Incorrectly Stamped Mills Base Plugs

[Millsman]

On Sunday I was talking to someone about the 'famous' Mk II baseplugs found in Belgium. As so few have been found I've always thought they were just factory errors. Looking through my collection I found 2 plugs that have been incorrectly stamped.

1. A H Hope No 5 plug that has been stamped 23 Mk I (seen next to a normal H Hope plug in the image). This style of plug could never be a 23 Mk I.

2. A James Cycle Co No 23 Mk I that has an 8/15 date (Clearly wrong).

I wonder if others also have similar incorrectly stamped plugs in their collections?



John

 

[millsbomber]

all my odd stamped examples the last 2 M & Co No5 to take rod and a No23 Mk1 from H Hope as should be.


These 2 are not in my collection

 

[AE501]

If you had a lot of Grenades No 5 but a shortfall of No 23 rifle grenades, you would take a number of No 5 grenade base plugs, with a specimen No 23 plug and a suitable length rod, to your base workshop and say please thread these plugs to this thread and make a corresponding number of rods to match.
When the right grenades arrived this would stop.

 

[Millsman]

The 'Mills Rifle Grenade' was in use before the No 23 came along. It looks like Morum & C0 were the only early supplier of these plugs. Even after the No 23 came into service Morum continued to make threaded centre hole No 5 base plugs. Anyway base RE workshops were not equipped for this type of work, though the RE did set up various factories in France. So Dave's plug is correct.

Double stamping and non stamping and non drilling of 36 base plugs also occurred as Dave's photo shows.

John