The most remarkable thing in this video is the author's ability to locate Mills bombs in not only films depicting British soldiers in the world wars, but also random anime's and an obscure Australian tv serial. Well done
I was not expecting to see footage from “Anzacs” here. It is such an unknown and under appreciated series even here in Australia. Thank you for exposing a little Australian gem to the rest of the world Johnny.
ANZACS is a great series filmed entirely here in Australia. Flanagan Kaiser Marty Pudden Bill Mick and let's not forget Bluey the Lewis gunner who never says a word the entire series and always seemed to have a rollie in his mouth.
My grandfather was a British Commando in WW2. He told me one of his many "funny" stories once about this one time he and his men thought they had finally had it when a German soldier caught them by surprise with a grenade in his hand, before he threw it at them, it blew his forearm off. He told me they all started pissing themselves with laughter. They bandaged the German's bloody stump and took him as a POW.
The extraordinary story of Alfred Shout, VC, MC is told in a Wikipedia featured article. He was killed in Gallipoli after lighting the fuse on three iron bombs but only throwing two in time.
I've never though about the timing of that grenade in saving private ryan, but I think I counted a precise 7 second fuse. That really was a realistic example, as if I had any doubt👌
@@comediccarnage8059 to be fair, it hit him in the chest and dropped in his lap, and he didn't exactly "jump" up. He just got uo to a squat to skootch out the way. I could imagine this having at least once in history.
As a kid of the 1980’s action films, I was very disappointed that modern hand grenades don’t explode in a fireball 😢 when I 1st threw 1 in military training 🤣
They don't make series like "Anzacs" anymore! Frankly amazing that you've even seen it, considering you have referenced the series before! Nice work, Johnny!
While bombs in the Zelda series are usually very large, two-handed affairs, the iteration of the bomb flower seen in Tears of the Kingdom is actually small enough to be thrown one-handed in the manner of a grenade. It's closer to classical iron bombs than any other game's usage of the cartoony design.
Those scenes in "Saving Private Ryan" of the German grenades being tossed back always get me. I know the popular assessment (not undeserved) is the opening Omaha Beach sequence is the most unsettling part of the film, but personally I've always felt the final sequence, the defense of the bridge, is more unsettling. The most disturbing things I've personally seen in any film occur during that sequence. The paratroopers swarming the German tank getting suddenly slaughtered by the anti-aircraft gun. German soldiers executing wounded paratroopers on the ground who are hollering in pain. The fate of the Jewish ranger in hand-to-hand combat. Brilliant film, but beyond brutal.
At least the makers were honest enough to show US soldiers callously mowing down unarmed German POWs in one scene too. Germany and Japan didn't have the monopoly on war crimes in WW2 - all soldiers are capable of shocking brutality.
@@PaIaeoCIive1684 Good point, yeah. I actually re-watched Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" recently and he doesn't shy away from Americans executing the guards at Dachau. Admittedly, I understand the rage of those Americans (I'm American, for what it's worth), but a war crime is a war crime. You can't execute men who have surrendered. The scene I think you're referring to in "Saving Private Ryan" is from the Omaha Beach sequence, where the two men up on the cliffs hold up their arms in surrender. The American soldier says, "What? I can't hear you!" and then the two men are shot. I learned recently those 2 men surrendering actually aren't German, but Eastern Europeans forcibly conscripted by the Germans. The translation of what they say is something to the effect of, "We're not German, we are prisoners here against our will!" Of course the point of the scene is still the war crime despite the fact those Americans _don't know_ they're not executing Germans. When you know the context, it just compounds the insanity. War is hell.
@@mcnultyssobercompanion6372 Thanks for that, mate. My Grandfather got drunk late at night and told us some of the things he witnessed in the 8th Army during the Desert War - supposedly a 'cleaner' campaign than the others. Harrowing stuff, it made him cry. Won't give details but let's just say all sides can torture and murder, especially when under stress, but even when not. There's no 'good war'.
@@PaIaeoCIive1684 all side committed war crimes. Just the western allies committed alot less than nazi Germany , Japan and Soviet union but in a world war thats still tons.
@@mcnultyssobercompanion6372The Big Red One with Lee Marvin has a scene where they liberate a camp and one of the guys finds a guard hiding in one of the ovens. He just keeps going through clips of ammo. Also shows how even a soldier that fought in WW1 and WW2 can be impacted by what the people in those camps went through.
If I ever have any questions about which war movie to watch for any particular subject I know where to go. Thanks again Johnny. See ya on the next one.
