No. 73 Grenade

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No. 73

Hand Percussion Grenade (anti-tank No 73 Mark I) diagram.jpg

Hand Percussion Grenade (anti-tank No 73 Mark I) [1]
Type Anti-tank grenade
Place of origin United Kingdom
Service history
In service 1940–1941
1943–?1945
Used by United Kingdom
Wars Second World War
Specifications
Weight 4.5 pounds (2.0 kg)
Length 11 inches (280 mm)
Diameter 3.5 inches (89 mm)
Filling Polar ammonal gelatine dynamite or nitrogelatine
Filling weight 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg)
Detonation
mechanism
 Impact

The No. 73 grenade, also known as the Thermos, Woolworth bomb, [2] or hand percussion grenade, [3] was a British anti-tank grenade used during the Second World War. It got its nickname from the resemblance to a Thermos flask.

An anti-tank grenade is a specialized explosive device used to defeat heavily armored targets. Although their inherently short range limits the usefulness of grenades, troops can lie in ambush or manoeuvre under cover to exploit the limited outward visibility of the crew in a target vehicle.

Vacuum flask insulated storage vessel

A vacuum flask is an insulating storage vessel that greatly lengthens the time over which its contents remain hotter or cooler than the flask's surroundings. Invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892, the vacuum flask consists of two flasks, placed one within the other and joined at the neck. The gap between the two flasks is partially evacuated of air, creating a near-vacuum which significantly reduces heat transfer by conduction or convection.

Contents

Development

With the end of the Battle of France and the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the port of Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June 1940, a German invasion of Great Britain seemed likely. [4] The British Army was not well-equipped to defend the country in such an event; in the weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation it could only field twenty-seven divisions. [5] The Army was particularly short of anti-tank guns, 840 of which had been left behind in France leaving only 167 available in Britain; ammunition was so scarce for the remaining guns that regulations forbade any being used for training purposes. [5]

Battle of France Successful German invasion of France in 1940

The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries during the Second World War. In the six weeks from 10 May 1940, German forces defeated Allied forces by mobile operations and conquered France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, bringing land operations on the Western Front to an end until 6 June 1944. Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 and invaded France over the Alps.

British Expeditionary Force (World War II) British Army in Western Europe from 1939 to 1940

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the name of the British Army in Western Europe during the Second World War from 2 September 1939 when the BEF GHQ was formed until 31 May 1940, when GHQ closed down. Military forces in Britain were under Home Forces command. During the 1930s, the British government planned to deter war by rearming from the very low level of readiness of the early 30s and abolished the Ten Year Rule. The bulk of the extra money went to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force but plans were made to re-equip a small number of Army and Territorial Army divisions for service overseas.

Dunkirk evacuation evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 27 May and 4 June 1940

The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week long Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a colossal military disaster", saying "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. In his "we shall fight on the beaches" speech on 4 June, he hailed their rescue as a "miracle of deliverance".

As a result of these shortcomings, new anti-tank weapons had to be developed to equip the British Army and the Home Guard with the means to repel German armoured vehicles. [6] Many of these were anti-tank hand grenades, large numbers of which could be built in a very short space of time and for a low cost. [2] They included the Grenade, Hand, Anti-tank No. 74, also known as the 'Sticky bomb', which was coated with a strong adhesive and 'stuck' to a vehicle, and the No. 76 Special Incendiary Grenade, essentially a simple white phosphorus incendiary contained in a smashable glass container, like a more sophisticated variation on the "Molotov cocktail" (which simply uses a flammable liquid such as gasoline and a burning rag as a "fuse"). [7] Ian Hogg states that the "simplest of these grenades" was the No. 73 grenade.

Home Guard (United Kingdom) 1940-1944 British Army auxiliary defence force

The Home Guard was an armed citizen militia supporting the British Army during the Second World War. Operational from 1940 until 1944, the Home Guard was composed of 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, such as those too young or too old to join the regular armed services ; or those in reserved occupations. Excluding those already in the armed services, the civilian police or civil defence, approximately one-in-five of men were volunteers. Their role was to act as a secondary defence force, in case of invasion by the forces of Nazi Germany and their allies.

