In my Vietnam EOD tours I never saw a Viet Cong grenade with screw-on metal cap. The VC did not have manufacturing facilities for the most part that were capable of making the caps. They simply machined/carved wooden plugs that were force fit into the end of the wooden handle. Most of the time the pull cord in the handle was just a piece of twisted cord with no attachment on the end to grab like the one shown here. The only screw-on capped grenades I encountered in the Danang operational area and the Pleiku operational area were clearly Chinese. The VC, however, did often use tin cans for their grenade bodies. I have a Ballentine beer can in the collection. They normally used beer or soft drink cans because that is what the GI's left laying around the countryside. I do not recall seeing any cans with ridges like these, but I am not sure my level of detail in my memory banks would recall that at this point.
British Ordnance Collectors Network
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Need Help with Grenade ID
- Thread starter mkubes
- Start date
Grenademan2005
Well-Known Member
EODGUY you have a very interesting work, congratulations. Dano, there are other points for determine if a grenade is real or not, helmet collectors call them "Red Flags". These pair have all the "Red Flags" they can have, too new, too mint and too elaborate grenades. Also read the posst from moondoggy, he is totally right.
Ribbed (Beaded) Cans
I'm not convinced (but am willing to be) that the ribbed cans were around until the early 1970s. At the University where I work a couple of Mathematicians were secreted away doing finite element analysis on the beading (as it is called) of cans to allow thinner (cheaper) cans be made without sacrificing strength. This would have been circa 1973.
I'm not convinced (but am willing to be) that the ribbed cans were around until the early 1970s. At the University where I work a couple of Mathematicians were secreted away doing finite element analysis on the beading (as it is called) of cans to allow thinner (cheaper) cans be made without sacrificing strength. This would have been circa 1973.