When I was in Afghanistan I kept a grenade in my survival kit for few months until I figured out it was a pretty dumb thing to do (I'm an helicopter pilot, not a grunt), even though I had the pin wrapped in tape for more safety. I took it out of my flying kit but held onto it until late in the deployment when I got to throw it at a range. Well, the glue from the tape must have melted a bit and seeped into the spoon release. It took a good 30 seconds plus for the thing to go off! Glad I didn't need it!
Anzacs is a must watch, it really shows how technology, tactics and attitudes changed during the war. It manages to show the human cost whilst keeping the violence relatively PG
ANZACs is definitely a series that I need to watch. Thanks also for showing the original All Quiet On The Western Front as a reminder that the present one is a remake of a remake. Special effects people do love making inaccurate representations of explosions too.
The mills bomb was also called the mills bomb instead of grenade because only the grenadiers were trained in throwing grenades. The English are odd people but us Americans love them.
I have a training one from my grandpa from when he was in the home guard. I love it. Though my dad superglued the powder filling port which sucks, but otherwise is nice and mechanically functional, which is fun to see the spoon fly off lol.
I recall that scene in Foyle's War. The grenade had that big flat screw in the side as she pulled it from her arm sling to avenge "her girls." Now I know the proper name of it. Mills bomb.
Just in case it wasn't clear from the Vid pulling the pin alone does nothing, it's just a safety feature and what arms the fuse is the "spoon" (which is spring loaded) popping of, the purpose of the pin is to stop the spoon from moving as there's a hole thru the spoon and the part it's mounted in, but the pin itself is just an inert split pin with a ring attached to it and yes you can technically put the pin back in though it's not recommended as you can't be 100% certain if the spoon didn't move enough to trigger the fuse after pulling the pin. Oh and if the spoon has popped out or otherwise moved clearly enough that fuse is triggered then obviously putting the pin back is does nothing.
I saw the video when it released originally, but thanks again! If you haven't seen it already, I recommend The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. A great series all around. It has great sequences set during WWI and overall is a fun time for history enthusiasts. Some of the episodes have been uploaded to You Tube and DisneyPlus is planning rerelease on May 31st. However, I'm worried Disney might censor some segments, as they have done before with other shows, so one should keep an eye out for that.
Forgot to mention that the use of a rifle grenade also requires a "blank" cartridge to launch the grenade. If a regular round of ammunition is used it's adios to not only the soldier launching the grenade but everyone else around them.
Fun fact, grenade pins while yes being secure can be pulled out with your teeth with just a bit of effort but no its not a strong man task nor is it a myth. MAC-V-SOG even used to wrap tape around frag pins so they could pull them with their teeth in a pinch. Over all still very nice history of the Mills Bomb good work.
In WW2 not only was this depicted in war bond art, but it pops up in staged pictures for TIME and even citations for valor. One deserved Medal of Honor was Jonah Edward Kelley. “To blast his way forward with hand grenades, he set aside his rifle to pull the pins with his teeth while grasping the missiles with his good hand.”
My favourite depiction of a Mills Bomb is from the awful/awesome 1970s British TV series The Professionals. In one episode a mental patient takes a nurse hostage by pulling the pin of a Mills Bomb and holding it down her blouse. The good guys start calculating how long he can hold the spoon down for, and once he lets it go, whether someone can sprint the distance to remove it from her vicinity before the fuse burns through. 45 year-old-spoiler: Bodie sprints over to the screaming nurse, slaps her unconscious, rips her blouse off with a switchblade and tosses the pineapple into a big metal bin to go pop harmlessly. He then converts the lady from "traumatised" to "aroused" by gently fondling her lumpybits and making eyes at her. The 70s truly were a special time.
I remember seeing this scene shown on one of those “you wouldn’t get away with it in today’s world” type TV shows (that are really In themselves just an excuse to show something that you wouldn’t normally get away with broadcasting today!). So hilariously bad it was actually brilliant
I mean the way the movie is set up to this point makes it clear that they really were scared shitless when the combat stated. Can't blame them. The training is there to just really get things such as Grenade throwing into your muscle memory, so stuff Like this doesnt happen.
There was a surprising long development period on these. The title “grenadier” was quite an imposing but by title. It’s not actually a surprise that the term “grenadier” became a title. These were men who took risk upon themselves to create a hazard for the enemy. For safety professionals, it’s basically a job with a completely unacceptable risk profile. If they don’t blow themselves up today, it’s they are bound to blow themselves up tomorrow.
