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Help with Identification

eagleeye911

Member
Ordnance approved
I am having a hard time identifying this grenade, any help is appreciated!

Measurements 90mm X approx 56mm. Note the concave base.

photo.jpgphoto2.jpg
 
Well, it might, and I do mean "might" be a T61 grenade. Some of the information I have matches, some doesn't so it may be a variant or I could be totally wrong (more than likely I expect). The four grooves match, but the concave bottom does not, The T61 used an M204A! mechanism so that matches. I only have a poor drawing of the T61 unfortunately. The sizes given in my documentation say it should be an overall length (including fuze) of 4.5 inches, the diameter should be 81.3mm or 3.2 inches (that seems a bit large to me). The T61 was produced in very limited quantities for testing. Produced sometime in 1952/53.

Whatever it turns out to be, its cool!!!
 
Interesting, yet another one I had not heard of. The diameter leaves me thinking not, but then again I haven't had any luck finding documentation that talks about the four grooves or a concave base.

It is definitely cool, that is what I love about this job, there is always something you haven't seen! Thanks for the input, hopefully someone else can dig up another clue at some point.
 
Any idea on where it came from before you acquired it?

It was turned in to a local police office by an assisted living facility. One of their residents was moved to a new room and he proudly displayed it, where it was then spotted and removed. The resident apparently served in the army roughly mid 1940's to mid 1950's, with time spent overseas. Due to the resident's health condition no further information was able to be gathered, although we hope for a better day in the future to learn more.
 
If he lived in the UK it would have been blown up by now, well done for saving it,,,,, Dave
 
No other info, sorry. Just have been found in Mexico area, it is not clear if they belong to the narcos or government troops. surely they have codes and lot numbers printed in yellow this indicates a government origin, but of which country?
 
-V40-
I am going to bet Steel vs. Iron. The inside which is pristine appears to be cast, while the extremely smooth outside could very well be milled for finish. Interestingly enough the concave base extends into the cavity, not just milled. The internal cavity has zero rust and the outside has limited rust on the exposed (un-painted) areas, which would lead me to suggest steel vs. iron.

-We have located a family member of the previous owner. Apparently this family member, although not familiar with the item or the exact location of the owners military past, has had good luck with conversations and filling in holes for the rest of the family. They have volunteered to try and learn more for us, lucidity willing!
 
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