Sticky bomb Explosive attached onto targets

The grenade, hand, anti-tank No. 74, commonly known as the S.T. grenade or sticky bomb, was a British hand grenade designed and produced during the Second World War. The grenade was one of a number of anti-tank weapons developed for use by the British Army and Home Guard as an ad hoc solution to a lack of sufficient anti-tank guns in the aftermath of the Dunkirk evacuation. Designed by a team from MIR(c) including Major Millis Jefferis and Stuart Macrae, the grenade consisted of a glass sphere containing an explosive made of nitroglycerin and additives covered in a strong adhesive and surrounded by a sheet-metal casing. When the user pulled a pin on the handle of the grenade, the casing would fall away and expose the sticky sphere. Pulling another pin would arm the firing mechanism and the user would then attempt to attach the grenade to an enemy tank or other vehicle. Letting go of the handle would release a lever that would activate a five-second fuse, which would then detonate the nitroglycerin.

Design

The No. 73 grenade had a roughly cylindrical shape and plastic screw-on cap, [8] similar to that of a Thermos flask, from which the 'Thermos bomb' nickname was derived. [9] It was approximately 3.5 inches (89 mm) in diameter and 11 inches (280 mm) in length, [10] and weighed 4.5 pounds (2.0 kg). Its explosive content consisted of 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg) of polar ammonal gelatine dynamite or nitrogelatine – both of which were easily flammable and could be detonated by the impact of small-arms fire. [8] When thrown at a tank or other vehicle, a weighted tape held in the users hand unravelled and pulled free a safety pin, which was attached to a Type 247 "All-ways" fuze (the same type used in the Gammon bomb and No 69 grenade); this armed and then detonated the grenade. [11] Its weight meant that it could only be thrown short distances, [2] limiting its range to between 10 and 15 yards (9 and 14 m), [8] and its detonation could injure the user if they did not find cover before it detonated. [2] It was able to penetrate 2 inches (51 mm) of armour, [12] and "damage severely any light tank." [3] It was best used against the tracks of a tank, which it could easily blow off [8] and force its crew to waste time by stopping and repairing it. [13]

In military munitions, a fuze is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze designs can be seen in cutaway diagrams.

Gammon bomb

The Gammon bomb, officially known as the No. 82 grenade was a British hand grenade used during World War II.

Operational history

The No. 73 grenade was first issued in the last months of 1940, but it was rarely used as an anti-tank grenade; instead the fuze was usually removed and it was used as a demolition charge. It was withdrawn from service within a year, and reissued again in 1943 for the express purpose of being used for demolition work. [8] On 27 May 1942, a modified version of the grenade was used in the assassination of SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, when paratrooper Jan Kubiš threw it at Heydrich's car in Prague. The bomb used for this purpose had been shortened. [14]

Operation Anthropoid Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in World War II

Operation Anthropoid was the code name for the assassination during World War II of Schutzstaffel (SS)-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt, the combined security services of Nazi Germany, and acting Reichsprotektor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

Jan Kubiš Czech soldier and martyr

Jan Kubiš was a Czech soldier, one of a team of Czechoslovak British-trained paratroopers sent to eliminate acting Reichsprotektor (Reich-Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia, SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, in 1942 as part of Operation Anthropoid.

See also

RPG-40

The RPG-40 was an anti-tank hand grenade developed by the Soviet Union in 1940.

Blacker Bombard

The Blacker Bombard, also known as the 29mm Spigot Mortar, was an infantry anti-tank weapon devised by Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart Blacker in the early years of the Second World War.

Smith Gun artillery

The Smith Gun was an ad hoc anti-tank artillery piece used by the British Army and Home Guard during the Second World War.

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References

  1. ↑ Military Training Manual No 42.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mackenzie, p. 92
  3. 1 2 Hogg, p. 239
  4. ↑ Mackenzie, p. 20
  5. 1 2 Lampe, p. 3
  6. ↑ Hogg, pp. 237–239
  7. ↑ Hogg, pp. 239–240
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Rottman, World War II Infantry Assault Tactics, p. 25
  9. ↑ Longmate, p. 77
  10. ↑ Rottman, World War II Infantry Assault Tactics, p. 62
  11. ↑ Bull, p. 30
  12. ↑ Rottman, World War II Infantry Anti-Tank Tactics, p. 62
  13. ↑ Bull, pp. 30–31
  14. ↑ Šolc, Jiří: Nikdo nás nezastaví. Prague 1992

Bibliography

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