5:22 I like how he cooked the grenade before throwing. It was risky but it made sure the grenade would catch the Germans by surprise instead of falling onto the floor and staying a few seconds there.
It’s actually a common misconception of the german army. In WW2 the Wehrmacht used their egg shaped hand granate (M39) more often than the Stielgranate.
It was very popular in WWI as a trench clearing tool. I threw a couple in the army reserve, its really quite scary to pull the pin and be aware you are holding a live bomb in your hand. Kerping accuracy when throwing it to max dustance isn't so easy either.
First time on the grenade range in Sydney in the 1960's went through the pit's all's good sent 50 meters to the rear for lunch sat leaning against a tree felt a shock hitting the tree looked up about an inch above my head was a base plate from a 36 mill's bomb embedded in the tree think luck was with me that day.
By WW2 they updated that mills grenade thrower to a cup thrower which used the gases from a blank cartridge. Using angle of attack of the rifle and a small adjustable vent at the base could be used to effect range of the launch.
The one where it’s anchored then put in a tin can and the trip wire pulls the can off and the spoon is released etc. I thought that was clever. Aren’t we so clever when it comes to maiming each other? Great vid as always, matey!)
My Grandfather served on anti zeppelin guns in WW1 in the N.East and was therefore deemed to old to serve in WW2, so he worked as an inspector on munitions production. I loved going to my grandparents house and playing with the complete but unfilled hand grenade (presumably faulty product) which Grandad had brought home from the factory. We used to play with it , going to the beach and seeing how far we could throw it! None of the neighbours seemed to mind! Can you imagine a child doing that today.
In the 1960's I trained with these grenades in the Canadian army but they weren't called Mills bombs then...they were known as the grenade No.36M with the "M" standing for Mesopotamia because they were covered in a waxy substance that protected the grenade from rust etc. during storage. Before arming these grenades the waxy substance had to be removed from inside and outside of the grenade before they could be armed with the igniter. Then they could be used on the range. I must say I got quite a "bang" out of these things!
The British entered the war with the Grenade No 1, which was a stick grenade with an impact fuse. It worked well enough until troops tried to use them in the trenches. When a soldier would reach back to throw the green they could accidentally set it off by hitting the backside of the trench.
Hey Johnny, can you do an episode on the Italian "Red Devils" hand grenades of WW2? Good job as always, BTW! Loved the bit w the holy hand grenade of Antioch.
Not forgetting that the Mills bomb was designed as an offensive grenade, not a defensive one. In WW1, initially before the Mills bomb was developed, British squaddies made simple grenade type bombs by filling empty jam cans with explosives and metal waste and then attach a simple fuse.
You missed out the famous Dads Army episode where Wilson doesn't fuze the mills bombs ( the deadly attachment) because he thinks it's dangerous and then a German U boat crew put them down Jones trousers. Because theres no fuze it saves Jones's life when the pin is pulled.
Jones was the most useless person in the unit and a complete coward who always thought he knew better. He frequently disobeyed orders which, given the circumstances, were sensible, as with the fuses. He got lucky frequently though which made him appear competent. His constant whining and apparent desire to destroy the morale of his unit was irritating.
The scene from all quiet on the western from is probably depicting the german egg grenade. It dosent get as much attention as the iconic german stick grenade but was just as prolific
As a gamer my first experience with this explosive weapon was in a game. I believe one of the older "Medal of Honor"games featured this. Not my favourite design for a grenade but its important to recognise its role in many battles and influence in future nade design
From training with these many years ago my memory is it was called the 36:Mills Grenade grooved for easy fragmentation weight one and a half pound with a four second or seven second fuse normally four. It was a throw observe where it landed counting to four then duck it explodes and you can hear the hase plate wizz overhead.The effective lethal range was different on soft ground from hard ground i cant remember the exact distances. But thats my memories 1970. .
Could be wrong but I doubt if a grenade was ever put inside a glass - or at least that sort of glass. The spring on that lever is very powerful and I suspect it would have forced its way out and shot the grenade out of the glass - unless it was a little more straight sided maybe. Edit: good god - and I discover that someone has made a film about Biggles. Oh well, I was probably to old for it in 1986 anyway.
My dad had a mills bomb that he wrestled off a drunk at a party in the 50s. The bloke was acting crazy and saying that's he'd kill everybody. It was later found out that it wasn't fused.
