No. 15 Ball Grenade

History of grenades #15

Due to the stalemate nature of trench warfare during World War I (1914-1918), engineers had a responsibility to develop ways to overthrow the enemy from their positions. Hand grenades began to play an important role in such operations, and throwing weapons were developed or purchased by all parties. The British Army continues to use various types of grenades, including the No.

15 "Ball Grenade". The No. 15 was developed due to the shortcomings of the No. 1 series of grenades and was primarily intended for front-line use in the Middle East campaign.

Many observers believed that the war, which began in July 1914, would end by Christmas, although this was quickly overturned as 1915 passed and the death toll on both sides continued to mount. British engineers set out to develop a new infantry grenade, and production of this type progressed rapidly. A timed friction ignition mechanism was chosen for the design, along with a cast iron body that shatters with an ammonia (5.5 oz value) fill. A fuse length of 5 seconds is the norm, but a 9-second duration has also been developed for situation-specific actions. The operator removes the fuse cover and ignites the fuse with a lighter.

Visually, the design of the grenade is spherical and smooth - certainly more convenient than the previous #1 embroidery collection.

Despite their rather simple appearance, Series 15 grenades were useful in combat, and their relative simplicity allowed the series to be mass-produced in the hundreds of thousands. However, the No. 15 had its own timing flaws, including blown fuses affected by humidity, weaker fragmentation due to overcharge and overall size that limited the number of infantrymen to carry.

Some of these issues were corrected in the follow-up #16 grenade, which featured a more manageable oval shape with limited fill. However, these grenades still relied on the same temperament ignition system and also had limited success in use.

Grenade Spec #15

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