British number 1 grenade lead washer

[SG500]

At the risk of boring you guys with detail....................does anyone know what the purpose of the lead washer is in the cap for the British number 1 grenade?
I'm assuming its not to support the steel striker needle as surely a brass washer would do the job better?

Dave.

 

[siegfreid]

It's to add to the weight at the front end to help the grenade land nose first & increase the inertial shock transmitted to the striker , I think . Mike .

 

[Snufkin]

In the photo of the No.1 MkIII instructional section of post #1, the washer is steel. A steel (or cast iron) washer was used on both the No.1 MkIII and No.18 MkI, which had a flat ended cap, allowing for easy machining of the washer. In the case of the No.1 Mks I and II the cap is domed and so machining of hard metal is more difficult and time-consuming, so a simpler solution is to cast from a low melting point metal like lead.

The washer added a little weight which should have helped the grenade fall head first, but that was the primary reason for the tape tails. The main reason for the washer was structural, for the striker to be firmly supported.