No. 15 ball grenade

No 15 "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
Weight	1 lb 11 ¹⁄₂ oz^[1]
Diameter	3in diameter^[1]

Filling	Ammonal^[1]
Filling weight	5 ¹⁄₂ oz^[1]
Detonation mechanism	Timed friction fuse

The No. 15 ball grenade was a grenade used by the British during World War I.

Overview

The No 15 was a time-fused grenade. It was internally fragmented and incorporated a cast-iron body.

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.

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.

History

The No 15 was one of the interim grenades created because of the problems associated with the No 1 grenade.^[2] Unlike the others, the No 15 had been created specifically for the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, mostly for the fighting in the Dardanelles.^[3]

While crude, the No 15 did well in the Dardanelles. In addition, it could easily be mass-produced; in September 1915, more than 200,000 No 15s were created per week.^[3]

However, there were a few problems; the explosive charge was too large, which created smaller-than-expected fragmentation when the grenade exploded. In addition, it was considered too large because of its 3 in circumference.^[4] These problems were remedied with the No. 16 "oval grenade".

Battle of Loos

The No 15 was first widely used in the Battle of Loos. Tacticians envisioned that the No 15 would be useful in breaching German defenses and trench clearing.^[3] The No 15 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.^[4]

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

On November 20, 1915, the No 15 and its cousin, the No 16, were withdrawn from France and were replaced with the No 5 "Mills bomb".^[5]

Variants

No 16 "oval grenade"

The No 16 is essentially an improved version of the No 15. Instead of a ball shape, it has an oval shape and has less explosive charge. It was planned to completely replace the No 15, but the defeat at Loos caused both the No 15 and No 16 to be withdrawn from service, as they both had the same lighting system.^[4]

References

Notes

1 2 3 4 Ainsile, "Hand Grenades" p.17.
↑ Saunders, Weapons of the Trench War, p.16.
1 2 3 4 Saunders, Weapons of the Trench War, p.24.
1 2 3 4 Saunders, Weapons of the Trench War, p.25.
↑ Saunders, Weapons of the Trench War, p. 27.

Bibliography

External links

British Grenades of World War I & World War II

Anti-personnel	Grenade, No 1 No 2 grenade "Hales Pattern" Nos. 3, 20, 24, 35 "Hales Rifle Grenade" Nos. 5, 23, 36 Mills No. 6 grenade No. 15 Ball grenade No. 69 Nos. 8, 9 Double Cylinder Jam Tin

Anti-tank	No. 68 AT (Rifle) No. 73 Thermos No. 74 Sticky bomb No. 75 AT Hawkins

Special Types	No. 82 Gammon No. 76 (WP) No. 77 (WP) Lewes bomb Bomb, ground, 6 lb

British Empire small arms and ordnance of the First World War

No. 1
No. 2 Hales Pattern
Nos. 3, 20, 24, 35 Hales rifle grenades
Nos. 5, 23, 36 Mills
No. 6
Nos. 8, 9 Jam Tin
No. 13 Battye
No. 14 Pitcher
No. 15 Ball
No. 16 Oval
No. 17 Opera hat
No. 18
No. 19
No. 21 "Spherical"
No. 22 Newton-Pippin
No. 25 Sangster
No. 27
No. 28 Chemical
No. 29 Gas
No. 31 Day Signal
No. 32 Night Signal
No. 32 "Spherical E"
No. 34 Egg
No. 37
No. 39 Steuart Pattern

Artillery

Tank guns	QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss QF 6 pounder 6 cwt

Infantry guns	1.59-inch Breech-Loading Vickers Q.F. Gun, Mk II ("Vickers-Crayford rocket gun")

Field Artillery	BL 12 pounder 6 cwt QF 12 pounder 8 cwt QF 12 pounder 18 cwt QF 13 pounder BL 15 pounder BLC 15 pounder QF 15 pounder QF 18 pounder QF 4 inch gun Mk III BL 4 inch gun Mk VII QF 4.5 inch Howitzer

Mountain artillery	RML 2.5 inch Mountain Gun BL 10 pounder Mountain Gun BL 2.75-inch Mountain Gun QF 2.95 inch Mountain Gun QF 3.7-inch mountain howitzer

Howitzers, medium, and heavy artillery	QF 4.7 inch Gun BL 5 inch Howitzer BL 5.4 inch Howitzer BL 60 pounder gun BLC 6 inch siege gun BL 6 inch Gun Mk VII BL 6 inch Gun Mk XIX BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk I - V BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk VI - VIII

Siege artillery	BL 7.5 inch Mk III naval gun BL 9.2-inch howitzer BL 9.2 inch Mk X naval gun BL 12 inch Howitzer BL 12 inch Mk X naval gun BL 15 inch Howitzer

Coastal artillery	QF 12 pounder 12 cwt QF 4 inch naval gun Mk I – III BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun BL 9.2 inch gun Mk IX–X RML 9 inch

Mortars

Grenade launchers

Smoke and chemical weapons

Railway guns

Anti-aircraft guns

Foreign weapon designs
in British Empire Armies use

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