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Mills 36 - 1939

Millsman

Millsman

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
I bought this one yesterday. It's a standard 36 made by REVO that was kept as a souvenir by a Kent man. Interestingly the base plug is dated 7/39. The first between the wars Mills I've got. Also of interest is that the lever is stamped M&Co L (Morum & Co Lewisham) and they went out of business at the end of WW1. This grenade has never left the family from 1940 through to now so the lever must have been on there from new.

John
 

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hi there, after ww1 there were large stocks of mills still in store, the mod would not allow any contracts for new mills until these stocks were used, the example you have is a WW1 mills from those stores and was converted for use in WW2.
Great example not seen before.
 
Millsman said:
I bought this one yesterday. It's a standard 36 made by REVO that was kept as a souvenir by a Kent man. Interestingly the base plug is dated 7/39. The first between the wars Mills I've got. Also of interest is that the lever is stamped M&Co L (Morum & Co Lewisham) and they went out of business at the end of WW1. This grenade has never left the family from 1940 through to now so the lever must have been on there from new.

John
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John,

I know you have probably seen the contracts papers at the PRO but I thought I just extract one line from my notes made 22/Nov/1973!
Grenade Hand No 36 M Mk I Qty 50,000 REVO Electric Co Ltd at a cost of 8 15 /- a Hundred. The paper is dated (unfortunately) 9th December 1939 but it is as close as I could find.
 
Bonnex said:
John,

I know you have probably seen the contracts papers at the PRO but I thought I just extract one line from my notes made 22/Nov/1973!
Grenade Hand No 36 M Mk I Qty 50,000 REVO Electric Co Ltd at a cost of 8 15 /- a Hundred. The paper is dated (unfortunately) 9th December 1939 but it is as close as I could find.
Click to expand...


Norman,

There are also these 9,500:

REVO 57/Air/3292, 19.5.39, 720 + 3 for proof. Added to 294/G/3058 (letter 3.9.39) Revo Electric Co.


REVO 57/Admy/15578, 8,700 + 25 for proof. Added to 294/G/3058 (letter 3.9.39) Revo Electric Co.

Total 9500 (723 + 8,725 + 53 round up).

I believe your batch of 50K is:

[DGMP's Instruction (no formal demand) 100,000] 294/G/3917, Intimation to Proceed: 16.10.39, Firm Contract: 9.12.39 Revo Electric Co. Quantity 50,000

Tom.
 
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Snufkin said:
Norman,

There are also these 9,500:

REVO 57/Air/3292, 19.5.39, 720 + 3 for proof. Added to 294/G/3058 (letter 3.9.39) Revo Electric Co.


REVO 57/Admy/1557 8,700 +25 for proof. Added to 294/G/3058 (letter 3.9.39) Revo Electric Co.

Total 9500 (723 + 8,725 + 53 round up).

I believe your batch of 50K is:

[DGMP's Instruction (no formal demand) 100,000] 294/G/3917, Intimation to Proceed: 16.10.39, Firm Contract: 9.12.39 Revo Electric Co. Quantity 50,000

Tom.
Click to expand...

Many thanks Tom. Not bad at about a 1 a box. Interesting small quantities in the demands. Part of slow re-armament program perhaps?
 
millsbomber said:
hi there, after ww1 there were large stocks of mills still in store, the mod would not allow any contracts for new mills until these stocks were used, the example you have is a WW1 mills from those stores and was converted for use in WW2.
Great example not seen before.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave. That would certainly explain the lever. I think I've got the production figures for 1939 and they are quite low, so there must have been many WW1 36's used up in the first year or so, especially in training.

John
 
Many thanks Norman and Tom. This grenade has a more normal WW2 style filler plug so if a WW1 grenade may have been refilled or filled for the first time in 1939. I'm surprised at the price. Almost no inflation in 20 years.

John
 
WOW, a 1939 dated base plug!!!!! Congratulations for that, Im looking for one since 5 years. you are a lucky Man. Also, is there a big difference between a N36 grenade after WWI and from one made in WWII?
 
It's mainly in the body markings. In WW1 some makers did put dates onto the body but this seems to have died out after the war. There was the introduction of the different body type which has the extended shoulders sloping towards the filler plug. These have been identified as being strenghtened for repeated firing in training and are sometimes called the 36 MkII, BUT it is also possible that this was just a different body mould introduced by one maker - JPS Joseph Parks Staffordshire , but one other maker TP -R also made that body type. Despite these supposedly being for training I have two of this type without holes drilled in the body, and one of them was brought back as a souvenir from Arnham, so pretty operational. The main design change for the MkII was just the heavier baseplug.

The No 36 was pretty much a perfect design and didn't need changing. How many machines remain in use from 1917 to the 1980's unchanged?

John
 
Correct - in the broadest sense. The main changes occurred at the end of WW1.

John
 
Ok, thank you for the info, you closed one of my biggest doubts about the N36 Mills. If you ever find another 1939 base plug think in me, please. I need one for complet the WWII Mills set in my collection.
 
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