Ray42 Posted January 17, 2019 Share #1 Posted January 17, 2019 Hello guys, I think I finnally purchased my first authentic Mk2 HE grenade but I would like a second opinion from someone who knows more then me to make sure that this is a real one and not a M21. There is a large hole in the bottom that I at first assumed was used to make the grenade inert, however after coming across early screw bottom mk2 grenades that had been used as practice grenades once the plug was removed I wanted to make sure that the army did not drill holes in solid bottom grenades for a similar purpose. Thanks in advance to anyone with an opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray42 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share #2 Posted January 17, 2019 The paint and fuse looks correct to me, the fuse is a modified M200A1 that very very faint black lettering over it that I believe says M10A3 in block letters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunmore1774 Posted January 17, 2019 Share #3 Posted January 17, 2019 I'm no expert but I think the body and fuse are original, but the body has been drilled out for practice and repainted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray42 Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted January 18, 2019 I was afraid of that, I havn't been able to find any information that this was done however. One site that I found with a lot of information states that "the practice grenades could be found with any of the fragmentation grenade body types except those which did not have a filling hole", which seems to suggest that this was not done. (http://tgrm.foxed.ca/Americangrenades/Mk%20II/The%20Mk%202%20grenade.html) This makes me wonder if the hole was drilled when it was demilitarized to show that the grenade was inert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted January 18, 2019 Share #5 Posted January 18, 2019 Another Burnham boiler... they were made in my hometown. Another member posted a screw bottom, BB, and the other examples I've seen including mine are flat... I think yours was drilled. Looks like the hole is a little off center. I like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray42 Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share #6 Posted January 18, 2019 Another Burnham boiler... they were made in my hometown. Another member posted a screw bottom, BB, and the other examples I've seen including mine are flat... I think yours was drilled. Looks like the hole is a little off center. I like it! Thank you for the reply, those prior posts on the BB grenades were very informative and one of the reasons I picked this one over the other Mk2 the antique store had which was also drilled similarly because I felt more confident in the originality of the markings. Interestingly this grenade was found in Springfield Ohio so it did not make it very far from its starting point. You are correct that it appears to be off center and I believe it to be drilled not cast that way I am just not sure when in the grenade's life this was done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
917601 Posted January 19, 2019 Share #7 Posted January 19, 2019 Some further info. As yours is BB marked, no doubt an original HE. But, Further detailed information would explain how the hole got there. Two questions, 1) is the hole chamfered? 2) does the hole very deep inside have any evidence of any threads? BOCN website has discussed much on this subject. If it has the large hole with chamfer, it is an early M21 training grenade. Many of earlier WW2 M21 training grenades were converted BB marked, drilled ( often off center) and chamfered then painted blue. Does the hole have any evidence or traces of threading drilled out? If so, it could also be a lighter, many HE grenades after the war bottoms only were drilled out ( commercially) and threaded, never chamfered, to accept lighter parts. Some converted lighters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
917601 Posted January 19, 2019 Share #8 Posted January 19, 2019 Here is the bottom of an early M21, it was a conversion (drilled out and chamfered,HE). So, if the hole has a noticeable chamfer and clean clean hole, more than likely an M21 which should be painted blue. Lastly, and most importantly, What diameter is the hole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray42 Posted January 19, 2019 Author Share #9 Posted January 19, 2019 Thank you for the information, the hole is 5/8th inch, there is no evidence of threading that I can see and the hole is fairly clean except for the opening. It is very hard to tell but the opening does not appear to have been chamfered, or at least not as obviously as the one you posted or any I have seen, however immediately under there is a little lip that is nearly over maybe a third of the hole giving it a small crescent moon look making it appear almost as if they had begun drilling at one spot but that the bit shifted early on before sinking straight through. Should I repaint it and display it as a M21 if that's what it is or keep it how it is and display it as a HE that has been demilitarized (which I guess is still true) there does not appear to be any traces of blue paint under the chips in the green that have worn away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
917601 Posted January 19, 2019 Share #10 Posted January 19, 2019 Thank you for the information, the hole is 5/8th inch, there is no evidence of threading that I can see and the hole is fairly clean except for the opening. It is very hard to tell but the opening does not appear to have been chamfered, or at least not as obviously as the one you posted or any I have seen, however immediately under there is a little lip that is nearly over maybe a third of the hole giving it a small crescent moon look making it appear almost as if they had begun drilling at one spot but that the bit shifted early on before sinking straight through. Should I repaint it and display it as a M21 if that's what it is or keep it how it is and display it as a HE that has been demilitarized (which I guess is still true) there does not appear to be any traces of blue paint under the chips in the green that have worn away. I have an early blue M21 marked " C30", the hole is 9/16th wide with noticeable chamfer and off center. Since yours has no chamfer and is 5/8th, I would suspect bubba drilled out a genuine MK2 HE....but, why drill such a large hole in the bottom? Your call, but I tend to leave items as received, keep it OD as received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray42 Posted January 19, 2019 Author Share #11 Posted January 19, 2019 Thank you very much for your opinion, mine is definitely not noticeable like that at all. It is always weird what bubba does so I have stopped trying to make sense of it at all, I just figured it was done in a less firearm/ ordinance area to show that it was not live. I agree with you that I prefer to keep items as found, and since it may be original I will keep it as is. I just figured if it was confirmed to be a M21 and the OD was wrong to begin with then it wouldn't matter as much if I restored it. Thank you everyone for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzbomb Posted January 22, 2019 Share #12 Posted January 22, 2019 I think its an HE body that has been drilled out ( for a lamp ect ) that has been painted. Still a keeper. Nice paint work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted January 22, 2019 Share #13 Posted January 22, 2019 Can you get a shot of the yellow stripe up top? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray42 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share #14 Posted January 24, 2019 Can you get a shot of the yellow stripe up top? Yes, sorry if it took me a bit to respond school has been keeping me busy. I hope these are what you wanted? And thanks buzzbomb, I was afraid of the possibility that they may be repainted, but it looked good and was not nearly as expensive as a lot of HE grenades I have seen so I figured it was a good place to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted January 24, 2019 Share #15 Posted January 24, 2019 I think it probably is a repaint, but I agree with you. It's nice. I'll look at mine tomorrow, maybe post a picture or two of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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