A NEW RIFLE-PROPELLED SHRAPNEL GRENADE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10060, 30 January 1909, Page 3 (Supplement)

A NEW RIFLE-PROPELLED SHRAPNEL GRENADE.

(By Frederick A.- Talbot, iii the World's ' Work.), ... The utilisation of the grenade as an adjunct . to military . operations dates practically from the. invention ot gunpowder , Its value, however,, has always been somewhat especially, in these days of long-range guns and rifles, for the simple fact that it had to bo thrown by hand'.'. Under thes.o, circumstances, range . is necessarily limited to the hurling powers of the throwers which averages' one, or two. hundred feet. Moreover," as the action of throwing entails practically the exposure of the soldier, its use .is attended with .gra.ve danger, particularly, during daylight, operations, so that, its: useo,has been relegated to night attacks on entrenched or fortified!, jjositions. At tlio same- time,, however,-; the grenade is] a decidedly, powerful missile, and for some.,.time]: past efforts liave. heen made towards the evolution of some mechanical means of projecting it. The rifle, .was obviously a convenient weapon for such a purpose,. but experiments in . this direction were somewhat Hazardous and; uncertain, since it was .urged' that the operation of fifing the grenade might.-burst the arm, or at, a-nyrate. so,. Gevereiy, damage it as to render, it. useles for the-purposes, for which it is essentially intended. .... Recently, ihoweyer, an English inventor, Mr .Marten Hale, "who has been, experimenting upon these line 6, has succeeded in devising .a. > grenadte which cait be propelled:,by meaips.jOf the ordinary; standard rifle-, using' service blank cartridge, without any r .possibility of damaging the firearm thereby, or , impairing, its subsequent efficiency for , firing . ball cartridge.' .Iphe tests that have- been, carried; out, with the missile, have .served, to"' demonstrate its serviceability, and ,'a new .weapon of. terrible dest-ruetiveness- has thus beeix brought, within' the reach of military, operations'.'; In general' appearance the Hale, shrapnel .rrenade resembles/ .-.the"' famiUar.'.pypretechliic rocket, tli'ere being the: cylindrical case carrying-the fired , by a" detonator, to a tail for-"steadying or balancing the missile'while, in. flight. The cylindrical. cartridge, is made of brass tubing, arid Vis about If in. in; diameter ; and in length,' Extending .from 6nd .tp endj, .centrally , is ■' a"smajl circuJar . spaiie carrying . the detoriititti; apparafrus. ..At the, upper 'Jeiid is inserted • tnp'"detonator together with the, cap and'' ty"i&Mins of which, it' is fir^.V' 'For 'purposes 'ot safety.'-" this- me'charii.sih is ' carried," 7 apart from the grenade, .oiily being slipped .into position just before- firing,, and -field se.curely in the -brass" easing -by-■'& small milled "screw., ; At the lower end of the tube, is the

striker, which, by falling upon the cap and anvil of the detonator, tires it. This striker is just- large enough to slide up and down the circular tube, hut is prevented from coming into action until t,he grenade strikes its objective by a small piece of cooper wire. Additional safety in transit through a loop in the 'Uottum face of the striker attached to a loop of whipcord. When the grenada lias been placed in the rifle ready for-discharge the soldier removes the safety-pin by means of the corded loop so that the striker is then only held by the thin piece of wire. When tlio grenade strikes the object at which it has been levelled, the force of the impact', serves to shear the copper wire 60 that the. striker falls sharply upon the detsna-tor anvil, and the grenade ,is exploded. The explosive charge surrounds the inner -circular channel carrying the detonator and .striker, occupying the whole -of the space between, that and the outer brass case. The' explosive used is "Tonite," a- powerfully destructive agent equal in potency to Xo. 1 dynamite, but, unlike the latter substance, impossible . of explosion unless detonated. Consequently it can be subjected to tlio roughest - treatment with safety. About i'opr.q.unees of explosive is.sufficient- for the, purple. . Surrounding the upper, part or nc£k of the arenad© is the ingenious devico by which the terrible shrapnel effect is obtained. This is a steel ring serrated into twenty-four parts which, when the tonite is exploded', bursts with terrific torce, ljy ing in alt. directions. To the lower end of the missile is attached a steel ro'd about 9i-n. lbng which. serves as its tail anjd which-slides into the barrel of the riUc«. The grenade can be discharged from any type of service rifle either point blank or at any requisite elevation, or witli tile butt -end resting on the .ground, and the recoil is I'ar lees than that experienced when tiring the usual ball cartridge. ~Jt is thus eminently adapted to the new science of warfare where avail is made.ol every possible bit of cover, siuco it do<;s not. entail any exposure on the part .pf the soldier. With the British service iilanlc cordite cartridge and with the rifle elevated to an angle of 30 degrees, the granado can be hurled a distance of 450 ft with deadly accuracy. The principle of firing it, however, permits of a much heavier powder charge being used to secure, a proportionately greater range. It has been louijd that with a cartridge containing 45 grains of cordite as compared with "the regulation weight of 31.5 grains, the range can be doubled, being 900 ft as compared with 450 ft under ordinary conditions. Moreover, owing to the simplicity of t.)ie system of fixing—merely sliding the grenade tail into the barrel —there is no interference with the.' rifle in any way for ball firing or the utilisation of the bayonet. It can furthermore he easily and quickly fixed or withdrawn from tiring position even in the dark. ,

J'he terrible bursting effect of the explosion used niiiv ho realised from (ho photograph of the fragmentation oi' the serrated steel ring. In this case,.the grenade was dropped iut(j a pit, 6£ft deep by Bl't lo|i\; and 3£tl wide, lined with concrete 12iji thick, and timber planking, while the opening was covered with heavy 9hi timber baulks. The effect of the explosion ■was the bodily hurling of the 9in hautj-:-. several feet into the aiv while the plan'** lining to the pit was perforated by t;io flying fragments which, in s-jir.c instances, were found embedded in the concrete. Out of the total t»f tweuty-four serrated pieces of metal nineteen were recovered together with other pieces representing -.ie tube, tail, and other parts of the fabric of which the missile is composed. (hie can thus recognise the ierriblo death-dealing and maiming effects wrought by this -weapon. No .hnman life would bo safe within a large-, radius of • tlie explosion either , from the .flying fragments ov tho force of the concussion. from the explosion. At the same time, unless detonated, it is perfectly,safe. .Neither friction nor ignition will;fire the tonite, (|no can fire ball cartridge point blank at it ■with ;absolute equanimity, and the only result will be the smashing of the outer case and pulping of the explosive within. If required it can be utilised for other military operations, such as the destruction of bridges, buildings, railways, etc. All that is necessary is to withdraw she detonator and attach the ordinary Bickford fuse, and it will accomplish its dive work as successfully as a mine. The science ot war has indeed l been enriched by another formidable engine of destruction in this insignificant grenade which only "\yeighs twenty-two ounces,., and can be carried in the soldier's "waistbelt without occasioning any inconvenience.