Britain’s Heavy Anti-Tank Hand Bomb: Why the No. 73 Was Pulled
Автор: Covert Weapons
Загружено: 2026-02-09
Просмотров: 20
Описание:
A squat metal cylinder sits in the hand like a household flask, capped in plastic and packed with enough explosive to make a roadblock feel temporary. It looks ordinary until the arming tape is gripped, the safety pin depends on a clean pull, and a short throw becomes the whole problem.
In 1940, Britain faced an invasion scare and a production crisis after losses in France. Anti-tank guns and ammunition were scarce, Home Guard units needed something deliverable fast, and procurement offices accepted dangerous stopgaps because the roads still had to be held.
The No. 73 “Thermos” grenade answered with brute mass: about 4.5 pounds total with roughly 3.5 pounds of high explosive, intended to detonate on impact using a Type 247 all-ways percussion fuze. The tape-unravel method armed it in motion, but field reality was harsh—10 to 15 yards of throwing distance, snag risks, and blast danger to the thrower. It was pulled from the anti-tank role and later treated more as a demolition charge than a front-line weapon.
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