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Drill Submarine Smk

R

Richard709

Well-Known Member
Recent find and the best of the four I now have, I have two white L14's and two Yellow L13's. about 440mm high and 100mm dia.

Web sig sub 002.jpgWeb sig sub 003.jpgWeb sig sub 005.jpgWeb sig sub 006.jpgWeb sig sub 007.jpg

also some message tubes, a must if your sub's in trouble.
 
SAM_0059.jpgSAM_0058.jpgSAM_0057.jpgSAM_0056.jpgSAM_0055.jpgThat's nice. Here are some pics of a much older one I have. It would have fired out the No.65 signal grenade when it reached the surface. Unfortunately, I don't have the grenade. It's all empty and inert.
 
It is British and was made by Wallop Industries, How it works,

When the candle rises to a depth of 30 feet, the hydrostatic firing mechanism operates to fire the two detonators as described in Para t. 4-. The detonators ignite the strip of primed cambric which ignites the gunpowder capsule at the bottom of the smoke unit centre tube. The capsule ignites the delay fuze which takes 10 seconds to burn, allowing the store to settle at the surface, before it ignites the gunpowder capsule at the top of the tube. The top capsule, in turn, ignites the primed cambric, the loose gunpowder and the priming composition in the small chamber. The blast from the loose gunpowder blows out the sealing plug from the nose end of the smoke tube, whilst the priming composition ignites the main smoke composition causing smoke to pass up the tube to atmosphere. The candle will produce smoke and flame for about 5 to 6 minutes.

Sig Sub White_Part 1-1.jpg

some more photo's showing the top.

Web sig sub 001.jpgWeb sig sub 002.jpgWeb sig sub 003.jpg

These show the hole for the message tubes and the recess for the fluorescein pack which holds the message tube in place. The four I have also go with these two I got last year,

Float smoke 1.jpgFloat smoke 2.jpgindicator AS No 2 - 2.jpgIndicator AS No 2.jpg

Roller63 Your one is very nice and seems to be in excellent condition. I haven't seen much in the way of Submarine type pyrotechnics advertised over the years. I handled a drill 65 grenade a couple of years ago but had to give it back as the boat decided its need was bigger than mine.
 
Thanks Richard. I only bought it because of the grenade link. It must be a drill or inert instruct one, as it looks like it has been loaded and un loaded a good few times, although not marked as such. I would love a No.65 grenade. Your other flares are good too. I think Naval pyrotechnics are often overlooked.
 
Good luck on trying to find one, I have a couple of containers for the No 65 grenade, they are made from a Bakelite material and also come in black (I have one somewhere), as well as the brown shown. The Grenades are not very big as you can see from the internal sleeve.

Web 65 gren 001.jpgWeb 65 gren 002.jpgWeb 65 gren 004.jpgWeb 65 gren 005.jpg
 
That's great, not seen the container before either. Does it say the Mk No. of grenade ?
 
Anything naval is I think harder to find than most other types of ordnance, but especially pyrotechnics. I have a good flare collection,but only 3 flare cartridges in 20 years of collecting! pics in small arms section, Interesting topic btw, thanks for posting your pics. Tig:tinysmile_fatgrin_t
 
Hello Richard709,

I assume Drill L14A1 is an inert device for training crews.

It could be very nice to see also your yellow version L13.

Regards
 
Yes they are inert and for training crews, yellow and white look the same with a few small differences the yellow as you will see does not have a message tube or holes in the collar for the fluorescein pack. both have the same body dimensions, I have used float grenade top to sit it on thats why it looks taller.

Web sig sub 007.jpgWeb sig sub 008.jpgWeb sig sub 009.jpgWeb sig sub 010.jpgWeb sig sub 011.jpgWeb sig sub 012.jpgWeb sig sub 013.jpgWeb sig sub 014.jpgWeb sig sub 015.jpg

Also shown is the black and brown containers for the No 65 Grenade, the cream container I have is the only one I have ever seen. I dont think it has anything to do with the fact its for a red grenade. as shown I have a black container for a red one as well.
 
Nice interesting items there, thanks for showing them. I had not seen them before the other day. Tony
 
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