L2...what have I got?

[Missileman]

Hello all

This arrived today. I'm a Mills man in all honesty, but thought I'd get one of these as I haven't seen them around that often, but I'd like to know a little more about it.

The whole top section unscrews revealing what I assume is the fuse....a small nib about 2cm long below the thread where the top screws into the grenade body.

The body makes a sound like a Salt or pepper cruet set when you shake it.....it sounds like there is loose grains or rice inside....is that normal?

Also, whats with the yellow band around the body? Does it identify the type of filling and does the paint work look original?

Any thoughts or comments are welcome.

Thanks

Mike

 

[siegfreid]

It's probably an original empty body [without frag coil] that's been repainted to look like an original . The yellow band denotes the filling but it's not how an original would look as it should have more stencils showing the filling date etc. . The fuzes were n't usually marked like that either . Hope this helps . Siegfreid.

 

[Missileman]

When looking down into the body with the top unscrewed all that can be seen is a tube, which is where is suspect the detonator inserted?
the body has a weight to it, it doesn't feel empty, so I suspect the frag coil is still inside, but I can't see anything other than a cigarette sized tube.
Am I correct in assuming that the body doesn't contain any explosive, unlike a Mills which is packed with the stuff?

 

[paul the grenade]

heres my example and a sectioned one, the lever should have the fuze markings L25A3 CY 8/75, the dates will vary.
cheers, paul
i think the filled weight was about 400 grammes

 

[siegfreid]

Missileman . NEVER assume a grenade is empty ! If you can't actually see inside it , bad news . It looks like one of several that were around some years ago that were unfinished bodies . It may have had ballast added to make up the weight but you can't be sure . I really don't know what to suggest but I must emphasise , if you don't know what's in it be very careful..........

 

[Missileman]

Missileman . NEVER assume a grenade is empty ! If you can't actually see inside it , bad news . It looks like one of several that were around some years ago that were unfinished bodies . It may have had ballast added to make up the weight but you can't be sure . I really don't know what to suggest but I must emphasise , if you don't know what's in it be very careful..........

Of course, good advise and gratefully received. Thank you.

Just to check though, by design, without the stem which inserts into the main body, am I correct in assuming that the body alone should be inert? From Paul's pics above, (thanks Paul), and from what I have read on the net, the egg shaped main body is simply full of the frag coil and not additional accelerant or explosive?

By design, it looks like the fuse/percussion cap is in the head and the detonator is the long cigarette shaped part, also part of the head, which fits neatly into the hollow tube running down the centre of the body, which on my example is not present.

 

[Missileman]

heres my example and a sectioned one, the lever should have the fuze markings L25A3 CY 8/75, the dates will vary.
cheers, paul
i think the filled weight was about 400 grammes

Thanks Paul

Does your example sound like it has a few loose rice grains trapped inside it if you shake it?

Cheers

Mike

 

[siegfreid]

Mike . The tube the igniter assembly screws into should be made of brass & in a live grenade the body has the frag coil next to the inside of the body & the rest of the space is the explosive filling that the centre tube sperates from the igniter. Mike.

 

[paul the grenade]

heres a diagram that i found that should help understand whats going on inside. my one is full of resin and has INERT stamped on the base.
cheers, paul.

Thanks Paul

Does your example sound like it has a few loose rice grains trapped inside it if you shake it?

Cheers

Mike

 

[Darrol]

hi missleman . any chance of a pic of the fuse removed?
Darrol.

 

[V40]

Darrol, you beat me to that question.

 

[paul the grenade]

heres some pics of the fuze with a drill detonator and markings. also a pic of a small label that was on a live L2A2 that i threw in training many years ago. luckly i had the good sence to pick the label off and save it. maybe a batch or lot No.
cheers, paul.

 

[Darrol]

ive a feeling it could be like the one i enquired about on the thread called BAD MARKINGS ON GRENADE BODY.fragman has an advert for the sale of them on show on that thread.just a thought
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/76860-bad-markings-on-grenade-body

 

[Missileman]

Mike . The tube the igniter assembly screws into should be made of brass & in a live grenade the body has the frag coil next to the inside of the body & the rest of the space is the explosive filling that the centre tube sperates from the igniter. Mike.

Hi Guys and thanks for all the info.

I can now see how this L2 Grenade works. At first I thought they weren't filled with HE and that it was simply the central detonator that blew the whole thing apart, clearly that is not the case. Thanks again Paul for the pics.

I've taken some pics as best I can looking down the central tube with the detonator assembly removed and it does indeed look as if that central tube is made from brass.

Also, the round plate on the bottom shows signs of having been carefully removed at some point and then carefully re-crimped back on...again see pics.

I'm gonna call the dealer I bought it from tomorrow and see what he knows about it being inert, he assured me it is, and I am also pretty sure that the loose grains I can hear when I shake the main body are indicative that the HE filling has been removed and maybe some lead shot has been poured inside, a common thing to do with inerted rounds is often they have a small ball bearing dropped into the brass casing before a round is crimped back onto the top so as to indicate that they are inert.

Be interesting to see what you fellas think now you can see down inside it, but I think the frag coil is still inside together with some grains of unknown description as the main body simply feels too heavy to be just a tin shell.

Cheers all

Mike

 

[Missileman]

ive a feeling it could be like the one i enquired about on the thread called BAD MARKINGS ON GRENADE BODY.fragman has an advert for the sale of them on show on that thread.just a thought
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/76860-bad-markings-on-grenade-body

Thanks for the link Darrol.

Did you ever manage to get the stencilling back on?

I'm pretty handy with an airbrush and can likely repaint it, if I can get the stencil with the correct font.

Cheers

Mike

 

[pointblank0]

You won't be able to see the frag coil through the top of the body as the det tube will obscure your view. What I reckon this is (though you should assume that it may be live and get it sorted), is the same that I had a few years back, which was a coilless body, filled to the correct weight with sand (the bottom beaing carefully crimped back into position) and fuse stuck back in. These were 100% original, but from unfilled stock. They wer given the drab paint but never stencilled or filling band put on. They were sold off in large quantities in the 90's I believe.
My bet is that your's is a sand filled L2 with no frag coil.

 

[Darrol]

Thanks for the link Darrol.

Did you ever manage to get the stencilling back on?

I'm pretty handy with an airbrush and can likely repaint it, if I can get the stencil with the correct font.Cheers

Mike

hi missleman .no . all i did was strip the yellow off with celly thinners . if the greens original its a bit more solvent resistant than the yellow so if you are carefull you can remove it without stripping the entire body.i left my grenade plain . .possably paint the rest on one day

 

[Missileman]

I'm going to strip the yellow band and airbrush on a new one more in keeping with how it should look. I've also taken Paul's advice from a previous thread and looked at a letraset of stencils which I'll apply but I can only find that font in white, but it should look nice once it's finished.
With some help and advice on weights, I've weighed this L2 and have come to an educated guess that the body has indeed been emptied of HE, yet still retains its frag coil and some kind of ballast sand to weight it, yet it's final weight is not as heavy as it would have been had it been filled with HE. Like you mentioned previously, I believe this Is an example sold off for 16 back in the nineties and has simply had a poorly applied yellow band slapped on it.

Thanks for all the help fellas.