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another no 5 centercast question.

sorry to say i had to have my no5 centercast destroyed by EOD other day .it still had its charge so had no choice .:tinysmile_cry_t3:.well there rarer now.lol.the main guy was a para and wasnt keen on the idea of its destruction and tried his best to sort it but no luck just a screwdriver slashed thumb .rest in pieces may and padmore mills bomb number 5 mk 1 of 10 1915 to 3 2011 .
 

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i also have a example the same as your small center cast john, its the only one i have with the grove running down from the filler screw, the diameter measured just above the centre grove is 58.24mm i also have a normal cast one that measures 57.21mm just above the center grove. Dave
 
The only one that's marked is this one, raised B as picture, this come with a Bullers Ltd base plug dated 10/16

HPIM5502.jpg
 
sorry to say i had to have my no5 centercast destroyed by EOD other day .it still had its charge so had no choice .:tinysmile_cry_t3:.well there rarer now.lol.the main guy was a para and wasnt keen on the idea of its destruction and tried his best to sort it but no luck just a screwdriver slashed thumb .rest in pieces may and padmore mills bomb number 5 mk 1 of 10 1915 to 3 2011 .

I had heard that you had a problem Darrol. A bloody shame in fact to loose a very nice gren in such a way. I wonder if it contributed to the size of the hole.
However, it must have been quite an experience to have witnessed it all, few of us can say they have seem a Mills go off[those that have seen a 1915 one do it, well, mum's the word, i certainly havnt]. Probably the best thing though bud,better be safe than sorry.
Good luck for your next find and may it last a bit longer.

Andy
 
Hi Dave,

I've just measured my small Centrecast and it is 54.25mm measured at the centre groove (measured with a vernier). Now you see why I say it is exceptionally small.

John
 
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Thanks Dave. The one on the far right looks a bit crudely made, like my one. I wonder if these are really early grenades from Feb 1915 say through to June 1915 where makers were struggling with the castings and William Mills was having to visit the factories to give them advice?

John
 
Hi John,

i would not have thought that these were very early grenades as such grens would most likely all have been trialled in the UK and the majority would have been destroyed in their use. Anything that didnt go off would have been made safe and inspected to find out why it didnt go off, especially as the experimental ones would have been made in such small numbers. Ime sure its just that the frantic demand for them let a lot get past quality control in the early days that later on would not have. Dont forget that it wasnt the manufacture of the Mills bodies that was the problem early on but the manufacture of the detonators.

Andy
 
Millsman said:
Hi Dave,

I've just measured my small Centrecast and it is 54.25mm measured at the centre groove (measured with a vernier). Now you see why I say it is exceptionally small.

John
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That is a small diameter, what we can do is next time your at Chatham i will bring my examples up and we can compare them or i really should visit you at the shop... dave
 
Darrol said:
sorry to say i had to have my no5 centercast destroyed by EOD other day .it still had its charge so had no choice .:tinysmile_cry_t3:.well there rarer now.lol.the main guy was a para and wasnt keen on the idea of its destruction and tried his best to sort it but no luck just a screwdriver slashed thumb .rest in pieces may and padmore mills bomb number 5 mk 1 of 10 1915 to 3 2011 .
Click to expand...

How did you come to find it was a live one out of interest?
Guess it would be a bit of a shock. That is my main concern as a new collector that I might get something inert, that isn't!
Bet it got the neighbours curtains twitching :)

Andrew
 
ajf.350d said:
How did you come to find it was a live one out of interest?
Guess it would be a bit of a shock. That is my main concern as a new collector that I might get something inert, that isn't!
Bet it got the neighbours curtains twitching :)

Andrew
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hi Andrew if your collecting ordinance be carefull where you buy it from. .esp carboot sales and markets .usely alls fine with dealers but theres always a dodgy one out there who only thinks of making some money or doesnt know themselvse.. .my first thoughts on shaking it and feeling a dense powder shift was" nooooo not this one"lol.my neighbours soon as they saw the bomb disposal van was I KNEW IT WOULD BE FOR YOU .the policeman who turned up first asked me how i knew it was live . .so i shook it near his ear .that made him flinch.sometimes you might come across one or two filled with sand which feels very diferent and more audiable.if theres a doubt leave it unless they can prove otherwise.cheers Darrol
 
gothica7;181787 I had heard that you had a problem Darrol. A bloody shame in fact to loose a very nice gren in such a way. I wonder if it contributed to the size of the hole. However said:
. Probably the best thing though bud,better be safe than sorry.
Good luck for your next find and may it last a bit longer.

Andy
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hi Andy .was a shame to see it go but it was a great day .they only used a small charge to set it off so its safe to say the hole was mostly the no5.made a nice boom with lumps of soil and grass landing 30 foot from the explosion .im being sent an xray of the grenade when they print it of due to the printer they had with them ran out of ink .will post a pic when i get it .thanks Darrol.
 
Hi Dave

I will be at the next Chatham and can bring this one with me. You are of course always welcome at the shop.

John
 
Hi Andy

I'm puzzled by your last comment as Mills himself was not an expert in detonators but was an expert in casting, especiallly aluminium. He wrote extensively of his personal efforts to aid the early Mills makers but I've seen no mention of dets being the issue. I thought it was problems with castings and levers engaging strikers.

John
 
I think that there were loads of problems initially John, all compounded the problems.
Everything had to come right to get the thing to work properly.

Andy
 
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