AMMONAL tin

[fbi.is]

Hello

Do someone know something about this tin box with this text.
" 84 CHARGES 402 AMMONAL NES 4 40 LOT NO 3581"
It is 23 w,23 l,24 h

Best regards

Tryggvi

 

[TimG]

I'm sure that's 84 Charges 4 oz (ounces)

NSE was the Northern Sabulite Explosives Co., Ltd. Haswell, Co. Durham - one of their products was Sabulite, an Ammonal Explosive which featured in WWI jam tin grenades.

NSE was acquired by ICI in about 1943 and became part of ICI (Explosives) Ltd. This factory was then known as ICI (Haswell) and retained the NSE monogram.

Can't assist as to what the charges were for, the closest I have is a listing for Nobel's 704B (to all intents and purposes probably identical) - but the page is missing!

Sabulite and kindred were used as commercial blasting explosives. At the start of WWII some commercial explosives were used by the British military.

TimG

 

[siegfreid]

WW1 jam tin grenades . Left is the British No 9 by Roburite & Ammonal [clue in the name !] & right is the Australian Welsh Berry grenade . Thanks to TimG for the info & to tryggvi for posting the picture .

 

[fbi.is]

Thanks for the great answer, this tin has then probably come with the British army in May 1940 to the country, is 4 40 not the production date?
23w,23l,24 are in cm, that is 9'w, 9'l, 91/2h

Best regards

Tryggvi

 

[canadianspr]

I'm guessing that that is the packing tin for the 4oz Ammonal bag charges which were in rubberized cloth bags. Ammonal is very hydroscopic and was usually in sealed tins. These small chgs could be used in Camoflet cratering demolitions which would use up to 70 lbs per crater hence the large number of chgs in the case. They are described in RE Pocket Book 1936, ch VI Demolitions and mining but not in any RE publication after just 25 and 50lbs tins.

 

[canadianspr]

Do you have more pictures of the tin please? I want to reproduce one.