We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2010 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:58:24 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2012 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification I've been too serious of late, despite Bill's best efforts. Must be subliminally trying to ease the bruising my ego is taking at the Weblog Awards... Anybody know what grenade this is? It's been tentatively id'd as a French Guidetti from WWI, but I don't agree. Unfortunately, I can't prove it isn't, either, really, based on the somewhat limited resources out there. Anybody know their obscure WWI grenades? Better than me? Who read this thing...... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html Wed, 07 Dec 2005 07:57:48 -0600 I could probably tell you what it is, but my government computer won't open the picture. Based on the written descriptions provided by the other contributors it sounds like a rifle grenade to me too, but that's as good as I can do given my LAN Nazi imposed blindness. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-36034 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-36034 Fri, 09 Dec 2005 03:51:53 -0600 http://cgi.ebay.ie/French-WW1-Guidetti-Grenade-RARE-Inert-NR_W0QQitemZ6586424905QQcategoryZ13974QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Cost 10.5 Pounds ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-36010 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-36010 Thu, 08 Dec 2005 18:18:46 -0600 A trip to the looney bin without better provenance than that! http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35930 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35930 Wed, 07 Dec 2005 12:43:33 -0600 Yes I am glad you posted this particular grenade. There were actually 3 made. It is of Austrian design. The markings on it were cleaverly placed there to confuse CSI types. What made this grenade special was that it contained no explosives at all. None. It was not launched from a rifle or tube as the entire concept of this grenade was stealth. The later two grenades were actually configured with silencers. What did I win? http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35928 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35928 Wed, 07 Dec 2005 12:40:34 -0600 No Harv, the Holy Handgrenade used the Fuze, Cross-shaped, Mark 4:12, and this clearly does not. Bill - I'm thinking along those lines, though the protruding vanes aren't a disqualifier - the german cup discharger of WWII used 'fitted' rifled grenades, too. The Austrians and Italians had to odd stuff, and the references are hard to come by... especially in English. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35925 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35925 Wed, 07 Dec 2005 11:57:05 -0600 The "vanes" protrude too far to have offered a decent seal for tube-launching and I think the shouldered area to the left of the brass collar probably helped retain the fuze cap. Some interesting barbs on the bell--an attaching point for a rifle-barrel launching rod, maybe? Hmmmm. The Austro-Hungarians had some interesting limited-production ordnance early in the war... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35919 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35919 Wed, 07 Dec 2005 10:47:42 -0600 Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch? :-) http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35918 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35918 Wed, 07 Dec 2005 10:43:13 -0600 I'm leaning more towards a cup-launched rifle grenade, though a trench mortar is possible. I know it isn't German unless this is a new, unknown version of those. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35910 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35910 Wed, 07 Dec 2005 08:20:51 -0600 It looks to me like one of the early german Rifle-grenades, but I'm not an expert(ask me about naval warfare), so Don't take my word for it. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35908 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35908 Wed, 07 Dec 2005 08:12:59 -0600 Looks more like a mortar round. See the vanes for "rifling" in a smooth barrel and the fuse head with a safety band collar? probably around 60mm, cant tell the scale in the pic. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35907 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/12/little_help_and_grenade_pr0n.html#comment-35907 Wed, 07 Dec 2005 08:04:01 -0600