I admit I haven't seen everything, some things slip by me, and some I just don't notice, but I picked up a dummy grenade today that has me a little puzzled. Nothing peculiar about the overall design, but if you notice behind the saftey pin at the top of the grenade, the word "KOREA" has been cast into the metal at the time of production. There are no other manufacturer's stamps on the grenade. I know the Mk II saw heavy use in Korea, but were the ones made at that timeframe marked this way? Is it a common item and it just took me a lot of years to notice one?
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Mk II Curious Dummy
- Thread starter EODGUY
- Start date
The example shown market "KOREA" was actually commercially manufactured in Korea for the word novelty / souvenir market, nothing to do with US Issued Equipment.
Not sure if they were ever also possibly used by Korean Forces being funded by the US?
Not sure if they were ever also possibly used by Korean Forces being funded by the US?
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Thanks, No Problem.
Forgot to mention that somewhere I have a vintage magazine with an add from a novelty type outfit out of New York that was selling these. In the add photo you can clearly see the KOREA in the casting. If I can find the magazine without to much digging I will post a copy.
Stay safe,
Frank
Forgot to mention that somewhere I have a vintage magazine with an add from a novelty type outfit out of New York that was selling these. In the add photo you can clearly see the KOREA in the casting. If I can find the magazine without to much digging I will post a copy.
Stay safe,
Frank
While it seems absurd, there has been a shortage of REAL Mk1A1 practice grenades for a long time.
I visited the disposal yard at Tooele Depot about 25 or 30 years ago and noticed a huge pile of Mk1A1 training grenades about 15 feet high. Before they were allowed to be sold, each had to be broken in half to demil them. So a training grenade that was really never a grenade at all, and never held any energetic substance, still had to be destroyed before it could be released to the public.
And whenever the public demands an item, eventually the surplus store market will supply a facsimile if the real item cannot be found. Hence the fake M30, M21, and M69 grenades in all the surplus stores today. The KOREA marked Mk1A1s were just the first in a long line of fakes for kids to play with.
I just always found it ironic that the real inert cast iron hunks had to be destroyed and identical cast iron hunks could be imported from Korea to fill the void.
I visited the disposal yard at Tooele Depot about 25 or 30 years ago and noticed a huge pile of Mk1A1 training grenades about 15 feet high. Before they were allowed to be sold, each had to be broken in half to demil them. So a training grenade that was really never a grenade at all, and never held any energetic substance, still had to be destroyed before it could be released to the public.
And whenever the public demands an item, eventually the surplus store market will supply a facsimile if the real item cannot be found. Hence the fake M30, M21, and M69 grenades in all the surplus stores today. The KOREA marked Mk1A1s were just the first in a long line of fakes for kids to play with.
I just always found it ironic that the real inert cast iron hunks had to be destroyed and identical cast iron hunks could be imported from Korea to fill the void.
MissingSomething
Well-Known Member
Humm... So I have been reading they replies.... For what its worth.... I was told that the "Korea" marked ones were actual military issue in Korea and were made for the US trained Korean troops. They were marked as such to show where they originated.
Have on idea if there is any truth to the story... just my 2 cents...
So... I have 5.. went to look at them.... 1 (painted silver) has a "3" on it.
1 marked "Korea" in bigger letters and no border (pic 3).
1 marked "Korea" in border (pic 4)
2 marked "Korea" in border on opposite side as others...(pic 5)
just some FYI :tinysmile_fatgrin_t
Have on idea if there is any truth to the story... just my 2 cents...
So... I have 5.. went to look at them.... 1 (painted silver) has a "3" on it.
1 marked "Korea" in bigger letters and no border (pic 3).
1 marked "Korea" in border (pic 4)
2 marked "Korea" in border on opposite side as others...(pic 5)
just some FYI :tinysmile_fatgrin_t
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