Two examples of British rifle grenades ‘in action’ during the Great War.
Because it is unlikely that I shall ever own examples of most of these – I have to remind myself from time-to-time that I do not collect British grenades per se – and as Duncan the Younger uncovered these pages of photographs during one of his archival explorations last year, before we move on to the one British rifle grenade that I do own, here are some others for your perusal. On the left page, two different pattern No. 3 Rifle Grenades, the earliest production model, one shown in cutaway, alongside an example of the No. 4 Naval Rifle Grenade, and on the right page, the No. 20 Mk. I Rifle Grenade & cutaway, and the No. 20 Mk. II Rifle Grenade, very similar to the Mk. I, and shown in cutaway only.
Diagrams showing the working parts of the No. 3 Mk. I (left), and the No. 4 Mk. I (right – not my scan, I hasten to add),…
…and the No. 20 Mk. I & Mk. II (ditto).
Before we continue, the briefest of history lessons. The British invented the rifle grenade, the first design of which, shown above, was patented by Frederick Marten Hale in November 1909.
Hale poses for the cameraman with the No. 2 rifle grenade just seen in the patent diagrams. This grenade was not adopted by the British Army until after war had broken out, at which time a shipment of 50,000 bound for Mexico was diverted for British Army use. But that’s too much information for a pictorial overview, so…
…next, the ubiquitous Mills Bomb, of which I do own a couple of examples, this one showing, on the right, a base plug designed for use with a rod, thus turning the hand grenade into a rifle grenade, as shown on the left below.
The first rifle grenade variants of the No. 23 Mks. I, II & III and their rifle grenade attachments (left). On the right, the final European theatre variant, the No. 36 Mk. I with its discharger cup,…
…the cup and attachment shown here (for more on discharger cups click here).
Diagrams of the No. 23 Mk. I (left) & Mk. III (right), the only difference between the Mk. I & Mk. II (not shown) being the introduction of a cast iron base plug.
Attachments for firing,…
…and instructions on firing using a discharger cup.
Box of No. 23 Mk. II Rifle Grenades showing blank cartridges and rods (examples bottom left – close-up photo below) packed in the box on the left, with twelve grenades and twelve igniters (fuses*) in a round tin, the lid removed, packed in the box on the right. Perhaps a reminder on how to use a rod grenade would be useful at this point. Attach the rod to the base of the grenade, then insert it into the barrel of the rifle, along with a blank cartridge in the chamber, and don’t use a live round, because the whole thing, rifle & grenade, is likely to explode, and you along with it. Place the butt of the rifle on the ground and, holding the rifle barrel with one hand, remove the safety pin, if there is one, from the grenade with the other hand, and then, with the same hand, find the rifle’s trigger and fire.
*there are various synonyms for fuses, igniters being the first, used throughout this post, depending on what term is used in the original photographs or diagrams.
Box of No. 23 Mk. III Rifle Grenades showing the same blank cartridges and rods (bottom left) packed in the same box on the left, with twelve grenades and twelve igniters packed into a different box on the right.
Box of No. 36 Mk. I Rifle Grenades, for use with a discharger cup, with igniters. Note the blank cartridges in front of the box on the right, the lid for the tin containing the igniters in the centre, and the gascheck disk attached to the base of the grenade on the left, with more discs stacked with the grenades in the box.
Diagram of the No. 36 Mk. I.
Left: No. 24 Mk. I Rifle Grenade & cutaway, and No. 24 Mk. II Rifle Grenade. Right: No. 39 Mk. I Rifle Grenade & cutaway.
Diagrams of the No. 24 Mk. I, left & centre, with the No. 24 Mk. II on the right,…
…and here the No. 39 Mk. I.
On the left, the No. 31 Rifle Grenade, and two patterns of the No. 32 Rifle Grenade. On the right, a box of No. 32 Night Signal Rifle Grenades with, on this occasion referred to as ‘caps’, a tin of fuses and a tin of blank cartridges balanced precariously on the far right.
On the left, 15-inch rods and propellant cartridges, and in the centre, a box packed with tins of bursters (fuses), for use with the No. 27 Rifle Grenade, a smoke grenade shown in diagram on the right.
No. 35 Mk. I Rifle Grenade and, on the right, a box of No. 35 Mk. I grenades with propellant cartridges and igniters.
Nos. 43, 44 & 45 Signal Rifle Grenades fired from a two-and-a-half-inch discharger cup. From second left: With parachute and 3 stars; with parachute and changing star; with parachute and coloured smoke.
The No. 37 W.P.* Grenade (left) could be used as a hand grenade or fired from a rifle using a discharger cup, as could the experimental percussion grenade shown on the right.
*white phosphorus
Diagram of the No. 37 Mk. I & Mk. II.
The No. 44 Mk. I Anti-Tank Rifle Grenade with diagram.
This is not a comprehensive list of British rifle grenades used in the Great War – the British produced thirty two different types in total – and although the major models are all shown in this post, there were other variants, such as the No. 11 here on the left, and the No. 17 on the right, but these tended to have been manufactured in small quantities before being replaced by newer, and presumably better, models.
And finally, the No. 22 Rifle Grenade (Newton Pippin), completely out of order because, as mentioned at the start, I do happen to own an example of the Newton Pippin, and thus we shall take a more detailed look at it in due course.