Picked up a few Ceramic grenades and noticed one had markings on it. It is reddish ceramic with a brown glaze. On the bottom there is a open circle with what looks like a cresant moon and on the side toward the bottom is a Japanese inspection mark with a number 19 below it. Could the 19 be the date. Anyone else have any that are marked?
-
-
I cannot recall seeing marks on these grenades (my two do not have them), but it would certainly make sense that the 19 indicates the year.
These ceramic jobs probably started to be made towards the end of 44. Quite a few of them made it to the Philippines to be used in the early battles of 1945 up in the mountains of Luzon. They were actually not a "last ditch" item.
CB
Comment