Item:
ONJR23HGA081

Original U.S. WWII Inert MkII Pineapple Grenade with M3 Tension & Release “Boobytrap” Firing Device

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. Totally inert and demilitarized according to BATF guidelines with hollow body and inert fuse. This grenade cannot be converted to an explosive device and is not available for export.

This is an iconic U.S. fragmentation pineapple grenade issued during WWII. The Mk II was standardized in 1920 replacing the Mk I of 1917. It was phased out gradually, the U.S. Navy being the last users, on 2 April 1945 the Mk II and Mk IIA1 were re-designated the Mk 2 and Mk 2A1.

The Mk II was commonly known as a pineapple grenade, because of its shape and structure. Grooves were cast into the cast iron shell, which was believed at the time to aid in fragmentation and had the side benefit of aiding in gripping the grenade; this provision gave it the appearance of a pineapple fruit. The Mk II was identified with an all yellow body prior to 1943. They were then painted olive drab for camouflage purposes with a narrow yellow band below the fuse.

In the closing years of WWII the Mark II was produced with a solid base and equipped with the M10A3, or M6 series fuze (depending on the explosive filler used).

This example is in lovely condition with what appears to be a post war repaint.
An often overlooked period in the history of the Mk.II is from the 1920's thru the early 1930's, like this grenade. Recognizable features are the short lever "cut-back" Mk.II fuze (not present on this example) and the noticeable flat "shoulder" on the body. Note, the vertical segment groove is not continuous from the body to the neck.

Equipped on the grenade is the “M3 Boobytrap”. This device is specially designed to be used with a tripwire, and unlike the standard (at the time) pull firing device the trip wire must be tightly stretched so as to exert considerable tension on the retaining rod. The device can be activated by tripping or by cutting the tripwire.

The principal parts of this device are the body, ratchet reel, retaining rod, striker spring, two safety pins and the standard nipple base. All components as mentioned are still present and the striker housing still retains complete arsenal markings:

FIRING DEVICE
PULL RELEASE TYPE, M3

This is a lovely, rather rare setup to encounter. Comes more than ready for further research and display.

  • This product is not available for international shipping.
  • Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon

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