It’s called prepping a grenade by bending the pin’s legs straight before use. I was a grenadier on a SWAT team and did it all the time with flashbangs.
@@jhnshep American M67 grenades come pre assembled with fuses. No assembly required. Modern Brit grenades still have separate fuses. Any mg ammo I have ever seen, .50 cal included comes linked and ready to fire. 60 mm and 81mm mortar rds come fused, artillery ammo fuses are packaged separately partly for safety and partly because different types of fuses are available for different purposes.
@@minuteman4199 good to know but Ive spent hours belting 50cal ammo and jumped with rounds of 81 without fuses only to dump them off for the crew to pick up, more than likely a unit order as per SOP also had to dodge 120mm rounds on a dz still had to carry them off though lol
@@minuteman4199 legion 2REP for a live fire exercise we would have our kit ready and then prepare everything else on the landing strip, also we were often detached for ammo depots, meaning we spent hours getting ammo ready for those heading to the range or deployment, in short ammo isnt stored and needs some prep
I assumed that the grenades thrown by the german soldiers in "All Quiet on the Western Front" were of the type Kugelhandgranate. ("Ball Hand Grenade") I don't know how many of those were produced or how prevalent they were, but they would fit the timeframe shown in the movie.
Putting a grenade in a glass perched atop a door is devilishly clever.
Frankly i find it derivative of the classic "oatmeal in a bucket" gag
@@ThommyofThenn where do you think the idea came from lol
@@jhnshep i wonder where the first instance of this classic prank happened???
@@ThommyofThenn I think the longest running door prank is in Chad or Zimbabwe and has been going on for near 1000 years among newly weds
@@jhnshep whoa that's really neat. Thanks, now I have something new to look up!!
The most remarkable thing in this video is the author's ability to locate Mills bombs in not only films depicting British soldiers in the world wars, but also random anime's and an obscure Australian tv serial. Well done
Thanks man! It was an adventure getting all the clips
Batman!
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq well your deep dig down under was really worthwhile..cheers cobber...!...😅😅
I love he contrast of serious war movie and anime mixed together.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq I would love to know what anime those were. Look like 90's or early 2000's anime.
I was not expecting to see footage from “Anzacs” here. It is such an unknown and under appreciated series even here in Australia. Thank you for exposing a little Australian gem to the rest of the world Johnny.
ANZACS is a great series filmed entirely here in Australia. Flanagan Kaiser Marty Pudden Bill Mick and let's not forget Bluey the Lewis gunner who never says a word the entire series and always seemed to have a rollie in his mouth.
I meant Pat Cleary not Mick.
Agreed wholeheartedly. Thanks Johnny!
@@alanmacpherson3225 Yeah, but sometimes he tells lies.
Totally agree, ANZACS...classic....E...😊😊
My grandfather was a British Commando in WW2. He told me one of his many "funny" stories once about this one time he and his men thought they had finally had it when a German soldier caught them by surprise with a grenade in his hand, before he threw it at them, it blew his forearm off. He told me they all started pissing themselves with laughter. They bandaged the German's bloody stump and took him as a POW.
lucky it wasn’t a shrapnel grenade
2:05
Truly a relic.
Lol.
yap. holy hand grenade of antioch..
Consult the Book of Armaments!
hajis still had them in Iraq
I hear worms still use it to this day.
The extraordinary story of Alfred Shout, VC, MC is told in a Wikipedia featured article. He was killed in Gallipoli after lighting the fuse on three iron bombs but only throwing two in time.
I've never though about the timing of that grenade in saving private ryan, but I think I counted a precise 7 second fuse. That really was a realistic example, as if I had any doubt👌
Yeah the heroic character jumping up and throwing back the grenade is kinda silly. That one literally just happened to land on his lap
@@comediccarnage8059 to be fair, it hit him in the chest and dropped in his lap, and he didn't exactly "jump" up. He just got uo to a squat to skootch out the way. I could imagine this having at least once in history.
@@anthonynunyabizness9989 no I agree, I think SPR does a good job of showing how something like that could actually happen
Except for he just said those had a 5 second fuse 😂
Throwing grenades back true story
As a kid of the 1980’s action films, I was very disappointed that modern hand grenades don’t explode in a fireball 😢 when I 1st threw 1 in military training 🤣
Unfortunately, flaming petrol explosions make "better" movie scenes. I have seen a couple that didn't bother with this nonsense though.
you have to pull the pin out with your teeth to unlock the "massive fireball explosion" mode. :D
@@coling3957 That's the best comment. Ever.
