Hallibag Posted 5 April Share Posted 5 April Earlier today I picked up this deactivated No.5 Mk.1 Mills Bomb. Strangely, its base plug is totally unmarked. Has anyone seen another Mills Bomb before with no markings on its base plug? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navydoc16 Posted 5 April Share Posted 5 April (edited) It is possibly it is a wartime expediency, there was a lot of Australian equipment in late 41 and 42 that was unmarked with dates just to speed up manufacture as aid from the Uk was halted with Dunkirk and the increased campaign close to home in the pacific i have examples of unmarked steel plugs, marked cast aluminium and unmarked brass in my collection kind regards g Edited 7 April by navydoc16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 7 April Share Posted 7 April Yes there are a few around, I suspect picked off the production line before they could be stamped. Normally the blank plugs are early aluminum type but sometimes the brass No. 23 Mk I can be found blank as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallibag Posted 7 April Author Share Posted 7 April 5 hours ago, Gunner Bailey said: Yes there are a few around, I suspect picked off the production line before they could be stamped. Normally the blank plugs are early aluminum type but sometimes the brass No. 23 Mk I can be found blank as well. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navydoc16 Posted 7 April Share Posted 7 April It may also be something someone has machined up as they couldn’t find an original for the piece- just a thought kind regards g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallibag Posted 8 April Author Share Posted 8 April 38 minutes ago, navydoc16 said: It may also be something someone has machined up as they couldn’t find an original for the piece- just a thought kind regards g Could be. It looks just like the early aluminum baseplugs, though, so if this is something somebody made up at least they did a pretty good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navydoc16 Posted 8 April Share Posted 8 April Yeah it’s just more that the patina- at least on the photos looks different to the piece. They should be cast aluminium rather than machined, this appears to show markings on the center from the chuck from the lathe. Kind regards g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navydoc16 Posted 8 April Share Posted 8 April No worries, also have a look at the knurling, yours is a standard hobby knurl. I am not familiar with any plugs having that particular type. Normally very chunky for obvious reasons. kind regards g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 8 April Share Posted 8 April My photo. The heavy knurling plug was probably going to be a Throwing Practice plug, taken before stamping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14276265 Posted 8 April Share Posted 8 April 15 hours ago, navydoc16 said: They should be cast aluminium rather than machined Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navydoc16 Posted 9 April Share Posted 9 April Yes should be cast and then faced off on the lathe and turned to make the threads. With the normal markings it’s easy to see they are not machined and stamped but cast and machined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14276265 Posted 9 April Share Posted 9 April 10 hours ago, navydoc16 said: Yes should be cast and then faced off on the lathe and turned to make the threads. With the normal markings it’s easy to see they are not machined and stamped but cast and machined. William Mills, and the other original 60 or so Mills bomb manufacturers, might have had something to say about that. Production from aluminium bar was the first method of production, 1ft of bar yielding about six or seven plugs. Al bar was costed at two shillings and sixpence per foot, with a cost per plug of threepence. Brass bar was also used as an alternative from early days. The base plug shown by the OP is an unstamped original plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navydoc16 Posted 9 April Share Posted 9 April (edited) 36 minutes ago, 14276265 said: William Mills, and the other original 60 or so Mills bomb manufacturers, might have had something to say about that. Production from aluminium bar was the first method of production, 1ft of bar yielding about six or seven plugs. Al bar was costed at two shillings and sixpence per foot, with a cost per plug of threepence. Brass bar was also used as an alternative from early days. The base plug shown by the OP is an unstamped original plug. Yes my understanding is that was done away with for war economy very early in the piece. Could very well be wrong though kind regards g Edited 9 April by navydoc16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallibag Posted 9 April Author Share Posted 9 April A few additional pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navydoc16 Posted 9 April Share Posted 9 April 1 minute ago, Hallibag said: A few additional pics. Well well, so the knurling is actually correct and cast, rather than cut (which is what it looks like). so it is potentially actually an original cast expedient plug with no markings kind regards g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14276265 Posted 9 April Share Posted 9 April 2 minutes ago, navydoc16 said: Well well, so the knurling is actually correct and cast, rather than cut (which is what it looks like). so it is potentially actually an original cast expedient plug with no markings It an original plug made from bar stock, lathe parting tool marks very evident on both faces, threaded with lathe threading cutter, and the knurling applied by a standard lathe knurling tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallibag Posted 9 April Author Share Posted 9 April Thank you Navydoc16 and 14276265 for your replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navydoc16 Posted 21 April Share Posted 21 April (edited) On 10/04/2024 at 00:07, Hallibag said: Thank you Navydoc16 and 14276265 for your replies! Might wish to post your find on “Mills Base Plugs!!!” May get some greater assistance on the matter, as opposed to the above 👆 Kind regards g Edited 21 April by navydoc16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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