how to confirm a grenade is safe

[concerned_of_croydon]

Hello all, just joined to ask:

I have what I believe is a Mills bomb, one my grandmother gave me, she said at the time it was a practice one they used for training.
Well, maybe several decades after I should have worried, I suddenly decided to make sure this is really true, and this really is a safe dummy. What to look for, apart from the fact it has not exploded.

Inside, I recall from childhood exploration, is a spring inside a sort of hollow tube.

I am sure I am worrying over nothing, but it would be nice to be reassured by experts.

 

[Bombdoc]

That's a No5 MK 1 which was the original Mills bomb of WW1 vintage.

I may not be popular on this site, but my view is that the only way to check it would be by X ray by qualified EOD staff. The traces of red paint in the third image and the presence of a filling plug are not good signs.

Proper Drill grenades should have holes drilled in the body!

 

[Houndsworth]

That's a No5 MK 1 which was the original Mills bomb of WW1 vintage.

I may not be popular on this site, but my view is that the only way to check it would be by X ray by qualified EOD staff. The traces of red paint in the third image and the presence of a filling plug are not good signs.

Proper Drill grenades should have holes drilled in the body!

What about opening the filling plug and looking inside? Then if it looks empty, open the bottom and look for a fuse and detonator. If present, do dets get more sensitive to movement as they age? Even if no filling in the grenade, one would not want a hand to be close to a det that goes off.

 

[Alpini]

The last picture with the striker hole looks like there's no center piece inside so the rusty inner side if the cast body is visible. If so someone already emptied it. But for sure only the owner or an other qualified person can tell when examining the inner side of the striker hole with a lamp - the photo is to bad to give a secure answer. If a tube is visible in the striker hole then it's bad news and @Bombdoc already gave the answer what to do then.

 

[The Lieutenant]

What about opening the filling plug and looking inside? Then if it looks empty, open the bottom and look for a fuse and detonator. If present, do dets get more sensitive to movement as they age? Even if no filling in the grenade, one would not want a hand to be close to a det that goes off.

I would avoid manipulating the detonator which, by its nature, contains primary explosive. After a long time it could be even more unstable than normal.

 

[Bombdoc]

What about opening the filling plug and looking inside? Then if it looks empty, open the bottom and look for a fuse and detonator. If present, do dets get more sensitive to movement as they age? Even if no filling in the grenade, one would not want a hand to be close to a det that goes off.

Removing filling plugs on natures of this age is not advisable.. These filling plugs are usually in direct contact with the filling if present, and you have no idea what state that may be in.

Always remember that Grenades were made to a much lower standard than shell or other fired projectiles as they did not need to withstand firing stresses. They were made as quickly and as cheaply as possible to meet an urgent requirement. The Mills design was, by contrast, extremely successful and long lived, however it was an exception and even then standards of manufacture could vary! Engineer stores were also very much at the cheap & cheerful end of the spectrum and were never particularly well made or designed for long life. That said, I can remember getting rid of some Beehives about ten years ago that had been hiding at the back of a bunker for the best part of three decades.. and looked it! Still went bang though!

I would modify my original advice slightly in that removing the base plate and checking to see if the internal fitments were still present. If they have been removed and the filling gone, then I would be happy to declare it FFE. Removing an in place igniter set (cap holder/safety fuze/det) from a grenade of this age would be an unacceptable risk.

 

[Millsman]

A good start would be to weigh it. That would allow an opinion as to whether it was filled.

 

[The Lieutenant]

A good start would be to weigh it. That would allow an opinion as to whether it was filled.

The wise good old way.

 

[URG86-collector]

Even if the other answers are of course correct and helpful, I would still like to emphasize the replies of Bombdoc. I can't judge the situation in the UK, but here in Germany there is only one answer: an examination by qualified EOD/IEDD personnel. If the hand grenade is still live, you wouldn't want it anyway, if it is empty, you get it back. At least at my department, no part of the hand grenade would be unscrewed without taking an x-ray beforehand. I can confirm from an old case that at least one hand grenade from the Second World War (a French F1 hidden under a roof and found during construction work) still functioned when it was detonated remotely under safety.
Best regards from Germany

urg86-collector

 

[The Lieutenant]

Even if the other answers are of course correct and helpful, I would still like to emphasize the replies of Bombdoc. I can't judge the situation in the UK, but here in Germany there is only one answer: an examination by qualified EOD/IEDD personnel. If the hand grenade is still live, you wouldn't want it anyway, if it is empty, you get it back. At least at my department, no part of the hand grenade would be unscrewed without taking an x-ray beforehand. I can confirm from an old case that at least one hand grenade from the Second World War (a French F1 hidden under a roof and found during construction work) still functioned when it was detonated remotely under safety.
Best regards from Germany

urg86-collector

More or less the same in Italy.
Except that, normally, a found explosive device is detonated anyway. It is not worth wasting time weighing it or x-raying it. Unless it is a particularly rare object or of technical interest.
Projectiles older than 100 years almost always, if the shell is not deteriorated, retain the explosive with unchanged potential.