Comments for The Whatziss... concluded.

The Whatziss... concluded.

2007-07-30T11:28:11Z

I'm in a rush - I've got to get to the farm, collect S'mudge and take her to the vet, get her back out there and then myself off to work.

But I will answer the Whatziss that has vexed you all for the last week.

Part one. Calling it a manifold was remarkably close, in a sense. The center of that star contained... explosives, and the arms were...

...as we saw in the second picture - fuze holders, all of which were wrapped in...

...the item from the third picture, which was the shell of the...

WWI German discus grenade, which was thrown like a discus, and had all those fuzes on it to increase the likelihood of a successful detonation.

But in reality it's a pretty small, ineffective grenade that is typical of the inventiveness displayed as people were struggling with ways to get more and better ways to kill people in soldier's hands during the war.

Comment from cw4billt on 2007-07-30

2007-07-30T19:36:49Z

Larry -- There was a trial run of discus-shaped flares in RVN -- we inherited a few to play with when we went NightHawking. Launch procedure was -- fly towards the target at 2,000 feet, 90 knots, set the fuze for 1500 feet, arm them by yanking the lanyard and have the crewchief stick them out into the slipstream and give them a backhanded fling in the direction of flight *immediately* after you initiated a climbing left turn so they didn't wind up in the rotor system or the cockpit. They'd usually fly as advertised (from what we could see -- usually just a glimpse in the dark) but they had a horrendous dud rate; the ones that *did* pop didn't throw out enough illum to make the flight gyrations worthwhile. We called them Frisbees and that's exactly how effective the things were...

Comment from KCSteve on 2007-07-30

2007-07-30T17:10:49Z

Gee, a grenade where, if your hand slips or you just grip it wrong to begin with, it goes off in your hand? And it didn't catch on? Color me surprised!

Comment from DougK on 2007-07-30

2007-07-30T15:58:27Z

Well, I'm pushin' for partial credit on the grounds of using the "manifold" word and suggesting we "go to the air" in a subsequent post. I mean, throw me a frickin' bone here! :-) (Though discus thingy's definitely never crossed my mind. I did start to wonder how this might work in an artillery or mortar round, but couldn't quite see an application).

Comment from LarryK on 2007-07-30

2007-07-30T15:34:13Z

I used to throw the discuss and I can not imagine a more akward and inaccurate throwing method and also one with more potential for an object to slip out and end up at your feet. Also to twist your torso properly you really need to stand up which I dobt would have been a great idea in WWI trench war fare or any other type. I wonder if the inventor of this was ever in combat OR ever threw a discuss!!! If we are going to do sports bombs why not bowling balls? Javelins? Shot put? A soccer kick-ball bomb? But didn't Army look into Frisbee bombs in the 60's? That didn't "fly" either.