Well we have an early MK II body with a "G" on it which may be Gorham as it was one of the makers marks they used in their silver productions.
Hi Mike, I know this thread is a bit old, but noticed it and if still of any interest to you or others, what I've learned about some earlier MkII bodies marked G.......if the "G" is square in shape" it's for sure made by the "Grabler" "Square G" pipe fitting Co..... Please see the attached picture below I found a few years back from and advert in a magazine. If I'm reading date correctly it's dated from 1922......it's hard to see, I've have tried to enlarge picture but a bit fuzzy, but seems to be 1922 or possibly 1923....
The "Grabler Square G" grenade I have and most of the "Square G's" I've seen, about 90% or the great majority are black painted, but.... I've also seen many OD green-yellow stripe WW2 era ones also.,,,in fact I think you showed one in the famed RFX debate :-D From what was stated a while back here in another quite lengthy thread these black painted G grenades were actually late 30's or early WW2 and called "substitute practice" grenades.
Most all I've seen, and my example I show below, if untouched and all orig configuration will always have 2 odd white asbestos type material sealing washers I've not seen used on any other grenades, and they always will have the early M10A1 fuzes (with the thin flimsy metal easily bent spoons) ...as most know these M10A1 fuzes were originally designed as a practice fuze and they were recalled because of a "flash by" problem that caused some accidents...that's what I've learned....correct me if I'm wrong please, and update us who might have interest about this subject.
As a side note, this would be most surely why there are so many M10A1's overstamped "A3" seen because we didn't want to waste perfectly good fuze bodies and spoons, so after modifications were made, most probably to the Bickford delay fuze specs and some other small changes they were put to use early on with WW2 HE MkII grenades and probably some blue practice grenades too.
I posted my black Square G quite a while back thinking it was a HE grenade because I was told or read somewhere we used black for HE grenades for short period in mid 30's, which then started a large discussion on these black grenades, and practice types in general....I can't find the thread right now, but after everyone chimed in after looking at old manuals, publications etc, it was found the black painted grenades were called "substitute practice" grenades.
My info (once again) was incorrect of them being HE grenades :tinysmile_cry_t: but I don't mind being incorrect sometimes... asking questions and having discussions is how we all learn...
That's one of the great things about this BOCN community of knowledgeable EOD folks, collectors, researchers, like yourself and others.
Regards, Steve
