[Joni]

I picked these up a while back along with a few other inert items and I cant really find much info on what exactly these are and what they are even worth? They obviously appear to be some type of trip wire devices...but other then that im not sure. When I got these they were threaded in to the grenades...not sure if this is the way they are configured or if its just how they were displayed. Each of the devices have a small threaded fixture which appears to have a primer....doesnt look like they were punctured. Their are also three threaded fixtures that have a charge of some kind.."looks like a firecracker". Any info would be great thanks

 

[OldSoldier]

I don't know the nominclature but we had/used these in the 1970s.

 

[Starvingboy]

Neat! Booby-trap adapters for grenades. I've not encountered those before.

 

[ScottD]

While I dont doubt their use as grenade devices, the ones with the 3 prongs on top are M16 'bouncing betty' anti-personnel mine fuses. They work 2 ways. Step on the prongs and it goes boom. Pull the loop (via trip wire) they go boom. Just a whole lot of nasty boom going on. I suspect the ones without the prongs are earlier AP mine fuses. They are generally frowned upon by command elements due to an old Iraq war urban legend of a young LT pulling the 'step' safety pin out.....then pulling the loop detonator out (assuming it was an additional safety pin ) and....yeah, you guessed it....more boom.

The Army was actually pretty smart with this stuff...a grenade fuse has the same thread as a claymore has the same thread as a mine fuse has the same thread as........so the adaptations are virtually endless.

 

[Joni]

Interesting...i appreciate all the info

 

[brassmagnet]

I had not seen some of those before - thanks for posting the info.

 

[gulf state gaurd]

Nasty on a WP

 

[SlugCatcher]

if they still have their strikers.. good for perimeter / pest warding .


wire up a 1-2' high trip wire to posts/trees and a .22 nail driving blank in the hole (once you milled it). Super loud.

 

[Armorer]

The first picture on the left are detonators. I think the long ones may be the real thing with detonators and the short ones with the shotgun style primers are for training only.

Picture 2 Center two are M1A1 pressure firing devices. The others are M1 Pull device and the longer one on the end is M6A1 or M7A1 combination firing devise.

The last picture shows them in M21 practice or MKII grenades which was one use for them. Most explosives had a common thread like land mines, grenades or 1/4 pound blocks of TNT.

Grenades painted blue were for practice, Black was training. The only difference at one time was practice grenades could have a fuse that would go bang. Training had no moving parts and were just for throwing. OD was explosive. I believe in WWI black were explosive types.