The OTO Mod. 35 was a
hand grenade
A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...
issued to the
Regio Esercito
The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Description
Entered into service in 1935, the OTO Mod. 35, together with the
SRCM Mod. 35 and the
Breda Mod. 35 represented the new generation of hand grenades with which the Regio Esercito faced the Second World War. It is an offense type hand grenade consisting of an
aluminium
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
body bomb painted red, contains 36 g of
TNT
Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
that at the time of the explosion fragment a ball of
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
containing lead pellets.
The O.T.O. is the simplest of the three Mod.35 Types. The Allways fuze is driven by a lead ball held between a cone shaped cap and a spring loaded striker. An interesting feature is the design on the ball, it's a lead-wrapped assembly of small lead shot, intended to rupture at the moment of detonation, a safety feature. Since the grenade was an offensive type, designers didn't want to have a heavy part of the bomb flying far away from the intended point of detonation and possibly injuring the thrower. That's the reason why the ball should break into tiny parts at the moment of detonation.
The internal capsule contains the explosive and a primer/detonator tube. A thin wire ring locks the two body halves together at a specific place, fixing the overall length, so as not to bind the internal parts.
Operational use
To use, the pull tab with the attached safety strip is withdrawn, just prior to throwing, unlocking the safety lever. When thrown the lever was to catch the air and be pulled from the grenade, removing the safety bar from between the firing pin and the primer. This was an open terrain grenade, as some amount of time and distance was required to allow the mechanism to function properly, which it had a tendency not to do.
See also
*
SRCM Mod 35
*
Breda Mod 35
Note
Bibliography
* ''Le armi e le artiglierie in servizio'' di F. Grandi, 1938.
* ''Enciclopedia delle armi'', Melita Editori, La Spezia 1995.
* ''Dizionario delle armi'' di Letterio Musciarelli, Milano 1978.
* ''Armi della fanteria italiana nella seconda guerra mondiale'' di Nicola Pignato, 1978.
External links
* http://www.regioesercito.it/armi/bam_oto35.htm
* http://www.talpo.it/o.t.o..html
* https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074046/http://www.storiainsoffitta.it/ALFABETICO/B/Breda%20Mod.%2035%20-%20Bomba%20a%20mano%20Italia/
{{WWIIItalianInfWeapons
World War II infantry weapons of Italy
Grenades of Italy
Fragmentation grenades