TYPE 97 GRENADE COMPLETE W/ FUSE, SAFETY PIN & STRING -- INERT

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See pix.

 

Fuse still has creep spring inside, so when I press on its top, it pushes back up. This is what Japanese soldiers tapped against their helmets to start the fuze burning.

 

The bottom still has a bit of a painted Kanji on edge as well as what I think is part of the message that was stuck on or painted on bottom warning soldiers that the fuse was not quite correctly timed (see note below).

Top around fuse still has some of the original red paint remaining on about 3/4 around the fuse.

 

Here are some notes including the warning about the unreliability of the fuse timing:

 

History and development The Army Technical Bureau developed a new design in 1937. Design: The Type 97 had the same principles as most of fragmentation grenades of the period: a grooved 'pineapple-shaped' segmented body which dispersed sharp pieces of shrapnel when it exploded. Operation was accomplished by first screwing down the firing pin, so that it protruded from the base of the striker. Then the safety pin was removed by pulling the cord to which it was attached; the protective cap which covered the striker was removed. A sharp blow against a hard surface, such as a rock or combat helmet would overcome a creep spring and crush a thin brass cap, allowing the pin to hit the primer and initiate the delay sequence before throwing at the target. However, in comparison with Allied hand grenades of the period, the explosive force of the Type 97 was weaker and, due to lack of an automatic ignition mechanism, the grenade in practice was found to be unreliable and even dangerous to use because of its inaccurate fuse.

 

*Paper labels as on the base of some examples with ink-stamped fill dates warned of the shorter 4-5 second delay.

 

A good example of this WWII Japanese grenade

 

$250 in your hands CONUS only

PP "F&F" only

 

Larger pix available

 

 

 

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SOLD.