Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent original inert example of an extremely hard to find British ordnance piece from WWII!
An updating of the 1920s vintage No 54 grenade, the No 70 was introduced in 1944, for use in the China-Burma-India theater’s Malayan jungle, due to safety issues with the No. 36 grenade. It was found that the No. 36 grenade frequently could not be thrown out of its own fragmentation radius, and that the fixed delay allowed the grenade to roll back toward the user when throwing uphill. This grenade combines the All Ways fuze of the No. 69 with a light cast iron body that had a much lower fragmentation radius. Mks I and II of this grenade were basically development versions, the Mk III was the only version that saw use, primarily in Burma. However, field tests showed them to be no more effective than the No.36 Mills Bomb it was designed to replace, and the No 70 was cancelled, so they are extremely rare on the market.
This grenade is in exceptional condition, with most of the lacquer finish intact and the fuze in great condition. The cast iron body is marked GREN 70 / MK 3, designating the type of grenade, and is also maker marked and dated FIC – 45. The bakelite fuze cap still has the original paper label, and is marked and dated 247 MK. II / AE. 11/44, 29A. The grenade still disassembles correctly for inspection, and has the bottom bakelite plug and fuze pull cord intact.
This is really a great example of this hard to find grenade!