The No. 77 grenade was a British white phosphorus

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade ge ...

introduced in September 1943 and used during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. The No. 77 consisted of around 225 grams (8 ounces) of white phosphorus, an impact fuze and a tin casing. It was intended for laying down

smoke screen A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships. Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...

s and as a signalling device. The grenade was also very effective as an

anti-personnel An anti-personnel weapon is a weapon primarily used to maim or kill infantry and other personnel not behind armor, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles, or hunting game. The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles ...

incendiary weapon Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...

. As well as being issued to the Home Guard, the No. 77 grenade was issued to the British army. This grenade was fitted with an "all-ways" action impact fuze designed to set the grenade off when it hit a surface - the fuze was called " all-ways" as it was designed to work no matter which way the grenade landed. Once the grenade exploded, the contents (i.e. the white phosphorus) scattered and ignited 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 cause. However, these were produced and used in Canada until the 1950s, for the quality and manufacturing of them was better than found in Britai

References to the No. 77 smoke grenade could also still be found in Dutch army manuals up to the fifties, coded as "C-hgr Nr 77", (''chemische handgranaat nummer 77'') indicating its use up to that decade in Western European Union, Western Europe.

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External links

British Hand Grenade No.77 Mk I
Incendiary grenades Smoke grenades White phosphorus World War II grenades of the United Kingdom Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1943 {{Grenade-stub