@@coling3957 Knowing is half the battle!
Thanks 😂🤣
@@m1t2a1 :D
I was at a Goodwill store in Somerville, MA when a M2 grenade was donated (along with ammo, knives, etc). It was live! The cops came and took it away.
I loved ANZACS especially with Paul Hogan as Pat Cleary. That mini-series is a must watch.
Clicked for the info, stayed for the Holy Handgrenade of Antioch
They don't make series like "Anzacs" anymore! Frankly amazing that you've even seen it, considering you have referenced the series before! Nice work, Johnny!
A great series...😊😊
Holy Hell, ANZACs! thats a series i havent watched in a long long time!
While bombs in the Zelda series are usually very large, two-handed affairs, the iteration of the bomb flower seen in Tears of the Kingdom is actually small enough to be thrown one-handed in the manner of a grenade. It's closer to classical iron bombs than any other game's usage of the cartoony design.
Those scenes in "Saving Private Ryan" of the German grenades being tossed back always get me. I know the popular assessment (not undeserved) is the opening Omaha Beach sequence is the most unsettling part of the film, but personally I've always felt the final sequence, the defense of the bridge, is more unsettling.
The most disturbing things I've personally seen in any film occur during that sequence. The paratroopers swarming the German tank getting suddenly slaughtered by the anti-aircraft gun. German soldiers executing wounded paratroopers on the ground who are hollering in pain. The fate of the Jewish ranger in hand-to-hand combat. Brilliant film, but beyond brutal.
At least the makers were honest enough to show US soldiers callously mowing down unarmed German POWs in one scene too. Germany and Japan didn't have the monopoly on war crimes in WW2 - all soldiers are capable of shocking brutality.
@@PaIaeoCIive1684 Good point, yeah. I actually re-watched Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" recently and he doesn't shy away from Americans executing the guards at Dachau. Admittedly, I understand the rage of those Americans (I'm American, for what it's worth), but a war crime is a war crime. You can't execute men who have surrendered.
The scene I think you're referring to in "Saving Private Ryan" is from the Omaha Beach sequence, where the two men up on the cliffs hold up their arms in surrender. The American soldier says, "What? I can't hear you!" and then the two men are shot. I learned recently those 2 men surrendering actually aren't German, but Eastern Europeans forcibly conscripted by the Germans. The translation of what they say is something to the effect of, "We're not German, we are prisoners here against our will!"
Of course the point of the scene is still the war crime despite the fact those Americans _don't know_ they're not executing Germans. When you know the context, it just compounds the insanity. War is hell.
@@mcnultyssobercompanion6372 Thanks for that, mate. My Grandfather got drunk late at night and told us some of the things he witnessed in the 8th Army during the Desert War - supposedly a 'cleaner' campaign than the others. Harrowing stuff, it made him cry. Won't give details but let's just say all sides can torture and murder, especially when under stress, but even when not. There's no 'good war'.
@@PaIaeoCIive1684 all side committed war crimes. Just the western allies committed alot less than nazi Germany , Japan and Soviet union but in a world war thats still tons.
@@mcnultyssobercompanion6372The Big Red One with Lee Marvin has a scene where they liberate a camp and one of the guys finds a guard hiding in one of the ovens. He just keeps going through clips of ammo. Also shows how even a soldier that fought in WW1 and WW2 can be impacted by what the people in those camps went through.
If I ever have any questions about which war movie to watch for any particular subject I know where to go. Thanks again Johnny. See ya on the next one.
When I was in Afghanistan I kept a grenade in my survival kit for few months until I figured out it was a pretty dumb thing to do (I'm an helicopter pilot, not a grunt), even though I had the pin wrapped in tape for more safety. I took it out of my flying kit but held onto it until late in the deployment when I got to throw it at a range. Well, the glue from the tape must have melted a bit and seeped into the spoon release. It took a good 30 seconds plus for the thing to go off! Glad I didn't need it!
"What do you do if a Provo throws a grenade at you?"
"Pull the pin out and throw it back" 😂
Anzacs is a must watch, it really shows how technology, tactics and attitudes changed during the war. It manages to show the human cost whilst keeping the violence relatively PG
ANZACs is definitely a series that I need to watch. Thanks also for showing the original All Quiet On The Western Front as a reminder that the present one is a remake of a remake. Special effects people do love making inaccurate representations of explosions too.
