Here is a photo of my grenades, one from 1-43 and one from 10-43.
Interesting that even with the limited production these grenades had, there still seem to be plenty of small variations from one example to the next. Note the different knurl pattern on the two caps as well as the color variations.
Mark, Don't worry too much about not finding one of these for your collection. I'm sure the MACV-SOG use in Vietnam of this particular grenade was very limited.
Very interesting Ordnance, and yes there is a lot of variations, especially when it comes to the caps, and the paint.
Here are the M 43, and the M42 (splitter). These are both water-finds and have been covered in lacquer etc, and have been touched up to preserve them. The "splitter coil" (that by the way is in a rather soft metal, feels like pewter in fact) shown in the photo I have only found in this grenade (splitter), and not the others (but on the German site that its a link to in this thread shows it together with the normal M42 as well!?) The German site also says that it was filled with fp 02, that I doubt since all the ones I have opened contained an other explosive substance that looked like miniature cornflakes, I had now time to analyze it further before it was burned.
HHHhhhhmmmmmmm, Rick, I can make that work, yes, that is it! It was adopted by SOG right after the Germans did, but they didn't like it so they sold the rights to the SOE-CIA-SF = SOG. I'm pretty good at this?
On the serious side, Rick I am envious.mmthey are indeed interesting to say the very least!
"The German site also says that it was filled with fp 02, that I doubt since all the ones I have opened contained an other explosive substance that looked like miniature cornflakes, I had now time to analyze it further before it was burned".
Sounds like it may have been "Flaked TNT"? One day my departments Bomb Squad brought in a 1/4lb. charge in a cardboard tube like. It was from the US Army a few years back. It was still live however and it looked like the same thing you described above? JUST IMHO and that of a collector
You maybe right about that Granate, but it did not smell like TNT. When I get the time I will go to Nammo (Raufoss ammunisjonfabrikk) and have a look at heir archive, there all info will be found, numbers produced, type of explosives, who made the tin cans etc etc.
Tennmek time fuze from EGGHANDGRANAT M39
This grenade used the German M39 egg grenade body, fitted with a Norwegian fuze, a bit similar to the Russian UZRGM.
The grenade was used in the period from 1945 to 1955.
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