The No. 2 grenade (also known as Hales pattern and Mexican pattern) is a

percussion cap The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...

fragmentation and

rifle grenade A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand. The practice of projecting grenades with rifle-mounted launchers was first widely used dur ...

used by the United Kingdom during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Operation

To use the grenade, the detonator is inserted, the safety pin is pulled out, and the grenade is then thrown. Streamers on the grenade are designed to stabilize the grenade's flight so that it always lands head-first.

History

Adoption

The No. 2 was created by Frederick Marten Hale in 1907. It was first used in the Mexican Revolution and was produced by the Cotton Power Company under contract from the Mexican government. France also purchased some as rifle grenades. The United States tested the No. 2 as a potential grenade, but it was not adopted. When

broke out, it soon became obvious that the standard British grenade, the No. 1 grenade, could not be produced fast enough to meet with demand. To help meet supply, the British government purchased all of the No. 2 grenades made by the Cotton Powder Company.Saunders, ''Weapons of the Trench War'', p.7

Supply

Like the No. 1, the No. 2 required a special detonator that was similar to the one used in the No. 1. This made it even more difficult to get adequate supplies of the No. 2 to the troops and further tied up supplies. Arguably, the No. 2 made the grenade problem worse for the British, as there had to be separate detonators for the No. 1 and No. 2 that could only be made by a small group of firms. Later on, the No. 2's explosive was changed to Tonite so that it could accept more common detonators. It is unknown if this actually increased supply. The grenade was officially declared obsolete in 1920, but it is likely that the No. 2 stopped being used by British forces in 1916.

Variants

Mk I and II

There were two variants of the No. 2 created, the Mk I and Mk II. The Mk I has a 16-inch long handle and one cloth streamer, while the Mk II has a seven-inch long handle and multiple cloth streamers.

Rifle grenade

The rifle grenade variant of the No. 2 comes in two forms, 7mm and 8mm. The 7mm model was produced for Mexico and was designed to fit into the M95 Mauser rifle used by the

Mexican Army The Mexican Army ( es, Ejército Mexicano) is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National ...

, while the 8mm model was designed to be used in the Lebel rifle. The only difference between the models is that the 7mm has a clip attached to it to make it properly fit the M95, while the 8mm model does not.Saunders, ''Weapons of the Trench War'', p.97 The 7mm variant was used by the British as a temporary rifle grenade until others, such as the Hales rifle grenade, were developed.

Aerial bomb

A modified version of the No. 2 was used as a weapon by the Royal Flying Corps. Instead of a handle, the aerial bomb variant has only a cloth streamer.

References

External links

Pictures of the No 2
{{WWI British Empire small arms World War I grenades of the United Kingdom Rifle grenades Fragmentation grenades Hand grenades of the United Kingdom