Gren No69 Manufacuring Jig

[pedro]

From the factory. any ideas on purpose?

 

[TimG]

A jig for inserting the detonator tube into the bottom half?

TimG

 

[millsbomber]

looking at this it does not look big enough to fit a 69 body in,, could we have some dimensions please,,,,,,, Dave

 

[hangarman]

Could it be for fitting or checking the length of the distance piece into the base plug? Hangarman

 

[millsbomber]

may be for inserting the rubber stem into the det holder,,,,,,, Dave

 

[pedro]

View attachment IMG_4823s.pdf Some measurement here. The 69 body, top or bottom, won't fit in the jig as the jig diameter is too small. The only thing i would see as a fit is the detonator itself. The jig is unrelated to the fuze (as the fuze is also used in other grenades) .

 

[hangarman]

Have you tried the base plug for size?

 

[pedro]

Yes, it doesn't fit in either end of the jig. No single part of the 69 fits into the jig, other than the detonator No.46

 

[BMG50]

I think that we are being mislead by the inscription on then jig, may be it is for a grenade but the jig happens to be number 69 amongst other jigs and tooling and has nothing to do with the 69 grenade it's self but another grenade.

 

[pedro]

bmg50, no the engraving is quite clear in two places Gren No.69

 

[butterfly]

What is the background to this piece? Do you know for certain that it came from an ordnance factory?

I agree with bmg50 - the engraving could be misleading, unless of course you have solid proof of where this came from.

regards Kev

 

[BMG50]

There is not much on a 69 grenade I can think this tool is used for.

 

[pedro]

there is no doubt as to the provenance of the the piece, it was collected by me in person in 2009 from EFM. the item is marked e.f.m (explosives factory maribrynong (ME)). This factory built all the components of the No.69 including manufacture and filling detonators. given the design of the piece i expect it would have been mounted securely and set behind a protective glass shield. There is little need for the heavy construction other than to prevent the tool becoming a missile in the event of an incident. with such construction and mounting the only part of the no69 with sensitive component is the detonator no46. my best guess is that it is used to mount a detonator shell and has some part in the filling process

 

[millsbomber]

i agree with you pedro it must be for the det as i have looked and looked measured and i can find no No69 bit to fit,,,,,Dave

 

[BMG50]

It's not a jig to set a tool for a 69 grenade, rather than actually hold a part for a 69 grenade.

 

[butterfly]

there is no doubt as to the provenance of the the piece, it was collected by me in person in 2009 from EFM. the item is marked e.f.m (explosives factory maribrynong (ME)). This factory built all the components of the No.69 including manufacture and filling detonators. given the design of the piece i expect it would have been mounted securely and set behind a protective glass shield. There is little need for the heavy construction other than to prevent the tool becoming a missile in the event of an incident. with such construction and mounting the only part of the no69 with sensitive component is the detonator no46. my best guess is that it is used to mount a detonator shell and has some part in the filling process

You cant get better provenance than that!! I think perhaps it was a little misleading in that everyone was looking for pieces on the 69 grenade itself rather than component parts. It also appeared to be of substantial construction for a 'plastic grenade'. I think perhaps you have answered your own question.

nice item, did you get anything else from the factory?

regards Kev

 

[pedro]

Kev,
Factory mostly stripped out and abandoned. Got some nice drawings of the various factories and the identification of all the buildings by function. Lots of photos .. The XF7 fuzes seen elsewhere on the forum. Had my eye on 3 x Mk23 torpedoes.. but couldn't carry them away ..lol. Found a live rocket motor for a malkara ATGM (more than 50years old and just laying about in a disused building.) also several prototypes for a hovering missile decoy (nulka).. but passed them to DSTO.
Few other items of interest passed through my hands ont he way to ultimate disposal