No 1 Grenade

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No 1 Grenade
Type	Hand grenade
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
Used by	United Kingdom
Wars	World War I
Production history
Variants	Mk. 1, Mk. 2
Specifications
Detonation mechanism	Percussion fuse (ie. impact detonated)

The Grenade, Hand No 1 was the first British hand grenade used in World War I.

[edit] Overview

The Grenade No 1 was taken from the designs of Hales.

The grenade proper was a can of explosive material with an iron fragmentation band. The fuse was of the impact sort, detonating when the top of the grenade hit the ground. A long cane handle ( approx 16 inches) allowed the user to throw the grenade further than the blast of the explosion.

To ensure that the grenade hit the ground nose first, a cloth streamer was attached to the end of the handle. When thrown this unfurled and acted as a tail to stabilize flight.

When the battlefield became confined to the trenches, the long handle became a liability - several accidents occurred when reaching back for the throw, the fuse struck the trench side. The handle was then shortened to a safer 8 inches as the Mk II.

The No 1 grenade was followed by No 2, 3 and 4 all based on the same pattern. Thereafter the compact No 5 grenade or Mills bomb came into use.

The grenade came with a metal loop so it could hang from the belt.

[edit] See also

British Grenades of World War I & World War II
Anti-personnel
Grenade, No 1 Hales | No.s 5, 23, 36 Mills | No. 69 | No.s 8, 9 Double Cylinder Jam Tin
Anti-tank
No. 68 AT (Rifle) | No. 73 Thermos | No. 74 Sticky bomb | No. 75 AT Hawkins |
Special Types
No. 82 Gammon | No. 76 (WP) | No. 77 (WP) | "Lewes bomb"

British Empire weapons of the First World War

Rifles, side arms and grenades Webley Revolver Mk. I–VI | Lee-Enfield rifle | Enfield revolver Mk I, Mk II Grenade, No 1 Hales | Rifle grenades, 2, 3, 4 Hales | No.s 5, 23, 36 Mills | No. 6 Grenade | No.s 8, 9 Double Cylinder Jam Tin |No. 13 Battye | No. 15 Ball grenade | No. 27 Smoke Grenade | No. 34 Egg grenade | Ross rifle (Canada) Artillery Tank guns QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss | QF 6 pounder 6 cwt Field Artillery RML 2.5 inch Mountain Gun | BL 10 pounder Mountain Gun | BL 2.75 inch Mountain Gun | QF 2.95 inch Mountain Gun | BL 12 pounder 6 cwt | QF 12 pounder 8 cwt | QF 13 pounder | BL 15 pounder | BLC 15 pounder | QF 15 pounder | QF 18 pounder Howitzers, medium, and heavy artillery QF 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer | QF 4.5 inch Howitzer | QF 4.7 inch Gun | BL 5 inch Howitzer | BL 5.4 inch Howitzer | BL 60 pounder gun | BL 6 inch Gun Mk 7 | BL 6 inch Gun Mk 19 | BL 6 inch 30 cwt howitzer | BL 6 inch 26 cwt howitzer | BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk 1 - 5 | BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk 6 - 8 | BL 9.2 inch Howitzer | BL 12 inch Howitzer | BL 15 inch Howitzer Mortars 3 inch Stokes Mortar | 2 inch Medium Mortar | Livens Projector | Newton 6 inch Mortar | 9.45 inch Heavy Mortar Railway guns BL 9.2 inch Railway Gun | BL 12 inch Railway Gun | BL 12 inch Railway Howitzer | BL 14 inch Railway Gun Anti-aircraft guns QF 1 pounder pom-pom | QF 2 pounder pom-pom | QF 12 pounder 12 cwt | QF 13 pounder 6 cwt | QF 13 pounder Mk IV | QF 13 pounder 9 cwt | QF 3 inch 20 cwt | QF 18 pounder | QF 4 inch Mk V Machine guns Vickers machine gun | Lewis gun | Maxim gun Foreign weapon designs in British Army use Hotchkiss Mark I | Lewis Gun | 75 mm AA gun | QF 15 pounder | 9.45 inch Heavy Mortar