No. 15 ball grenade

The No. 15 ball grenade, also referred to as hand/catapult/spring gun, ball grenade, or by ANZACs as the cricket ball grenade, was a grenade used by the British during World War I.^[2]

No. 15 "Ball Grenade"
A No. 15 "cricket ball" grenade
Type	Time-fused grenade
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1915
Used by	United Kingdom
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designed	1915
Produced	1915
Specifications
Mass	1 lb 11+1⁄2 oz (780 g)[1]
Diameter	3 in (76 mm) diameter[1]
Filling	Ammonal[1]
Filling weight	5+1⁄2 oz (160 g)[1]
Detonation mechanism	Timed friction fuse

Overview

The No. 15 was a cast iron grenade, with a flattened top with a hole for the fuse to be inserted.^[3] This time-fused grenade was fragmented by internal grooves.^[3] Originally these grenades contained gunpowder and later, ammonal.^[4]

To light the grenade, the user had to remove a covering that was on the fuse, then strike an external Brock matchhead igniter against the fuse.^[5]

There were two types of fuses available; the five-second and the nine-second. The former was intended for throwing, while the latter was intended for catapults.^[5][6]

History

The No. 15 was one of the interim grenades created due to problems associated with the No. 1 grenade which was intended for use in frontline service in the Middle Eastern Campaign.^[7][6]

First introduced in July 1915, the No. 15 Grenade was used during the Battle of Loos and fighting in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, at the Dardanelles.^[8] The No. 15 was noted to be easily mass-produced. By August 1915, more than 200,000 No. 15s were created per week and by mid November 1915, there were 500,000 per week.^[8][4]

However the No. 15 did prove problematic, the explosive charge was too large, which created smaller-than-expected fragmentation when the grenade exploded. In addition, it was also considered too large to throw because of its 3-inch (76 mm) circumference.^[9] These problems were remedied with the creation of the No. 16 'oval grenade'.

Battle of Loos

The No. 15 was first widely used in the Battle of Loos.^[3] Tacticians envisioned that the No. 15 would be useful in breaching German defenses and trench clearing.^[8] It was used because production of the No. 5 "Mills bomb" was running seriously behind planned figures, and not enough of them could be supplied before the start of the Loos campaign.^[9]

When the Battle for Loos started, the No. 15 was beset with problems, in particular the damp conditions encountered made the fuse almost useless.^[9][3] It was estimated that approximately 18 out of 20 No. 15s failed to ignite due to inoperative fuses.^[8][4]

On November 20, 1915, the No. 15 and its cousin, the No. 16, were withdrawn from France and were replaced with the No. 5 'Mills bomb'.^[10]

Variants

No. 16 'oval grenade'

The No. 16 was essentially an improved version of the No. 15.^[6] Instead of a ball shape, it had an oval shape. which proved easier to hold. It was also filled with less explosive charge.^[4] The No. 16 was planned to completely replace the No. 15, but the defeat at Loos caused both models to be withdrawn from service, both displaying the same fuse issue.^[9]