No 1 Grenade

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No 1 Grenade
Type	Hand grenade
Nationality	United Kingdom
Era	World War I
Platform	Individual
Target	Personnel
History
Date of design
Production period
Service duration
Operators	United Kingdom
War service	World War I
Specifications
Type	Fragmentation
Filling
Detonation	Impact
Weight	g
Filling weight	g
Length	mm
Diameter	mm
Variants	Mk. 1, Mk. 2
Number built

The Grenade, Hand No 1 was the first British hand grenade used in World War I.

[edit] Overview

The Grenade No 1 was taken from the designs of Hales.

The grenade proper was a can of explosive with an iron fragmentation band. The fuse was of the impact sort, detonating when the top of the grenade hit the ground. A long cane handle ( approx 16”) allowed the user to throw the grenade further than the blast of the explosion.

To ensure that the grenade hit the ground nose first, a cloth streamer was attached to the end of the handle. When thrown this unfurled and acted as a tail to stabilize flight.

When the battlefield became confined to the trenches, the long handle became a liability - several accidents occurred when reaching back for the throw, the fuse struck the trench side. The handle was then shortened to a safer 8“ as the Mk II.

The No 1 grenade was followed by No 2, 3 and 4 all based on the same pattern. Thereafter the compact No 5 grenade or Mills bomb came into use.

The grenade came with a metal loop so it could hang from the belt.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

British Grenades of World War I & World War II
Anti-personnel
Grenade, No 1 Hales | No.s 5, 23, 36 Mills | No. 69 | No.s 8, 9 Double Cylinder Jam Tin
Anti-tank
No. 68 AT (Rifle) | No. 73 Thermos | No. 74 Sticky bomb | No. 75 AT Hawkins |
Special Types
No. 82 Gammon | No. 76 (WP) | No. 77 (WP) | "Lewes bomb"