Do.II.4.40 .. M24 Matching numbers

[mandy333]

Greetings: I have had this M24 grenade for many years and have just recently seen "Do.II.4.40" on the canister head.I actually saw it by accident as it is very hard to detect .After many photos from many angles I managed to capture 1 photo that exposes it the best.I assume the "40" stands for 1940 as the handle and head are dated 1940. Also the waffen ampt.582 stamped on the head matches the 582 stamped on the anti rattle spring cap. Does the "DO.II.4" stand for the month and day of manufacture? Thank you to all replies and information submitted, it is greatly appreciated.
Regards
Zeke

[mandy333]

Do.II.4.40

Here is a picture from straight on where the Do.II.4.40 cannot be seen. This is why I did not even notice it all this time.
Regards
Zeke

[mandy333]

M24 grenade

Side view of grenade

[mandy333]

M24 grenade

Cannister head stamped 1940 and waffenampt. 582

[mandy333]

M24 grenade

Anti rattle cap with 582 waffenampt stamp matching the cannister

[mandy333]

M24 grenade

Inside of anti rattle cap

[MG34NZ]

The Ink stamps are manufacturers markings relating to the date the batch of grenades was made as far as Im awere, I have seen them on quite a few grenades but being ink I guess they wore off quite redally.
If anyone else has a better theory I would love to hear it.

[captainhoot]

I see that in the first image. It is a ghost of an image.
Great jog capturing that on the photo, by the way.
That explantion sounds fine to me; makes sense...

-Capthoot

[Glenn Barbaritz]

first off Zeke, SWEET M24! I have one myself of the same maker/year. different lot number. the markings on the can stand for: "Do"= Donart, German for explosive. the "II" I have not been able to find out as of yet but the "4" stands for the month of April. the month it passed thru the production line. love that the end cap still retains the cardboard in it as well as having a matching WaA. very nice grenade indeed. Glenn

[Glenn Barbaritz]

oh yeah, the "40" does stand for 1940 as stated. Glenn

[mandy333]

Thanks

Greetings: Thank you MG34NZ and captainhoot to take the time to reply and share your knowledge. Also thank you Glenn for your indepth explanation of the markings and appreciation of my grenade. Always good to hear comments from the "heavy weights"
Best Regards
Zeke

[HGrenadier]

"Do" denotes "Donarit"-explosive, variants I or II (as here). You can meet "Mo" for "Monachit" I or II , "5" (Fuellung 5) for Picric acid and many more.

[Glenn Barbaritz]

Grenadier, can you please explain a little better about the meaning behind "variant" in the case of "I" or "II". I have been trying to find out that info for a long time. I am big into the meanings of such things. perhaps you also know the meaning of "Sk." I have the same version grenade as Zekes shown here and the markings on the head are "Sk. Do. II 4 40" Glenn

[HGrenadier]

Hello to everybody,
Sorry for my delay in answering... About the German explosives you may find lot of information here:
http://www.freilassung.de/div/texte/spreng/lexikon.htm
I described all antipersonnel German hand grenades (WK1&2) in Vol.1 of my book; if somebody is interested, please have a look here (see the sample pages - the contents is given there):
http://grenadebook.googlepages.com
Some of the given data:
"Donarite according to [3][190][227] had the following content: 80% Ammonium nitrate, 12% TNT, 4% Nitroglycerine, and 4% (wood-; rye-[227]) flour ([3] mentiones it with name „Füllung 56” („56”; [228] - „Füllung Nr 56”, specifying that this name was especially for hand grenades); according to [228] 67-80% Ammonium nitrate, 12-25% TNT, 3,8% Nitroglycerine, plant oil 4%, and collodium cotton 0,2%.
[17][229] mention charges of following explosives: Picric acid (Grf 88), Monachite (Mo), or Donarite (Do) - the marking was stenciled on the bodies. According to [230] the bodies filled with Picric acid are marked with large black figure „5” (from „Füllung 5”(granulated); other similar markings for Picric acid are „2”(pressed), „24”; and for mixtures with TNT „24/14”, „25/14”, „26/14”). Monachite is marked with „57” too [3]".
If you want more info, I'll add. Regards

[Glenn Barbaritz]

Grenadier, those seem to be great sites but like most dumb ass Americans I only understand english. do you know by chance what the m,eanings are on mine as far as the "II" and the "Sk." ? would love to find out. Glenn