New Relic - British

[Fragman]

Hi, here's my latest relic that I am in the process of cleaning up. It's believed to be early British (or at least Commonwealth), due to where it was found and what it was found with. It's about the size of a Mills bomb and has no filling plug hole or threading for a base plug. Any ideas? Cheers

 

[gothica7]

Hi,
i suspect its a mock up of a Mills used for throwing practice. I suspect WW1 but couldnt confirm this. May have been local made item. I have one similar, with some original white paint. Again possibly Ww1 but just dont know. Nice find though.

Andy

 

[Fragman]

Hi Andy. I also suspect it is an unfinished body that was used for throwing practice. I find the rounded nose interesting, suggesting to me that it may have originally been intended as a launched munition. Has anyone got one of the St. Omer grenades that were made by the Royal Engineers Experimental Section, so that I can compare the dimensions? Cheers

 

[siegfreid]

That looks like a British Gauchet or Adams rifle grenade experimental series from WW1 . I'm sure Norman could answer the question with some authority ! Hope this helps.

 

[Fragman]

Hi Mike. Thanks for your comments. It's certainly close enough to this pic from Rick Landers book to catch my attention. It'd be good to check some of the dimensions. Cheers

 

[pointblank0]

Could be on to a good thing there mate

 

[siegfreid]

Colin. I'm positive that's what it is . I had a couple of complete ones some years ago but can't for the life of me remember who I sold them to ! Perhaps , if they are members & read this post , they could measure them for confirmation . Mike.

 

[paul the grenade]

heres a similar one but it has a filling screw just like a No5. Its exactly the same size as a No5 just without the lugs on top, Ive always known it as a Townsend Grenade.
paul.

 

[siegfreid]

Paul. The Townsend is similar except for the filler screw . There were two types of Adams & one Gauchet also . They were probably all produced by the RE experimental section at St. Omer . The Mk1 Adams , Townsend & Gauchet all had similar base pieces like the one you have but the internal striker pellets are different . I think the Adams & Gauchet had slightly smaller bodies than a No5 . Mike.

 

[Bonnex]

That looks like a British Gauchet or Adams rifle grenade experimental series from WW1 . I'm sure Norman could answer the question with some authority ! Hope this helps.

Sorry I have only just got to this and thanks for the confidence. Yes it certainly could be a Townsend/Gauchet/Adams. There are two Marks of Townsend one with a filling hole in the 'top' (same relative place as the No 5) and the other with a filling hole near the base (supposedly - not seen). I believe Gauchet manufactured them for the Experimental Section (or some parts thereof) and he certainly got a patent out. Adams modified the simple inertia pellet fuze of the Townsend but I have only seen drawings. Once it is cleaned up lets have some photos again and we can probably be a little more certain. It could of course be a throwing practice dummy as Andy says.

 

[Bonnex]

Townsend

The diagram from Rick Landers book is the Adams version - note the fuze modifications to the Townsend shown below.

Drawing with dimensions:

 

[Fragman]

Hi guys, Thanks for the great info. I'll add some additional pictures and dimensions once I've cleaned it up a bit more. Cheers

 

[ordnance]

Thanks to Bonnex for that diagram of the Townsend grenade. I'd never positively identified the one in my collection until now. The rod is missing but should be easy to build with the details from the drawing.

Is the undrilled/untapped filler hole the norm for these?

Rick