Mk 2 grenade

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The Mk 2 grenade is a fragmentation hand grenade (sometimes written Mk II) used by the US armed forces during World War II and in later conflicts including the Vietnam War. It was phased out gradually, the US Navy being the last users. It was generally replaced by the M67 and M61 grenades.

[edit] Description

The Mk 2 was commonly known as a "pineapple" grenade, because of its distinctive shape. Grooves were cut into the cast iron shell to aid in gripping the grenade - this provision gave it the appearance of a pineapple fruit. A common misconception is that the grooves aided fragmentation of the grenade, which they do not. Although TNT was used as a filling, EC blank fire (smokeless firearm) powder was also used instead in some models due to the tendency of TNT filling to over fragment the cast iron body. EC powder produced an adequate amount of fragments and did away with the need of a detonator. The detonator was initially replaced by a small length of safety fuze terminated with a black powder igniter charge. Production grenades with the EC powder filler used the M10 series of igniting fuze.

[edit] Variants

• Grenade, Hand, Fragmentation, Mk II: EC blank powder filler, uses M10 or M10A1 igniting fuse.
• Grenade, Hand, Fragmentation, Mk IIA1: EC blank powder filler, uses M10A2 igniting fuse.
• Grenade, Hand, Fragmentation, HE, Mk II: TNT filler, uses M5 detonating fuse.
• Grenade, Hand, TNT, Fragmentation, Mk II: TNT filler, uses M6A4C detonating fuse.

[edit] Specifications

• Weight: 1 lb 5 oz (0.6 kg)
• Explosive content: 2 oz (0.057 kg) TNT, or EC blank fire powder (approx ¾ of an ounce smokeless small arms powder).
• Fuse: Dependent on variant, includes M5 and M6 detonating fuzes, and M10 igniting fuzes. Later model fuzes could also be fitted.

[edit] See also

• United States hand grenades

[edit] References

• Arsenal of Democracy II, Tom Gervasi, ISBN 0-394-17662-6

[edit] External links

• Film of detonating Mk2 grenade - taken using ultra high-speed Cordin camera (2/3 million frames per second)

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