No 77 grenade
Encyclopedia
The No. 77 Grenade was a British
white phosphorus
grenade
used during the Second World War. The No. 77 was introduced in 1943 and consisted of 8 ounce
s of white phosphorus, an impact fuse and a tin casing. It was intended for laying down smoke screens and as a signalling device. The grenade was also very effective as an anti-personnel
and incendiary weapon.
Once the grenade exploded, the contents (i.e. the white phosphorus) would scatter and ignite as soon as they touched the air. This made the grenade extremely dangerous — hence its usefulness in combat.
When the war had ended, many of the grenades had become dangerous, due to corroding of the inferior tin plate steel used in the manufacture of the grenade bodies. In 1948 the grenade was determined to be obsolete and all were destroyed to minimize the danger they could have caused.
However, these were produced and used in Canada until the 1950s, for the quality and manufacturing of them was better than found in Britain.http://www.inert-ord.net/brit/no77/index.html
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
white phosphorus
White phosphorus (weapon)
White phosphorus is a material made from a common allotrope of the chemical element phosphorus that is used in smoke, tracer, illumination and incendiary munitions. Other common names include WP, and the slang term "Willie Pete," which is dated from its use in Vietnam, and is still sometimes used...
grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
used during the Second World War. The No. 77 was introduced in 1943 and consisted of 8 ounce
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
s of white phosphorus, an impact fuse and a tin casing. It was intended for laying down smoke screens and as a signalling device. The grenade was also very effective as an anti-personnel
Anti-personnel weapon
An anti-personnel weapon is one primarily used to incapacitate people, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles.The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles gave rise to weapons designed specifically to attack them, and thus a need to distinguish between those systems and...
and incendiary weapon.
Once the grenade exploded, the contents (i.e. the white phosphorus) would scatter and ignite as soon as they touched the air. This made the grenade extremely dangerous — hence its usefulness in combat.
When the war had ended, many of the grenades had become dangerous, due to corroding of the inferior tin plate steel used in the manufacture of the grenade bodies. In 1948 the grenade was determined to be obsolete and all were destroyed to minimize the danger they could have caused.
However, these were produced and used in Canada until the 1950s, for the quality and manufacturing of them was better than found in Britain.http://www.inert-ord.net/brit/no77/index.html