Questions on Red Body MK II Grenade

[Nickman983]

Finally got this one in the mail, another relatively cheap pickup. While there's not much paint on it, it does still show that it was painted red at one point in its life. Interestingly enough, there is also some remnants of blue on this grenade, though only a very small trace of blue paint is left. Unfortunately it came with a 9-61 dated M205A2 spoon rather than an earlier fuze.

 

How long were the red body grenades in use before being repainted? While this one came with a a M205A2 fuze my assumption is that the two were never actually used together and were paired together sometime before being sold.

 

Also, any ideas why the fill hole on this grenade is smooth instead of threaded? The hole is about the same size as the one on my other MKII with a fill hole but it's smooth like the hole on the M21 practice grenades.

[Nickman983]

more pics

[Nickman983]

last pics

[Kaptainssurplus]

Not sure why it is red but it's a MK2 practice body. The body is a later model made well after red color was phased out, it is not a prewar screw bottom.

[Nickman983]

Not sure why it is red but it's a MK2 practice body. The body is a later model made well after red color was phased out, it is not a prewar screw bottom.

So is this a post WWII body, like the RFX m21 practice grenades? Or is this a WWII manufactured practice grenade?

[Kaptainssurplus]

This is a WW2 issue practice MK2. They were made from real HE bodies. Most, if not all of them had the offset drilled hole in the bottom. One story is that they were the rejects but I think that only some were and others were purposely drill good bodies used for practice. The M21 come later and the hole on the M21s was centered with a nice smooth lip.

[Nickman983]

This is a WW2 issue practice MK2. They were made from real HE bodies. Most, if not all of them had the offset drilled hole in the bottom. One story is that they were the rejects but I think that only some were and others were purposely drill good bodies used for practice. The M21 come later and the hole on the M21s was centered with a nice smooth lip.

 

Thanks for the information! Looks like I didn't do as good on this one as I initially thought, but still got it at a decent price. Think I'm going to pass this one along to a friend as I've got a better example of a WW2 MKII practice grenade in my collection.