{{Infobox weapon, is_explosive=yes,
name=ET wz. 40
, image=Granat Filipinka.jpg
, caption=Filipinka in the Museum of the Warsaw Rising
, origin=Poland
, design_date=1942
, service=1942-1947
, type= Offensive fragmentation
, filling=ca. 250g of
cheddite
Cheddite is a class of explosive materials invented in 1897 by E. A. G. Street of the firm of Berges, Corbin et Cie and originally manufactured in the town of Chedde in Haute-Savoie, France in the early twentieth century.
Closely related to Sp ...
or
ammonal
Ammonal is an explosive made up of ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder, not to be confused with T-ammonal which contains trinitrotoluene as well to increase properties such as brisance. The mixture is often referred to as Tannerite, which is ...
, detonation=Contact fuse
, number=240,000
, weight=
, fill_weight = 250
, length=95
, diameter=53
, variants=various shell types
}
Filipinka (also ''Wańka'', ''Perełka'') was a commonly used unofficial name for the ET wz. 40 homemade hand grenade produced for the Armia Krajowa during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
in occupied Poland.
It was designed by a former worker of the Rembertów
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...
munition works, Edward Tymoszak (hence the ''ET'' abbreviation). It was partially based on his pre-war design of an ET wz. 38anti-tank grenade.
The ''Filipinka'' was an offensive impact grenade, cylindrical in shape. A screw for the fuse was located in the upper part of the shell. Coating of the first series (roughly 4,000 produced) was made of Bakelite, which shattered without producing fragments like a metal-bodied grenade. Later the shell was replaced with a metal impress. The filling was composed mostly of home-made explosives, either
cheddite
Cheddite is a class of explosive materials invented in 1897 by E. A. G. Street of the firm of Berges, Corbin et Cie and originally manufactured in the town of Chedde in Haute-Savoie, France in the early twentieth century.
Closely related to Sp ...
or
ammonal
Ammonal is an explosive made up of ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder, not to be confused with T-ammonal which contains trinitrotoluene as well to increase properties such as brisance. The mixture is often referred to as Tannerite, which is ...
. At times explosives from German air bombs and artillery shells, as well as British
plastic explosive
Plastic explosive is a soft and hand-moldable solid form of explosive material. Within the field of explosives engineering, plastic explosives are also known as putty explosives
or blastics.
Plastic explosives are especially suited for explo ...
delivered through air bridges was used. The grenade was equipped with a
contact fuze
A contact fuze, impact fuze, percussion fuze or direct-action (D.A.) fuze (''UK'') is the fuze that is placed in the nose of a bomb or shell so that it will detonate on contact with a hard surface.
Many impacts are unpredictable: they may involve ...
which functioned on impact with the target.
The coating was painted with various colours to allow for easier usage in resistance service and easier hiding. After 1941 all grenades were marked with an inscription in
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
(''Desantnaya Udarnaya Granata 41'' - Paratroopers' Impact Grenade Mark 41) in order to conceal the real origin of the weapon and ensure the safety of the production facilities. Throughout the war approximately 240,000 grenades of this type were produced. Many of them were used in various battles of the
Operation Tempest
file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right
Operation Tempest ( pl, akcja „Burza”, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home ...
, including the
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...