of use. If the grenade had detonated by the intended means then there should at least be a hole in this tube. Having said that, your grenade could have been fractured by a farmer's plough many years ago but still contain a very dangerous detonator. The Mills illustrated below has the two central tubes cut away but they are normally 'complete'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter van den Heuvel Posted 31 August , 2004 Share Posted 31 August , 2004 Some years ago after Eastern I saw several Mills No. 5 hanging on a tree attached with a white ribbon. What I can remember it was in the neighbourhood of Queens Trench near Courcelette. I won't even ask what you might have been drinking that day... very strange. Never seen anything like it, myself. And Queen's Trench... Courcelette? Paul, As said, it's some years ago and maybe I'm mixing up names, in fact I was there with the Morgan family so maybe Tom can help me where that spot exact was. Tried to find it several times afterwards but without success. Peter H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter van den Heuvel Posted 31 August , 2004 Share Posted 31 August , 2004 It was Regina Trench ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 31 August , 2004 Share Posted 31 August , 2004 this is a M1 mills grenade Kirky. The M1 was a US grenade developed in 1919. It became famous during WW2 and Korea as the "pineapple" grenade. Mills bombs only came in the No.5, No.23 and No.36 varieties (through several marks of each). Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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