Mills 23 Mk. III - is this safe?

[Derek]

I recently purchased this Mills 23 Mk. III from a dealer at a local collectors show. I decided to dismantle the grenade to check the inside, the filler screw would not budge but I managed to remove the centre piece with a special tool and found traces of what could be explosive? The residue is a yellow mustard colour and in some areas this is crystalised. It is on the centre piece and on some areas inside the body.There is not much but enough to make me a bit nervous.
Am I correct in assuming that this is explosive material?
Is it safe? If not can I make it safe and if so how?
Any expert advice will be greatly appreciated.

Last but not least, I believe that this Mills was re-issued to Belgian forces, the body has traces of yellow and grey paint, is this correct?

Thanks for any help.
Regards & Happy New Year from Denmark!

 

[Nismosonic]

Base plug I believe is TH Ltd ? if so its Thorpe Arch Ltd.
As regards to the yellow residue Personally i'd wash it in some hot soapy water, may be the waxy seal that stopped moisture getting in.

 

[gothica7]

Hi Derek,

as Nismo says, give it a jolly good wash out with a scrubbing brush and you will be fine. To really do the biz, boil it for a few minutes and all traces will be gone.The boiling wont remove any paint etc.
You are also correct in your assumption about the yellow band signifying it was in Belgian service.
Great find, a rare gren.

Andy

 

[spotter]

Sorry folks but i dont agree with Thorp arch ,I dont know who TH is but Thorp arch didnt open untill 1940

 

[Snufkin]

Sorry folks but i dont agree with Thorp arch ,I dont know who TH is but Thorp arch didnt open untill 1940

Concur with your disagreement - the base plug is most likely Thomas Holt, Rochdale.



T.

 

[Nismosonic]

Concur with your disagreement - the base plug is most likely Thomas Holt, Rochdale.



T.

Without further note I bow to your greater knowledge..
i have a TH baseplug for a number 5 also.

 

[paul the grenade]

also the body is not a Mk3:tinysmile_angry_t: A mk1 or 2.

 

[gothica7]

Well done Paul,

how slow i am getting these days.Must be old age.

Andy

 

[Derek]

Thanks to one and all!

Thanks for all your help! The grenade is now having a nice hot bath!
Just out of interest, can anyone tell me the difference between the 23 mk 1, 2, and 3 bodies?
Cheers
Derek

 

[gothica7]

The No 23/3 has the same body as a No 36, 23/1 & 2 look like a No 5.
Yours is a bit of a hybrid in that the parts are not all original to the gren nor the type of gren. You will need to change the lever, striker and base plug to make it into a No 23/1 or 2. The lever you have could be either for a No 23/3 or a 36, base plug for a 23/3 and i would need to see the underside of the centre tube to see if it was for a No5/23/1/2 or a 23/3 or 36.
Not as rare as i said in my earlier post, sorry for that.

Andy

 

[moondoggy]

Since it was in water, you may want to carefully apply some clean gun oil to any exposed metal to prevent surface rust from forming.

 

[Derek]

The No 23/3 has the same body as a No 36, 23/1 & 2 look like a No 5.
Yours is a bit of a hybrid in that the parts are not all original to the gren nor the type of gren. You will need to change the lever, striker and base plug to make it into a No 23/1 or 2. The lever you have could be either for a No 23/3 or a 36, base plug for a 23/3 and i would need to see the underside of the centre tube to see if it was for a No5/23/1/2 or a 23/3 or 36.
Not as rare as i said in my earlier post, sorry for that.

Andy

Hi Andy,

Here is a picture of the centre tube back inside the grenade. If you can give me a positive ID on the type then I can try and find the correct bits to complete the grenade.
Thanks for your help!
Derek

 

[gothica7]

Hi Derek,
if the central hole has no raised ring around it, it certainly looks like thats the case from your piccy then the centre tube is for a WW1 No 23/3 or a No 36. These are not so common as those for a No 5 or a 23/1/2.

You have several options; either keep it as it is, it cant be seen anyway or replace it with one for a No5. Mind you, you could do this with either an aluminium one or a brass one. They do come up on feebay or SA.
You will also need a lever, striker and base plug of the type of gren you wish to convert it to, No 5 or 23/1/2. There are repro parts on sale but i prefer the real thing.
There are some base plugs on feebay at the moment in particular a nice Kenricks brass No 23/1[not one of mine may i add].
It may take a while to fully kit out the gren but then it would be worth it. The body is certainly that of a No 5 or a 23/1/2 and not that of a 23/3.
I also rustproof my grens with beeswax polish to keep the rot at bay.

Good luck with it.

Andy

 

[siegfreid]

I can swap you all the correct No5 parts to make that a complete grenade in exchange for the bits that came with it . Please email me direct . Thanks.

 

[Nolfster]

very nice (Belgian) item Derek!

 

[millsbomber]

Thanks Snufkin, i have updated the Mills Grenades No23 base plugs page,,,,,,, Dave