Original German WWII BK-2H Blendkörper Frangible Chemical Smoke Glass Inert Grenade Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Incredibly rare excellent example of the second model Blendkörper (Blinding Device) BK-2H, introduced in 1943 as an anti tank weapon. It consists of a heavy glass bottle with a smaller glass vial nested inside. The dual bottle arrangement kept two chemical solutions separated.

The Blendkörper were thrown against tanks, smashing the glass containers allowing the chemicals to mix creating a spontaneous volatile reaction. Target areas were hatches, air vents or other openings leading to the main crew compartment. The caustic smoking mixture would penetrate to the interior of the tank incapacitating the crew, forcing them to abandon their vehicle.

Despite appearing to be a bizarre weapon, the Blendkörper were rather common in use. Over 5 million BK-2H were produced and practically all were used up by the end of the war.

This example is in very good condition, with intact inner and outer glass bottles, and the correct bakelite top caps. Of course, the grenade is totally empty, the original contents drained long ago. The top still unscrews, and the inner bottle can be removed for inspection.

Construction:

Cap is made of Bakelite. There is a cork type ring on the smaller glass vial which seals the larger glass bottle when the Bakelite cap is screwed tight. There is a smaller octagonal bakelite cap one the inner glass tube. The cork seal on the small vial is also often missing but is included in this example. 

The Blendkörper used a two bottle mechanism for releasing its caustic chemicals. The inside bottle contained 36 grams of an aqueous solution of calcium chloride while the outer bottle contained 270 grams of titanium tetrachloride. When mixed, the otherwise red solution would generate clouds of thick white smoke. Ideally, the grenade was smashed against the ventilation system of an enemy tank and thus the smoke would force the crew to abandon the vehicle. However, in practice the crew of a tank was often able to drive away from the limited area affected before too much smoke entered the fighting compartment.

The BK-2H weighed about 400 grams while having a total length of 128mm To seal the weapon, the BK-2H used a sulfur and cement plug, though some later variations have been found to have a plug made of bakelite. Distribution of the BK-2H was handled via the use of a specialized cardboard box with separate compartments per grenade. A total of four could be stored in each box with a notice describing their use being placed on the front of the box. This also contained the other use for the BK-2H which was to act as a smoke grenade to supplement larger screens.