EX 1 Mod 0 and EX 2 Mod 0 TIARA Grenade
The following comes from a number of sources found on the web, except for the photo it came from a manual I just received. I also found a manual the describes the detonator malfunction in the EX 1. It appears that in 1963 there was a big interest in this genade and a number of different organiations (China Lake, Pine Bluff, Edgewood, 1st SF) wanted this fielded ASAP. If anyone has pics of the EX 1 or 2 I would appreciate a copy.
TIARA Target Illumination and Recovery Aid was a formulation developed by Dupont in association with the Navy as a way of providing illumination for a variety of purposes. the active ingredient was a compound known as PB-155; when exposed to air it oxidizes rapidly but at low temperature, emitting a brilliant blue-green light.
It was used for marking airstrips and providing emergency lighting, as well as a variety of signaling functions. Different versions glowed for a duration ranging from seconds to hours, and it was supplied in spray cans or some exotic munitions.
The EX 1 and EX 2 were part of the Target Illumination and Recovery Aid (TIARA) program. DuPont created a number of essentially glow-in-the-dark fillers, finally settling on the non-toxic PB-155 compound. PB-155 (also known as TIARA 5) glows when it oxidizes and therefore could be used to mark things at night with minimal fuss. Developed specifically for the US Navy SEALs, the first production models were created in 1963. The EX 1 Mod 0 was a hand grenade, based on the M25A2 chemical grenade described in the following section. Testing in 1963 showed that the TIARA 5 mixture had adverse effects on the functioning of the C12 fuze integral. This led to the replacement of the fuze's integral primer, the M39A1, with a model that was resistant to the filler mixture, the M5. The EX 2 Mod 0, was visibly more similar to other cylindrical smoke and chemical grenades (such as the AN/M8 and M18) was designed to be used as a rifle grenade using the M2 series of grenade launcher adapters.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_hand_grenades#cite_note-22
The US Army also tested a plastic chemiluminescent grenade in 1966, utilizing the PB-155 filler and the M217 impact fuze, with negative results about the mixture's usefulness for the intended role, with the brightness and duration of functioning being "insufficient".
One use was the Night Canopy Marker grenade issued to special forces. The grenade was intended to be thrown or fired into the jungle canopy, where it spread TIARA over the leaves and provided a glowing marker for aircraft. But as Kevin Dockery recounts in his book, Special Warfare Special Weapons, SEALs soon found other uses for the grenade:
By tossing the grenade in a hooch or bunker, everything within the building would be covered with the agent. The harmless, non-toxic TIARA filler of the marking grenade would cause everything it touched to glow in the dark. Anyone inside the area being searched by SEALs would find it very hard to hide in the dark when they glowed like a giant firefly.
Rubbing the TIARA agent to try and get it off would only increase the oxidation rate and cause the TIARA to glow even more brilliantly. Running away through the drak jungle would be next to impossible for a fleeing VC covered with TIARA, and, if any of the agent had gotten on the mans feet, even if he did get away momentarily he would leave glowing footprints on the jungle floor.
The following comes from a number of sources found on the web, except for the photo it came from a manual I just received. I also found a manual the describes the detonator malfunction in the EX 1. It appears that in 1963 there was a big interest in this genade and a number of different organiations (China Lake, Pine Bluff, Edgewood, 1st SF) wanted this fielded ASAP. If anyone has pics of the EX 1 or 2 I would appreciate a copy.
TIARA Target Illumination and Recovery Aid was a formulation developed by Dupont in association with the Navy as a way of providing illumination for a variety of purposes. the active ingredient was a compound known as PB-155; when exposed to air it oxidizes rapidly but at low temperature, emitting a brilliant blue-green light.
It was used for marking airstrips and providing emergency lighting, as well as a variety of signaling functions. Different versions glowed for a duration ranging from seconds to hours, and it was supplied in spray cans or some exotic munitions.
The EX 1 and EX 2 were part of the Target Illumination and Recovery Aid (TIARA) program. DuPont created a number of essentially glow-in-the-dark fillers, finally settling on the non-toxic PB-155 compound. PB-155 (also known as TIARA 5) glows when it oxidizes and therefore could be used to mark things at night with minimal fuss. Developed specifically for the US Navy SEALs, the first production models were created in 1963. The EX 1 Mod 0 was a hand grenade, based on the M25A2 chemical grenade described in the following section. Testing in 1963 showed that the TIARA 5 mixture had adverse effects on the functioning of the C12 fuze integral. This led to the replacement of the fuze's integral primer, the M39A1, with a model that was resistant to the filler mixture, the M5. The EX 2 Mod 0, was visibly more similar to other cylindrical smoke and chemical grenades (such as the AN/M8 and M18) was designed to be used as a rifle grenade using the M2 series of grenade launcher adapters.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_hand_grenades#cite_note-22
The US Army also tested a plastic chemiluminescent grenade in 1966, utilizing the PB-155 filler and the M217 impact fuze, with negative results about the mixture's usefulness for the intended role, with the brightness and duration of functioning being "insufficient".
One use was the Night Canopy Marker grenade issued to special forces. The grenade was intended to be thrown or fired into the jungle canopy, where it spread TIARA over the leaves and provided a glowing marker for aircraft. But as Kevin Dockery recounts in his book, Special Warfare Special Weapons, SEALs soon found other uses for the grenade:
By tossing the grenade in a hooch or bunker, everything within the building would be covered with the agent. The harmless, non-toxic TIARA filler of the marking grenade would cause everything it touched to glow in the dark. Anyone inside the area being searched by SEALs would find it very hard to hide in the dark when they glowed like a giant firefly.
Rubbing the TIARA agent to try and get it off would only increase the oxidation rate and cause the TIARA to glow even more brilliantly. Running away through the drak jungle would be next to impossible for a fleeing VC covered with TIARA, and, if any of the agent had gotten on the mans feet, even if he did get away momentarily he would leave glowing footprints on the jungle floor.
