A member of the Home Guard demonstrates a Lee-Enfield rifle equipped to fire an anti-tank grenade, Dorking, 3 August 1942.
British research into shaped charges in the inter-war period brought about some useful progress but did not result in any weapons. Development of the grenade started in late 1939, after a demonstration arranged for a British military commission of a series of anti-tank rifle grenades and artillery warheads at the Swiss Army Proving Ground at Thun in Switzerland, which had been designed by Henry Mohaupt. Guessing that Mohaupt's weapons were using the hollow charge principle, the British abandoned negotiations and began development of a rifle grenade based on their own previous work.[1]
The No. 68 has some claim to have been the first high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) device in use. The design of the warhead was simple and was capable of penetrating 52 mm (2 inches) of armour.[2]
The fuze of the grenade was armed by removing a pin in the tail which prevented the firing pin from flying forward. The grenade was launched from a rifle cup. The simple fins gave it some stability in the air and, provided the grenade hit the target at the proper angle (90 degrees), the charge would be effective. Detonation occurred on impact, when a striker in the tail of the grenade overcame the resistance of a creep spring and was thrown forward into a stab detonator.[3]
The grenade was fired, as was the No. 36M Mills bomb, from a specially adapted Lee-Enfield Rifle No. 1 EY, often converted from a rifle that was unfit for general use and had been marked "DP" for drill purpose. The "EY" suffix (for "EmergencY") indicated that it should be used to fire standard "ball" ammunition only in an emergency situation. The converted rifles were strengthened by adding an extra bolt to secure the breech mechanism to the stock, and by a cord binding which was fastened around the forestock. A special Ballistite high-explosive cartridge was required to propel the grenade. The grenade itself was held in place by the 2½ inch (63.5 mm) discharger cup No. 1 Mk I. With the weapon's introduction into Home Guard use, the Adaptor No. 1 and the Discharger No. 2 Mk I were introduced, which allowed grenades to be launched from the M1917 Enfield rifle with which they were equipped, although a contemporary manual warned that rifles used for that purpose were likely to be "somewhat spoilt as a precision weapon".[4]
Service
The No. 68 grenade entered service with the British Army in November 1940.[1] However, it proved to be not much better than the inadequate Boys anti-tank rifle and could not be improved as the size of the explosive charge was limited by the diameter of the discharger cup.[5] It was introduced into service with the Home Guard in February 1941 and was retained until the force stood-down in 1944.[6]
References
^ abWalters, William (December 2008). "A Brief History of Shaped Charges" (PDF). Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. (PDF) from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
^R F Eather, BSc & N Griffithe, OBE MSc - Some Historical Aspects of the Development of Shaped Charges - Ministry of Defence, Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment - 1984 - page 6 - AD-A144 098
^Hogg, Ian V. (1977) The Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II, Arms & Armour Press. ISBN0-85368-281-X
^Clarke, Dale M (19 September 2011). "Arming the British Home Guard, 1940-1944 (pp. 177-179)". cranfield.ac.uk. Cranfield University. hdl:1826/6164. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
^Postan, Michael Moissey; Hay, Denys; Scott, John Dick (1964). Design and Development of Weapons: Studies in Government and Industrial Organisation. London: H.M. Stationery Office. p. 268.
^Clarke, Dale (2016). Britain's Final Defence: Arming the Home Guard 1940-1944. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. p. 66. ISBN978-0750967310.
External links
The Home Guard Pocket Manual, by Capt. A. Southworth, M.B.E., p49-50: description of the No. 68 AT Grenade, use and diagram.
