Original British WWI Inert Hales (“Mexican”) Pattern No. 2 Percussion Cap Fragmentation Hand / Rifle Grenade Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Now this is something RARELY encountered and only the second one we have ever had! This little beauty is the British WWI No. 2 grenade, also known as the “Hales Pattern” or “Mexican Pattern, a percussion cap fragmentation and rifle grenade. Not only is this our second example but it is honestly one of the best we have seen so far on the market, if you can even find any.

Unloaded or dummy grenades, artillery shell casings, and similar devices, which are cut or drilled in an BATF-approved manner so that they cannot be used as ammunition components for destructive devices, are not considered NFA weapons. This example is in total compliance and is NOT AVAILABLE FOR EXPORT.

The No 2 grenade (also known as “Hales Pattern” and “Mexican Pattern”) is a percussion cap fragmentation and rifle grenade used by the United Kingdom during World War I. This is example is a very rare original inert WW1 hand grenade of a pattern saw service for not much more than one year as records show only 130,000 were ever manufactured.

In 1907 the COTTON POWDER COMPANY offered the No.1 Model to the British Government but were rejected. They subsequently sold it in a Rifle Grenade configuration to the Mexican Government. However, in August 1914 the British Government purchased ALL the Company’s remaining stock. There were variations and even some used by the Royal Flying Corp as an Aerial Bomb.

This No.2 model was introduced in February 1915 but by the end of 1916 had been completely phased out by other simpler models that were less expensive and faster to manufacture. The British Army officially obsoleted the Hales Pattern Grenades in 1920.

Very interesting and very rare, the English answer to the German potato masher stick grenade, this early version was so well constructed and does appear to retain all markings:

THE COTTON POWDER CO. LTD. LONDON
HALES PATENT

The overall condition is close to excellent with the only “issue” being the lack of paint. All components appear to be original and present, aside from a live fuse and explosive content. The wood handle is still solid with great appearance.

A fantastic example ready for further research and display.