Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent original U.S. early post-WWI Mk II fragmentation grenade dating approximately to the early 1920s, retaining an especially desirable combination of early features including a P&FC-marked “cutback” fuze with short spoon, threaded screw-bottom filling plug, Crane-marked body, and surviving gray to gray-green High Explosive service paint. The grenade is completely inert, with a hollow body and nonfunctional fuze assembly, and is intended solely as a historical collector and display piece. 

This example is completely inert and has been demilitarized in accordance with current ATF guidelines. It contains no explosive material, cannot function as originally designed, and is NOT AVAILABLE FOR EXPORT.

The Mk II fragmentation grenade was standardized in the period immediately after WWI as the successor to the problematic Mk I of 1917. The familiar deeply segmented cast-iron body gave rise to the nickname “pineapple grenade” and became one of the most recognizable American grenade designs of the 20th century.

Early postwar Mk II grenades differed considerably from the later WWII pattern. Examples dating from approximately the 1920s into the early 1930s are characterized by the short-lever “cutback” fuze, more angular body profile, and a threaded filling opening in the base closed by a screw plug. This example retains all of those desirable early characteristics.

This example is stamped into the body with 6 over C, denoting very early manufacture by Crane. The fuze is also the earliest type, stamped on the spoon in a box P&FC, for Philip & Frank Corbin, a prominent American hardware and manufacturing company based in New Britain, Connecticut, which produced metal components and ordnance parts (including fuze assemblies) during and after World War I.

Following WWI, U.S. Ordnance specifications called for combat-loaded fragmentation grenades to be painted gray. In May 1926, the Ordnance Committee approved a change to yellow as the standard color identifying high explosive ammunition. Period technical documentation indicates that older gray-painted grenades nevertheless continued to be encountered in service for several years afterward.

The surviving gray finish on this example is therefore consistent with an early post-WWI, circa-1920s High Explosive Mk II, predating the better-known all-yellow pre-WWII finish and the olive-drab-with-yellow-marking system of WWII.

The Mk II’s segmented cast-iron body was originally intended to encourage fragmentation while also providing the soldier with a more secure gripping surface. In practice, cast-iron fragmentation did not always follow the external grooves precisely, but the distinctive pattern remained a defining feature throughout the grenade’s long service life.

As production progressed through the interwar period and WWII, the Mk II underwent numerous changes to its body shape, filling method, fuze, spoon, and finish. The early cutback-fuze, screw-bottom examples therefore represent an important transitional stage between the immediate post-WWI design and the standardized grenades carried by American troops during WWII.

The combination of the Crane-marked 6 over C body, original threaded base filling plug, P&FC cutback fuze, short spoon, surviving safety pin, and exceptionally desirable gray early High Explosive finish makes this a particularly strong example of the early Mk II. Its configuration is consistent with the post-WWI period before yellow became the prescribed H.E. identification color in 1926, giving the grenade considerable value as a study piece illustrating the development of the classic American “pineapple” grenade.

Totally inert, cannot be converted to an explosive device, not available for export. This item is completely legal within the USA. International Military Antiques, Inc observes all Federal, State and Local laws. Everything for sale on ima-usa.com is completely legal to own, trade, transport and sell within the United States of America.

All deactivated ordnance sold by IMA, Inc is engineered to be inoperable according to guidelines provided by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF).