WW II Grenades

[PWC]

Did our (US) hand grenades smoke when thrown? I've seen movie footage where some did, some didn't. What about Herman and Japanese?

[togor]

According to the internet, some did and some didn't.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mk_2_grenade

[Vern Humphrey]

Did our (US) hand grenades smoke when thrown? I've seen movie footage where some did, some didn't. What about Herman and Japanese?

Yes. Early grenade fuzes smoked. The Axis had several different kinds -- the old "potato masher" smoked. It was ignited with a friction igniter. In Viet Nam, Chinese grenades smoked for the same reason, the friction igniter.

[bruce]

Never realized there were significant problems with the WWI grenade or for that matter that it took such a while to get things right for WWII. Sincerely. bruce.

[Art]

My old daddy told me about the many different fillers on these grenades, all the way from TNT down to a few with black powder. It seems whatever was available that would go bang was used to fill those things. When I was in basic training in 1966 we threw the pineapple in live grenade practice and we were issued them in Korea as late as 1968.

There was a very good documentary about the Battle of Wake Island called "Alamo of the Pacific." The Marines in that depiction carried yellow grenades. i didn't realize until I read this thread that they were actually "correct" for the period.

I had a buddy who was a combat marine in Viet Nam who told me that the Chi. Com. stick grenades used by the NVA and the Viet Cong also had reliability problems. In fact he said that was the only item of opposition equipment that in his experience at least, had reliability issues.

[Vern Humphrey]

Never realized there were significant problems with the WWI grenade or for that matter that it took such a while to get things right for WWII. Sincerely. bruce.

Originally in WWI British soldiers mostly made their own grenades. The original issue grenades were like those depicted on the Ordnance Corps insignia, a round cast iron ball with a fuze. There was a special course for "Bombers" which taught them to make grenades. Author Guy Empey, an American who joined the British Army, attended such a course and wrote about it in his book, "Over the Top."

[PWC]

Tks guys