No 5 OR 23?

[smle2009]

hi everyone,
found this in a box of bits that I had forgot about! It is a WW1 relic,came from the Hooge area in Belgium, as I don't collect grenades I have never been sure what the difference (other than casting difference's?) between a No5 and a No23 is, the filler? plug is brass.
Can anyone tell me which grenade this one is?
Cheers
Tony

 

[paul the grenade]

There are no real differences in the body shape.
Just the base plug and striker were changed so it could be either.
paul.

 

[smle2009]

Thanks Paul,
Got the casting difference from Skennertons book,but he failes to say what they are and I couldn't see any difference from the photos in his book either! I am 99% sure this grenade had a brass "cup" shaped base plug when I got it,but I "borrowed" it for a better example that still had the lever and pin in it, when I was selling militaria at Hungerford.
Cheers
Tony

 

[Millsman]

Tony

The statement on castings from Skennerton is one of the very few things he may have got wrong in his books, excellent as most of them are. There are differences in the shoulders of Mills grenades as there are many different castings, leading to different shape bodies. Many are oval, some are barrel shaped and the many different marks on the bodies signifies the many different moulds that existed at the time. The differences between No5 and No 23 is really just the baseplug and the slotted strikers (also used in later No5's). Early No5's had aluminium filler screws and baseplugs. Most 1916 No5's had brass fittings, and No 23's had brass fillers and either brass or cast iron baseplugs.

John

 

[smle2009]

Many thanks John for the info,I thought I was missing something when I couldn't see any differance in the photos,so not going blind or mad yet!
Cheers
Tony