Mills Grenade date for these bodys

[millsbomber]

Could any one shed some light on possibly what date these 3 body's could be, one has a No23 Mk1 plug, another No23 Mk2 plug, and a WW2 plug No36, i have 6 in the collection and only one with all WW1 parts,,,,, Dave

 

[Snufkin]

They're WWII. South African manufacture.




Tom.

 

[millsbomber]

Perfect Tom thank you, that ties in nice with 2 of them as i brought them from South Africa many years ago, with strange base plugs,,,, Dave

 

[Snufkin]

Dave,

You've also got examples in your collection marked with the monograms FG and CEW, which are also South African.

The small pheon in a U, on the centrepiece, is a Union of SA acceptance stamp (that info courtesy of Norman).

The main difference between SA and British (and all other Commonwealth) output is the filler hole thread. The SA is true 9/16 BSF while all others are 9/16 x 20 BSW form.

The two base plugs came with SA 36s and have MkII gas check threads; the one with clear markings seems to be marked MkI as with that of yours.





Tom.

 

[Millsman]

Are the markings on the rear of the bodies casting marks or makers? Not seen this feature before. John

 

[millsbomber]

Dave,

You've also got examples in your collection marked with the monograms FG and CEW, which are also South African.

The small pheon in a U, on the centrepiece, is a Union of SA acceptance stamp (that info courtesy of Norman).

The main difference between SA and British (and all other Commonwealth) output is the filler hole thread. The SA is true 9/16 BSF while all others are 9/16 x 20 BSW form.

The two base plugs came with SA 36s and have MkII gas check threads; the one with clear markings seems to be marked MkI as with that of yours.





Tom.

That's the reason why i cannot find a filler screw to fit these as the threads are different, the CEW or GEW i cannot find at the moment which is a little annoying, Here is the FG any way with incorrect filler screw and also fund another base plug.

 

[millsbomber]

More base plugs VG AP NP

 

[millsbomber]

Are the markings on the rear of the bodies casting marks or makers? Not seen this feature before. John

I would think the Manufactures John,,,,,, Dave

 

[Snufkin]

It figures that there are a few South African examples still around, as there were several orders placed by the War Office: for 1,000,000 in January 1942, 250,000 in July 1942, and then 1,500,000 from September 1943. Perhaps much of the output went to India for the Burma campaign; Malaya and Singapore would have fallen before they could have been supplied from the first order for one million.

At the time of the first SA order, January 1942, there were also orders for 1,000,000 from New Zealand and 500,000 from Australia, which all might have been a reaction to the developing crisis in Malaya, Singapore and Burma at that time.





Tom.

 

[millsbomber]

Are there any South African members on BOCN, thy might have a few tucked away....... Dave