2 East Yorkshires attack Feb 1915- what type of grenades? Jam Tins?

[David_Blanchard]

The 2 East Yorkshire Regiment was involved in an attack with the object of taking a mine crater exploded by the Germans on 17 February near Zwarteleen. According to the regimental history by Wyrall (page 58);

 

'Meanwhile the local reserves at Toulerie were preparing 400 hand grenades and 200 sandbags' 

 

There is no indication of the type of grenades being prepared. I would assume these would have been jam tin grenades, but this seems to a remarkably large amount for such an unstable explosive, particularly so early in 1915.

[robins2]

13 hours ago, David_Blanchard said:

The 2 East Yorkshire Regiment was involved in an attack with the object of taking a mine crater exploded by the Germans on 17 February near Zwarteleen. According to the regimental history by Wyrall (page 58);

 

'Meanwhile the local reserves at Toulerie were preparing 400 hand grenades and 200 sandbags' 

 

There is no indication of the type of grenades being prepared. I would assume these would have been jam tin grenades, but this seems to a remarkably large amount for such an unstable explosive, particularly so early in 1915.

it could be regular grenades, i do believe they came in case lot with the fuse/detonator separate so to prepare for use they had to insert the fuse, in later dates (36 grenades were coated with bees wax which had to be cleaned off) do not know if WW1 grenades came the same way

 

regards

 

Bob R.

[brianmorris547]

David

The WD of 28 Div A&QMG (WO 95/2269/1) and 28 Div CRA (2269/2) are transposed on Ancestry. For the AQ diary put 2269/2 into the keywords box. 

04/02/1915 2000 hand or rifle grenades and one thousand rifle grenades asked for from ammunition park.

21/02/1915 Great difficulty getting rifle grenades.

Not much help but if they were ordered from the ammunition park perhaps they were not the jam tin variety.

Brian

[jay dubaya]

One wonders if they may have been Battye grenades.

[mebu]

Weren't hand made hairbrush grenades still in use at this stage?

 

Peter

[David_Blanchard]

Thanks for your help. The only references I have come across in other war diaries and regimental histories for the 28 Division during this period relate to jam tin bombs. 
 

Brian,

Thanks for the heads up with the diary- interesting report contained within by Captain Myer Coplans of the Mobile Hygiene Laboratory about sanitation measures near Ypres- at present I am looking into sanitation in Ypres in February mainly from medical diaries ie ADMS 28 Division and 2 Army DMS, Coplans work is mentioned but cannot find reports of sanitation reports which are mentioned and sent on to higher authority but not included in appendices of War Diary.

 

David 

[ServiceRumDiluted]

Possibly No2 grenades? These came in both hand and rifle variants. 

[14276265]

On 14/09/2021 at 09:23, David_Blanchard said:

There is no indication of the type of grenades being prepared. I would assume these would have been jam tin grenades, but this seems to a remarkably large amount for such an unstable explosive, particularly so early in 1915.

In February-March 1915 the grenades mentioned in such numbers (hundreds) would have been the Double Cylinder type - either the RE-made jam pot examples or the home produced No.8 made by Roburite & Ammonal Ltd. The latter was a factory produced version - in a more controlled environment - of the RE jam pots. At this point grenades were still an RE store and were generally drawn from RE parks. 

No.2 grenades (then often referred to as tonite grenades) were also drawn, but usually in much smaller numbers - tens rather than hundreds as supply from England was very limited.

 

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