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Rings and pins?

N

navyman

Well-Known Member
Hello,
Can anyone explain why the majority of grenades use a simple ring and split pin, whilst others have a more complicated pin. For example, I can understand that the Czech RG-CV-5 (smoke) can be reused for training and the steel ribbon, firing pin cover slide and ring/pin may be easier to recover for reloading, but why does the British L83 A1, (smoke training), also have a more complicated pin as it's not re-usable? Perhaps I should just ask, 'what's wrong with the simple split pin'?
Any ideas gratefully received,
navyman.
 

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Hi,

i suppose its just a case if simpicity for most grens. You dont need a complicated mechanism to do a simple job in most cases. There are also production costs to be considered too. I think that the pin and ringpull have probably evolved in its simplest form as the best type for the job. However the simple ring pull and pin can be problematical if grens are all jumbled together and there have been cases where said bag of grens has exploded because one gren has snagged another and a pin has been pulled accidentally. This may explain why there may have been more complicated developments of the basic design.
Best kept simple, i say, easy to make, easy to reuse and the used ringpull can be put to many uses,used to stick mine on the zipper of my smocks.

Andy
 
navyman said:
H[...] but why does the British L83 A1, (smoke training), also have a more complicated pin as it's not re-usable? [...]
navyman.
Click to expand...


The L83 was a commercial design (N150) by H&W (now PWD) and I speculate that it would have been more expensive to replace the pins with simpler ring-split pin arrangment since the fly-up lever assembly with pin was probably sourced as a unit from abroad.
 
I asked my pal Gary Wood at the Leeds show about why german wartime egg grenades had the ring and he tells me it was for looping the grens together to make a bigger bang rather than for carrying purposes?

cheers

waff
 
waffenamt said:
I asked my pal Gary Wood at the Leeds show about why german wartime egg grenades had the ring and he tells me it was for looping the grens together to make a bigger bang rather than for carrying purposes?

cheers

waff
Click to expand...
Exactly, that was explained in German manuals too.
 
It still may be the single most important invention for warfare. Sometimes known as the "Bouchon igniter/fuze". However, that is for another story.

The modern day grenade(s) are turning out with better attention to the details in which a soldier can simply use the device. For example, the DM51 from Germany is in my opinion the best grenade made these days. It comes with a plastic clip on the fuze where the ring is held in place by the clip. On the other side where the pin comes out of the fuze there is a raised portion of plastic which is shaped like a very small funnel. The pin is then snapped off inside the funnel, then the split pin(s) is formed fit inside against the walls of the funnel. This still holds the pin very tightly and the funnel which makes it much less likely to have and accident.

One other thing to remember is that currently, (the USA, and probably a joint effort with the UK), is trying to make a "digital" fuze whereby the timing fuzed is selectable in seconds or even days for it to go off. From what I know is that the entire grenade will be quite until explodes. It should be exciting to say the least to get your hands on a "Practice" version!
 
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Thanks all for your comments,
Has anyone got a picture/drawing of the DM 51, also looking for a drawing of the Japanese type 97 striker/fuze/det set?
Any help gratefully received.
Best regards,
navyman.
 
I can help with the DM51: http://www.lexpev.nl/grenades/europe/germany/dm51.html

Ain't she a beauty?
love-smiley-052.gif
 
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You know when I see pictures of that DM51 and it's practice version makes me literally ILL! I to this day have been having nightmares that she is still in my collection. No other grenades have hit me this hard.

Do I need to see a shrink or, does this happen to everybody here ay least once a year?

V-40 BLahhh:tinysmile_cry_t4:
 
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