Jump to content

Mk2 Grenade general question


jmd62
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hey Guys,

 

I was wondering, did all WW2 period frag Mk2 grenades (post early yellow of course) have the yellow band around the neck, or were some just OD colored without the band?

 

Thanks!

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, much like other ordnance, the yellow indicating HE was applied when it was filled. Grenade stripes could be sprayed, dipped, brushed. Shells, mines, etc were ink rolled in yellow. During that era a lot of unfilled pieces ( usually failed dimensional checks) were given to employees, bond drives, souvenirs, etc.Prior to later war TNT filled grenades, they were filled with blank flash powder which could be easily shaken out. TNT was poured in, solidified, deactivating consisted of sticking in boiling water and boiled out. Interestingly, I was just talking to an Ex- EOD man who ran an operation around Virginia someplace. They recovered hundreds of artillery shells and when boiled out the trench was 2 ft wide by 20 ft full of HE...or so the story goes.
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very good information, thanks! So for solid colored OD grenades, without the yellow band, what would they have been used for?

 

Thanks again,

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Souvenirs, gifts, trainers?( but technically would have been painted a gold color)....or yours could be a repaint, common in the grenade collectors world. WW2 era ordnance paint was thin, lacquer based, and did not hold up well over the years. Do you have pictures?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kaptainssurplus

There is known examples of OD green over yellow without the yellow stripe on top. I have one myself. There is even photos of GIs painting yellow Mk2s in the field completely OD and putting them in boxes, I want to say it was somewhere in the pacific. Usually if done in the field the paint is much thicker than what was done in the factories, I was told they sometimes used vehicle OD paint as well. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kaptainssurplus

Here you can see the 3 versions, all OD over yellow, old yellow MK2 and OD over yellow with stripe on top added (notice the color difference of the all yellow gloss like used on the body and the stripe that is more flat yellow). Also notice that the fuze and spoon was sprayed OD on the all OD MK2, which I have seen many examples of this myself, which would indicate to me it was field painted, not to be confused with the black painted spoon tips that was done when modified.  

 

More info and photos here: 

 

http://www.inert-ord.net/usa03a/usa2/

 

http://tgrm.foxed.ca/Americangrenades/Mk II/The Mk 2 grenade.html

 

http://www.inert-ord.net/usa03a/usa2/mk2sp/index.html

 

 

mk2-4243.jpg

DSC_2891cs.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...