Britain's Final Defence: Arming the Home Guard, 1940-1944 by Dale Clarke

Author:Dale Clarke [Clarke, Dale]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2016-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

The No. 75 and No. 75A (with diagonal fuse pockets) were widely used by British and American troops (it was known as the ‘Mine, Light, Anti-tank, M7A2’ in US service). It remained in service until 1955 and was used against British troops in Aden. Apart from anti-tank use, the Home Guard were taught to use two No. 75s taped together as a demolition charge for ‘mouseholing’ when fighting in a built-up area.30

The anti-tank grenades developed in 1940–41 were best suited to the defence, and as the tide of war turned, the No. 73 Anti-Tank Percussion grenade and No. 74 ‘Sticky bomb’ in particular became less suitable for an army now on the offensive on every front. The new airborne troops and Commandos, in particular, were unwilling to struggle with bulky and fragile grenades. A solution was found in the No. 82 or Gammon grenade (named after its inventor, Captain ‘Dick’ Gammon MC, 1 PARA). This was remarkable, in that it consisted of nothing more than a No. 247 all-ways fuse to which a small cloth skirt was attached, closed with elastic to form a bag. Regular troops were issued plastic explosive, and a quantity of this was placed inside the bag to form the charge of the grenade. Although the size of the bag was supposed to limit the size of the charge, quite alarming amounts of PE could be squeezed into a Gammon grenade, particularly when it was being used as a demolition charge. By adding a handful of gravel or pebbles, a useful anti-personnel effect could also be achieved. The combination of the No. 36M and the No. 82 Gammon grenade was quite suitable for most purposes during the latter part of the war, and the other grenades were increasingly left to the Home Guard, who were not generally issued PE, and in any case, had a static, defensive role. This is why they have become so strongly associated with the Home Guard. It is entirely typical of the people and time that British grenades were given homely nicknames. This should not detract from the fact that these grenades were at least as effective as any others fielded by the combatant nations at that time – or that tank hunting was dangerous and the odds of success would be slim. Good or bad, these grenades were all standard issue throughout the army, Royal Air Force airfield defence units, and the Home Guard too.

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