battlefield find

[chris clark]

just back from france and from an organised dig got this hand granade from trench at the somme. im amased the wood still partly there and some of the wrighting. didnt know were to post it so hope ok here

[chris clark]

lettering on handel.

[JensF.]

I hope this stick grenade Model 1915 is empty! Otherwise you will get a lot of problems with your health and the laws!!!

[AOK4]

I hope this stick grenade Model 1915 is empty! Otherwise you will get a lot of problems with your health and the laws!!!

I totally agree!

[chris clark]

i know my laws and its been totally deactivated thanks im going to mount it on a wood plinth so should look good when done

[Tim Miller]

Nice find Chris. Please remember to post a photo or two once you have it mounted. Thanks for sharing. Take care.


Tim

[JensF.]

Ok, now I feel better Never forget that the filling of these grenades is very toxic. One ingredient of the explosive mixture (called "Pertit") is Nitrobenzol which smells like bitter almond. This substance is very toxic even by breathing it!

[chris clark]

tim as promised.

so do you guys think this came out ok ???

[chris clark]

last pic

[Bob Lembke]

Grenade Fuze

Chris;

An additional bonus. The grenade is a special storm grenade with a three and a half second fuse, rather than the usual six and a half (or thereabouts) second fuze. My father, who was a Flamm=Pionier and fought with Sturm=Bataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr) several times, told me about them about 50 years ago; how on a storm they would pull the knob and toss the thing, and a brave Frenchman might field it and try to toss it back, only to get a nasty surprise when it blew up in his hands. He specifically told me that they were 3 1/2 second fuzes then, not that they just were short timed fuzes.

These grenades were largely concussion grenades, not fragmentation grenades (although they certainly threw some parts about), so they were fairly safe to use at relatively close ranges, like when rushing or rolling up a trench, making the short fuze more useful.

It was only about a year ago on this or another forum that I independently heard that these special grenades existed, corroborating what my father told me so many years ago. Does anyone know if the normal ones were stamped with the fuze time, or if you just knew that one with no stamp was 6 1/2 seconds?

Congratulations on your nice artifact.

Bob Lembke

[chris clark]

bob thankyou for your imput, very interesting and yes im sure a nasty surprise if one thought it was a 6 second one and tried to lob it back

[Frentebro]

According to what i've read, grenade fuses even later were never very reliable & it was best even for the thrower to get rid of the grenade as fast as possible.

[Mike Dunn]

What did you put on it to make it black? Looks totally different from when you first showed it. Mike

[JensF.]

Looks like clear paint to protect it from further corrosion etc.

About the fuses; the delay fuse of this grenade was a simple fuze rope like those you have on fireworks today! We found them very often in Verdun still sticking in the remains of the wooden stick.

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

i know my laws and its been totally deactivated thanks im going to mount it on a wood plinth so should look good when done

With all due respect, I liked it better uncoated. I think if I were going to apply a finish it would have been one that was flat, as to not change the original appearance. But thats just me.