No.

1741 _A

DESCRIPTION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE USE OF

"HAND GRENADES

(FOUB. PLATES)

SEPTEMBER 28, 1917

WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1917

...

,V AR DEPJJ,tT:1>[ENIl',

OFFICE OJ!' 'l'HE 'GRIEF €iF ORDNAi)"GE, Wa;shVi~uton" S_e1)te;nb~r 28, 19,17.

This manual rs rmblished for the illiorwation and governJ:nen{ of the. Ite_gu!in' A.o:py and NatiQnal ~l1arq of the Uniteq States:

By Qrder of the' Seeretary of W:ar : ' .

WILl<UM:, O\u:.)ZlliR, Bri,u(ulim' GenenJ,7" Ohief of al·ana~rCf>.

15:1l9!i-11

(3)

DESCRIPTION AND INSTRUC'rIONS FOR THE USE BF HAND GRENADES.

WARNING.

1. REME1YIBER '1'HAT 'rlIE fuND GRENADE Is AL'WAY8 LOADED A1'l1 (JOCKED. IT Is AL:WAYS POIN'.l'ED AT YOU. IT Is A DANGEROUS WF..APON UNLESS PnOPlffiLY HANDLED. Y ('l"lJ WILL MINIMIZE "I'IfE OHANGES OF INJ"QRY TO YOURSELF AND COll'!RADES IF You BEAR THI~ CoN'S'l'AN'l'LY :u.~ MINN.

2. The detonator or firing device is dangeuous by itself. It i<. :powef'ful enough to blow one's hand to pieces.

3. De not use live grenades until you are thorougbly familial' with their every detail, and until you hav-e had practiee with dumrnv and praetiee gr~ades.

4. In practicing, never throw a live grenade unless cover is al haRd,b@hind which the operator and spectators may seek shelter, The effective radius of the grenade is 75 yards.

5. Do not arm the grenade by drawing the safety cotter pin until you are ready to throw the grenade. If the grenade is dropped after removal of the cotter pin, assume that it is gQing off. Do not wait to examine it, but instantly pick it IIp and throw it.

6 .. Do not assume tJirr,t you can guess WHen five seconds have elapsed.

T. If, in practice, a grenade fails, it should not be recovered until at least 10 minutes have elapsed. Any grenade about which there is any doubt is to be considered a misfire and to be treated as such.

8. Remember that the filling plug at the bottom of the grenade body is painted when the grenade is loaded.

9. Do not disassemble a grenade which has failed to go off. Let an expert do it.

NOMENCLATURE.

The const.ructiQl'l .ofthe grenade and the names of its component parts are indicated on Plazes I and IV.

a, Bod'y.

V. Bouehon. (j, LeVel:.

d. Stl'i.JHl1·. B. Rivet.

t. Spring,

g. H'iIlge·pin,

I~. Scte.w.

k: Split 'Pin, Z. Coyer.

m. Sp)it-J}in r,[ng.

n. Washer.

o. Charge,

p. Detonator.

(5)

q. Fuse.

1'. Primer.

8. 'l'iofoi1 moisture cal', t. Cement.

WD. Priming powder.

FULL size

HA.ND GRl'lNA.Dlil, MA.B.IC 1.

\ -

'7

ACTION OF THE GRENADE.

The action of the. grenade is .as follows:

_ The striker d is held in its position oT. fun cock hy the upper end of the lever 0, the depression in the lever snapping over the firing point of tHe 'strikeL'. The laver is bpt Iil:Orii piYoting on the i'ivet e by the cgver Z, the-notch in which fits across the upper end 01 the lever, the cover being kept in place by the safety split pin k: The

r< grenade will be received Ioaded and cocked ; to arm it, ali th~t is neeessary is to pull ORt .the safety split pin k by means of the ring m. (as shown OIl PI. II), and, holding the lever in place' by gr'asping the grenade in the hand, shake or pull off' the cover l.

From, this point on the g1'en.aiLe is armed asui ,is 1'eady to throu».

OPERATION OF GRENADE.

In a grea.t number of the I1tIDcl grenades used abroad the so-called Mills-method of operatior, is employed. This priNciple involves the use of [t, lever which lies close to the body of tile ha,:raa grenade and paradlel to ita longitudiriad axis. Thegrenade and level' are grasped firmly in-the hand and the cotter pin is withdrawn. As the grena~de is thrown the pressure of the hand is released and the lever flies up, permitting _tl1e fu'ing mechanism to actuate. This principle has this disadvantage . If the grenade be fumbled or accidently dropped, 01' if the thrower be disabled, after r-emoval of the cotter pin, the grenade immedia.tely becomes a serious menace to everyone in the vreinity." In the hand grenade :Ma.rk I an, attem.pt has been made to overcome this objectionable ieatpre by the inteednetion of II mechanism which is automatically. operated by the act of throwing, It was noted that in the overhand throw the thumb passed obliquely over the body of the grenade, and that in the baseball throw the fingers wiped over a considerable surface of the bo€iy as the grenade leTt the hand. This fact has been taken advantage of in the design of the hand grenade with a view to overcoming the fault inherent in gl'enades of the Mills type. It m1ISt be remembered, however, that this additional safety feature is not infallible and that the grenade; if accidently dropped, may so fall as to actuate the lever.

