I have been offered a fully functional M24 steilhandgranate by a veteran and I had him take it to the bomb disposal unit, was this a smart thing to do?
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Full functional - with the initiator screwed in and ignition tube?
Our bomb disposal unit says: "Don't move it!!!" - The ignition cap is covered by a lead tube, that can be heavily oxidized by the time. -
I don't have any expertise re: whether or not it was safe to handle the live M24, but I do feel certain that now that the governmental authorities have the grenade you will never see it (or any portion of it) again.
Most of the "bomb disposal" I here about involves the items of historic ordinance being destroyed. I can't say that I have ever heard of more than one or two instances where the EOD authorities actually disarmed the item to render it inert. In the one or two inerting cases I have heard of, the intert item went straight into a government museum collection.
Where I live most of the ordinance items that surface are from the U.S. war between the states. Although I hear that collectors have developed safe methods of remotely drilling holes the live items under water (using a very slow speed drill) so that the black powder charge is rendered inert, this is not the approach taken when U.S. military EOD authorities learn of the item. When EOD gets involved, the item is hauled off and blown with a C-4 (or equivalent) charge.
Guess I can't blame the EOD guys for blowing up everything they get their hands on (regardless of historical significance). After all, a historic tem will kill or mame you just as bad as a modern battlefield pick-up. None the less, I sure hate to see the historic items destroyed.Comment
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Josh,
If you have to ask this question - you probobly should have dewated it yourself in your bath tub. Natural selection is a good thing!Comment
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they didnt blow it up they took the head off of it and took out the black powder and I dont know what happened to it.Comment
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This reminds me of a guy I saw about 15 years ago selling items at a relic show in Nashville, TN. He had around a dozen great looking displays consisting of a plaque with a half of a spherical case cannonball mounted on it. The cannonball was cut in half and mounted with the interior showing half the fuse, the charge, the internal shot, etc.Originally posted by Alan Smith View Post
As I was admiring them, someone asked him how he cut them in half. He said with a band saw in his basement. The guy asked the dealer if that wasn't dangerous. His reply?
I have one pop every now and then, but nothing major.
I still wonder if the guy has all of his original arms, fingers, or eyes...
You did the right thing Josh, but it is a shame the inert M24 steilhandgranate was not returned.
KevinComment
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Oh that's okay....Right now as we speak (Hmmm, write), it's probably adorning a bomb disposal agent's fire place mantel.....Originally posted by KevinS View Post
....Bodes
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Good thought, but poor veteran...or you...whomever it belongs to...Comment
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I didnt buy it though K98 man, I had him take it to the bomb disposal unit and they told him that they promised it wouldnt be destroyed but just deactivated and that is the last we saw of it.Comment
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Josh,
Just for the heck of it, is the vet willing to press the issue with the governmental authorities, i.e. demand the return of his war trophy grenade? Depending on the authorities involved, the somewhat exhaulted status that WWII vet's enjoy in the U.S. just might be enough to persuade the authorities to give the grenade back to him. He would, of course, hopefully be prompt in passing it along to you for preservation in your collection.
The authorities can easily take the position that the vet had an unregistered destructive device (violating federal and/or state law) and that he was lucky they allowed him to surrender all right, title and interest in same to them - in exchange for him not being the subject of criminal prosecution. This is more than likely the position they would take with you. With an elderly WWII vet, however, they just might do the right thing and give the inert grenade back to him.
Depening on your relationship with the vet, maybe you should try this approach and see if any results can be obtained.Comment
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how cud a live grenade go back to united states?the vet s been lucky it didnt explode somehow b4!Imagine u can still find live ones around!Comment
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He said that after the sheriff inspects it he may get it back if it passes, if not he wont be getting it back, and lelez I dont really know how he brought this one in particular back but I will ask him, one Marine vet who was in Vietnam told me he hid a grenade in his dirty undies on the plane, so who would look through somebodies poopy undies, thats a smart way to bring a gnade back.Comment
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Grenade
My dad was commander of the Disabled American Veterans in a small chapter in Colorado back in the 80's, a vet has passed away and the widow had found "something" in his stuff. My dad and another Veteran went over and found two grenades. They took both of them off of her hands, they proceeded out to an old abanded farm out in the country and pulled the pin on one and dropped it down an old well....they didn't expect anything to happen....it went off. They didn't bother pulling the pin on #2, they just dropped it down with the other one that had went off. So, there are some live ones around....Chris....Comment
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That mustve been fun!!!Comment
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Good luck with the grenade Josh. I wouldn't mind having one, that's for darn sure!
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