Kilroy was Here
Well-Known Member
Hi, here's something that might be of interest to WW2 MkII collectors. I have shown before the one M21 on the left in the photos and it fueled a nice discussion about the dates and times of the introduction of the M21, and also a discussion about the odd blue color. Now I have two M21's, and both of these are very close to the same color blue, and they are not the typical lighter blue seen on many WW2 trainers.
I have just got a few months ago got another 1944 date M21 from the same friend I got the first M21 from on left about a year and a half ago.
I asked my friend what history and what the story is with these, and where he had got both of these grenades. First, I will say he lives in the same city were I was born and raised...Los Angeles.
He told me that almost 40 years ago he stopped at one of his favorite Army Surplus stores in the Sun Valley area in the San Fernando Valley (where I grew up) and he was outside in the huge area where there was surplus electronics, cabinets, desks, and other items that were large that were stored outside in the open basically.
He said he had been looking around through all this surplus "junk" and noticed something in a dumpster that he was after, some type of aluminum box he was looking for, and when he looked in the dumpster there were some boxes that had been rained on, falling apart and being thrown out. He noticed something blue, and opened boxes and there were many of these M41 grenade cans all wet and falling apart. He looked at them all and found only 4 of the grenade cans that had not been damaged and were still sealed. All the other grenades were badly rusted and the containers were ruined and falling apart from being wet for so long.
Anyway this is the story where these two M21's have come from. I believe my friend 100% because I know this Surplus store, I used to go there myself 40 years ago, and I also know he has no reason to make up a story like this. He had 4 M21's like this originally, sold 2 many years ago, kept these two best ones for many years, and has now sold them both to me for safe keeping. :tinysmile_grin_t:
The grenade on the right was the one he had kept for himself until a few month ago when he sold it to me. These two grenades have different bodies, one is a late WWI narrow base, round shouldered body that has a 9/16 threaded hole on the bottom. The other grenade has more squared segments, and has an off center hole drilled with chamfered edge.
These off center chamfered hole WW2 practice grenades I was told by an advanced Mk2 collector, that they were originally grenade bodies that had the filler plug threads, and that the threads were drilled out, and these grenades always have the off center hole with chamfered edge for some reason. I believe this true as he had an example that he showed me that was not drilled completely and you could just slightly see where the threads were on one side of the hole. I have also seen dozens of these WW2 blue practice grenades that have this off centered hole.
I know I am typing a bit to much, but one more thing I have noticed, the can on right has different markings on top and bottom of can. But this is an original can that was taped closed until my friend opened it to look at grenade 40 years ago? Strange.
By the way, both grenades were originally sealed in the cans without fuzes, so I have added both M10A3 fuzes for the photos and to display them.
I have just got a few months ago got another 1944 date M21 from the same friend I got the first M21 from on left about a year and a half ago.
I asked my friend what history and what the story is with these, and where he had got both of these grenades. First, I will say he lives in the same city were I was born and raised...Los Angeles.
He told me that almost 40 years ago he stopped at one of his favorite Army Surplus stores in the Sun Valley area in the San Fernando Valley (where I grew up) and he was outside in the huge area where there was surplus electronics, cabinets, desks, and other items that were large that were stored outside in the open basically.
He said he had been looking around through all this surplus "junk" and noticed something in a dumpster that he was after, some type of aluminum box he was looking for, and when he looked in the dumpster there were some boxes that had been rained on, falling apart and being thrown out. He noticed something blue, and opened boxes and there were many of these M41 grenade cans all wet and falling apart. He looked at them all and found only 4 of the grenade cans that had not been damaged and were still sealed. All the other grenades were badly rusted and the containers were ruined and falling apart from being wet for so long.
Anyway this is the story where these two M21's have come from. I believe my friend 100% because I know this Surplus store, I used to go there myself 40 years ago, and I also know he has no reason to make up a story like this. He had 4 M21's like this originally, sold 2 many years ago, kept these two best ones for many years, and has now sold them both to me for safe keeping. :tinysmile_grin_t:
The grenade on the right was the one he had kept for himself until a few month ago when he sold it to me. These two grenades have different bodies, one is a late WWI narrow base, round shouldered body that has a 9/16 threaded hole on the bottom. The other grenade has more squared segments, and has an off center hole drilled with chamfered edge.
These off center chamfered hole WW2 practice grenades I was told by an advanced Mk2 collector, that they were originally grenade bodies that had the filler plug threads, and that the threads were drilled out, and these grenades always have the off center hole with chamfered edge for some reason. I believe this true as he had an example that he showed me that was not drilled completely and you could just slightly see where the threads were on one side of the hole. I have also seen dozens of these WW2 blue practice grenades that have this off centered hole.
I know I am typing a bit to much, but one more thing I have noticed, the can on right has different markings on top and bottom of can. But this is an original can that was taped closed until my friend opened it to look at grenade 40 years ago? Strange.
By the way, both grenades were originally sealed in the cans without fuzes, so I have added both M10A3 fuzes for the photos and to display them.