Bombers will readily aeqnize the knack of operatiRg the grenade with the overhand throw. 1£ the grenade is held peopenly and the thumb pressed firmly against the lever fl<& shown.in Plate II, the lever ~'\1ill be tripped at the instant the grenade leaves the hand. The thumb, slipping along the lever obliquely as the grenade leaves the hand, turns it through some 20"', as shown in Plate III, and frees t1!e striker d ; the latte!", operated by a rat-trapspring, flies over so as to strike the primer rp after perforation of the tin-foil disk which serves

- .

8

ASSEMBLl!lD GR'OlNADE WI'l'R FIN BElING DRAWN. RIGHT HANI!> lior.DING GRIllNA"B h'O' POS1'l.~tO"'N lfOR Tnit@"\<~lN(T·.

\

i?'L."'TE: III

10

the purpose of waterproofing the grena,de. The end of the fuse IJ is tipped with a priming powder composition. This is ignited by- the primer and causes the fuse to burn. At the expiration of fiye seconds the flame from. the fuse spits into the fulminate composition p~ causing the same to detonate. The det0'lHltiin-g wave set up by the fulminate composition is conveyed to the surrounding lml'sting chlUlge or high explosive and the grenade fragmented.

DETA:ILED DESCRIPTION OF 'l'HE GRENADE.

"I'he grenade j~ shown on Plates II and lII. its component parts being shown on Plate IV. It is about the "size of a large lemon, designed to fit comfortably 1n the hand, and weighs, ready for use, about 22 ounces, The body a (made of malleable iron, to secur-e better fragmentation than with cast iron, which tends to pulverize)

- is scored with deep grooves dividing it into 40 sections, further insuring l11'oper iragmentatio!)'.. The b0uGl101!l b is a die qasting holding the entire firing mechanism of the grenade: its upper part holding the cocking mechanism, eonsisting of s.triker, spring, hinge pin, lever, and cover; and its lower, tuhular portion, containing the detonating group consisting of primer, fuse, and det9natol'. It will be noticed -that the lower end of the bouehon tube is slotted; this is done to receive the :fold of the detonator, which is crimped over the ruse in such a manner that the diameter of the outside or the crimped portion is the same as that of the fuse. After the fuse has been primed ana the detonator crimped onto the other end, they are _phwed in the houeaon tube as shown in the assembly dra.wing, and the poztion of the tube OVer the detonator is tightly elQEled to maIm

a tight j()il'lt. This is clone to prevent any possibility of an instantaneons explosion due to the flame from the primer 8 reaching the detonator without going through the ruse.

The lever 0, striker d, and COvel' l are of sheet metal pressed into form as shown. They, with the spring f and hinge pin .rr, form the cocking mechanism of the grenade. The detonating group consists of the primer 1', the fuse q, primed 011 the top with a special priming composition to insure its ignition, and the detonator=-e, standard No. 6 fulminatedetonator, Ii inches long. The ruse is 11. standard £nse, 2 inches long and timed to burn 5 seconds, 1)111s or minus three-fifths of a second. JUteI' the primer is in place a, weatherproofing disk of

_ tinfoil is placed over it and held in place by shellac 011 the shoulder of the bouehen, The grenade is further weatherproofed by means of cement between tbe bouchon aEd the grenade body and on the threads of the boncho.n and of the screw h. 'I'he screw h will be daubed a special coler when the grenade is Ioaded, the color varying ,vith tbe particular explosive used.

11

PLA;r ~ IV

II

COMPONENT Pill'S OF GRENADE.

12

PRACTICE GRENADES.

These grenades are in every way similar to the one justdescribed, with the exeeption that the expl@d~Rg df3,J!ge, detonater, and rus€\ are omitted and 'the screw h is not put in. This last is done for safety's sake.

DUMM-r GRENADES.

These are intended for the early practice in thro:wrng and for training in handling and supplying quantities of grenades. They are nothing more than body castings. smoothed to TeIDo"Ve any fins or projectiensfeom the casting.

\VAB DEPARTMENT,

0FFnJE OF THI!l CHIEF OJ!' QRUl"IANGE,

Washinuton, September 2§, 1917.

Saptember 28, 1917. Feur No. ;1,741 H. A.

11]6. Bcplem!)er 2'~-1~1 0.000.

o