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Two Israeli No.36 Grenades

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peregrinvs

Well-Known Member
Hi,

Last year I bought an Israeli No.36 grenade from a European dealer at Beltring and this year a I bought another from the same chap. (10 vs 15 - 50% inflation;))

I was originally going to turn last year's one into a WWII British lookalike grenade with a new base plug, etc. But I changed my mind and decided to put it back in its original Israeli colour scheme. However, I am going to convert this year's one and I attach some pictures. Is black correct for a WWII British No.36, or were they coated in Shellac like the WWI grenades?

Thanks,

Mark


Israeli Mills No.36 1.jpgIsraeli Mills No.36 2.jpgIsraeli Mills No.36 3.jpg
 
I think you should put it to Israel colours, like the one in the link above. When they are painted to look like British, they stand out a mile.
 
peregrinvs said:
Food for thought. What identifies them as Israeli when repainted, etc?

Thanks,
Mark
Click to expand...

You would have to change the parts if you wanted it to appear British. The baseplug, filler plug, lever and pin. The striker you could probably get away with on display. They don't seem to be as well made, though that could just be the ones that I have owned.

Not shure about shelak on Israeli ones though, but I'm sure someone else will.
Rob
 
Yes, I was intending to kit it out with a set of repro bits from Dugup to make a budget WWII No.36 lookalike. I was just wondering how accurate the current colour scheme is?
 
As an addition though, you would be better off buying a Brit 36m. Would be nice to have something a little different and have a nice HE Israeli Mills. Just my thoughts, but Brit Mills are very popular. Israeli ones are often overlooked, which is a shame. I have loads of Brit Mills bombs, but only have a few Israeli ones, and they are in bad nick paint wise. I would go for the original israeli HE colour and do it well, you will be sure of a great looking and DIFFERENT Mills.
 
This is a fascinating story to say the least. I did not even know that the Israeli's even used a Mills bomb/grenade? Were they given to them by the British Ocupational Forces from back then or did they get them by raiding the armories of the British? Is their grenade considered an advanced Mills grenade in any way possible?
 
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pointblank0 said:
I would go for the original israeli HE colour and do it well, you will be sure of a great looking and DIFFERENT Mills.
Click to expand...
I'm tempted. Can you confirm what the correct body colour is and the size and positioning of the green and red rings? It's not entirely clear from the two pictures posted of worn examples.

Thanks,
Mark

EDIT. I've since found it has a dark green body with a red band:

http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/76071-Mills-grenade/page4

Would Humbrol No 159 Matt Khaki Green be a suitable colour for the body?
 
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The Israeli Mills is called #4 grenade. It is a little different from the original British mills by shape - less round and slightly more oblong.
The colour is drab green (with out varnish) with a red ring close to the bottom. You will notice that the base plug and filling plug are different too.

Attached a photo I could find (not the best but I will try for a more detailed one)

Michael225.jpg
 
Thanks. I think that clears it up. I've almost cleaned my grenade to bare metal and I think some Humbrol 159 should do it.

Cheers,
Mark
 
V40 said:
So is this Israely version in any way an "Advanced" version of the No.36?
Click to expand...
Not to my knowledge. Apart from the slightly different body shape, they appear very similar, probably why so many get repainted as Brit ones and sold as such.
I'm not sure what the israelis filled theirs with though
 
My stab at an Israeli No.4 HE paint scheme. Its currently a bit new looking, so it needs a little bit more work. The paint is Humbrol Dark Green and I don't think it's a bad match.

Cheers,
Mark


Israeli Mills No.4 HE R.jpg
 
Looks good to me bud,

I dont think you need to age it in any way, it will do that on its own for as long as you keep it.

Well done.

Andy
 
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