March 09, 2023
grenade, grenade, rifle, anti, tank, british, anti, tank, rifle, grenade, used, during, second, world, first, operational, weapons, utilise, shaped, charge, principle, grenade, rifle, atthe, mark, rifle, grenade, shown, with, nose, facing, lefttypeanti, tank, . The Grenade Rifle No 68 Anti Tank was a British anti tank rifle grenade used during the Second World War and was one of the first operational weapons to utilise the shaped charge principle Grenade rifle No 68 ATThe Mark 1 No 68 rifle grenade shown with the nose facing leftTypeAnti tank rifle grenadePlace of originUnited KingdomService historyIn service1940 1945Production historyDesigned1940VariantsMk 1 to Mk VISpecificationsMass894 grams 31 5 oz FillingLyddite Pentolite or RDX beeswaxFilling weight156 grams 5 5 oz DetonationmechanismImpact Contents 1 Design 2 Service 3 References 4 External linksDesign Edit A member of the Home Guard demonstrates a Lee Enfield rifle equipped to fire an anti tank grenade Dorking 3 August 1942 British research into shaped charges in the inter war period brought about some useful progress but did not result in any weapons Development of the grenade started in late 1939 after a demonstration arranged for a British military commission of a series of anti tank rifle grenades and artillery warheads at the Swiss Army Proving Ground at Thun in Switzerland which had been designed by Henry Mohaupt Guessing that Mohaupt s weapons were using the hollow charge principle the British abandoned negotiations and began development of a rifle grenade based on their own previous work 1 The No 68 has some claim to have been the first high explosive anti tank HEAT device in use The design of the warhead was simple and was capable of penetrating 52 mm 2 inches of armour 2 The fuze of the grenade was armed by removing a pin in the tail which prevented the firing pin from flying forward The grenade was launched from a rifle cup The simple fins gave it some stability in the air and provided the grenade hit the target at the proper angle 90 degrees the charge would be effective Detonation occurred on impact when a striker in the tail of the grenade overcame the resistance of a creep spring and was thrown forward into a stab detonator 3 The grenade was fired as was the No 36M Mills bomb from a specially adapted Lee Enfield Rifle No 1 EY often converted from a rifle that was unfit for general use and had been marked DP for drill purpose The EY suffix for EmergencY indicated that it should be used to fire standard ball ammunition only in an emergency situation The converted rifles were strengthened by adding an extra bolt to secure the breech mechanism to the stock and by a cord binding which was fastened around the forestock A special Ballistite high explosive cartridge was required to propel the grenade The grenade itself was held in place by the 2 inch 63 5 mm discharger cup No 1 Mk I With the weapon s introduction into Home Guard use the Adaptor No 1 and the Discharger No 2 Mk I were introduced which allowed grenades to be launched from the M1917 Enfield rifle with which they were equipped although a contemporary manual warned that rifles used for that purpose were likely to be somewhat spoilt as a precision weapon 4 Service EditThe No 68 grenade entered service with the British Army in November 1940 1 However it proved to be not much better than the inadequate Boys anti tank rifle and could not be improved as the size of the explosive charge was limited by the diameter of the discharger cup 5 It was introduced into service with the Home Guard in February 1941 and was retained until the force stood down in 1944 6 References Edit a b Walters William December 2008 A Brief History of Shaped Charges PDF Army Research Laboratory Aberdeen Proving Ground MD Archived PDF from the original on 24 November 2020 Retrieved 2 August 2020 R F Eather BSc amp N Griffithe OBE MSc Some Historical Aspects of the Development of Shaped Charges Ministry of Defence Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment 1984 page 6 AD A144 098 Hogg Ian V 1977 The Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II Arms amp Armour Press ISBN 0 85368 281 X Clarke Dale M 19 September 2011 Arming the British Home Guard 1940 1944 pp 177 179 cranfield ac uk Cranfield University hdl 1826 6164 Retrieved 7 August 2020 Postan Michael Moissey Hay Denys Scott John Dick 1964 Design and Development of Weapons Studies in Government and Industrial Organisation London H M Stationery Office p 268 Clarke Dale 2016 Britain s Final Defence Arming the Home Guard 1940 1944 Stroud Gloucestershire The History Press p 66 ISBN 978 0750967310 External links EditThe Home Guard Pocket Manual by Capt A Southworth M B E p49 50 description of the No 68 AT Grenade use and diagram Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title No 68 AT grenade amp oldid 1112358621, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