It's all up for free on TH-cam! Really good series
Even sillier than the pin drawn with the teeth are the massive pyrotechnical displays most movies use to depict hand grenades.
still many think the explosive is where the damage of the grenade comes from
The mills bomb was also called the mills bomb instead of grenade because only the grenadiers were trained in throwing grenades. The English are odd people but us Americans love them.
I have a training one from my grandpa from when he was in the home guard. I love it. Though my dad superglued the powder filling port which sucks, but otherwise is nice and mechanically functional, which is fun to see the spoon fly off lol.
I really like the mix of media depicting the weapon and info
8:15 Biggles Adventures In Time. I remember seeing this as a child. A good movie on my opinion.
grenades can be "cooked off" to avoid being returned of kicked aside; grenades with shrapnel are "defensive" with blast "offensive"
Thank you for showing the diggers mate, youre a bloody legend
Loved Richard Roundtree casually tossing a hand grenade through a cruciform window. Poetry.
This guy has incorporated a key element to keep people interested-comedy.
I loved the Holy Hand Grenade bit.
Well done.
Batman AND Monty Python in the same video. Outstanding, Sir.
Very interesting Johnny like always.
True these vids do not disappoint
Anyone who has played Zelda knows how dangerous those old style fuse bombs are 💣
Yes, *An-Are-Kay Pineapples!*
I recall that scene in Foyle's War. The grenade had that big flat screw in the side as she pulled it from her arm sling to avenge "her girls." Now I know the proper name of it. Mills bomb.
6:58 I never would have thought I would find this here
Another Master and Commander would be very cool.
Just in case it wasn't clear from the Vid pulling the pin alone does nothing, it's just a safety feature and what arms the fuse is the "spoon" (which is spring loaded) popping of, the purpose of the pin is to stop the spoon from moving as there's a hole thru the spoon and the part it's mounted in, but the pin itself is just an inert split pin with a ring attached to it and yes you can technically put the pin back in though it's not recommended as you can't be 100% certain if the spoon didn't move enough to trigger the fuse after pulling the pin.
Oh and if the spoon has popped out or otherwise moved clearly enough that fuse is triggered then obviously putting the pin back is does nothing.
I saw the video when it released originally, but thanks again!
If you haven't seen it already, I recommend The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. A great series all around. It has great sequences set during WWI and overall is a fun time for history enthusiasts. Some of the episodes have been uploaded to You Tube and DisneyPlus is planning rerelease on May 31st. However, I'm worried Disney might censor some segments, as they have done before with other shows, so one should keep an eye out for that.
The old “Batman” clip was hysterical the first time I saw it as a kid. Still is.
0:02: "I CHOOSE YOU HIROSHIMA!"
Nice touch, Belmondo and Monty Python!
Forgot to mention that the use of a rifle grenade also requires a "blank" cartridge to launch the grenade. If a regular round of ammunition is used it's adios to not only the soldier launching the grenade but everyone else around them.
Fun fact, grenade pins while yes being secure can be pulled out with your teeth with just a bit of effort but no its not a strong man task nor is it a myth. MAC-V-SOG even used to wrap tape around frag pins so they could pull them with their teeth in a pinch. Over all still very nice history of the Mills Bomb good work.
In WW2 not only was this depicted in war bond art, but it pops up in staged pictures for TIME and even citations for valor. One deserved Medal of Honor was Jonah Edward Kelley. “To blast his way forward with hand grenades, he set aside his rifle to pull the pins with his teeth while grasping the missiles with his good hand.”
they must have loosened the pins, with no alteration it can be difficult to remove a pin even with both hands depending on your body position
I found one once while walking the fields near Beaumont-Hamel. Fused, pin and spoon still in place.
My favourite depiction of a Mills Bomb is from the awful/awesome 1970s British TV series The Professionals. In one episode a mental patient takes a nurse hostage by pulling the pin of a Mills Bomb and holding it down her blouse. The good guys start calculating how long he can hold the spoon down for, and once he lets it go, whether someone can sprint the distance to remove it from her vicinity before the fuse burns through.
45 year-old-spoiler: Bodie sprints over to the screaming nurse, slaps her unconscious, rips her blouse off with a switchblade and tosses the pineapple into a big metal bin to go pop harmlessly. He then converts the lady from "traumatised" to "aroused" by gently fondling her lumpybits and making eyes at her. The 70s truly were a special time.
I remember seeing this scene shown on one of those “you wouldn’t get away with it in today’s world” type TV shows (that are really In themselves just an excuse to show something that you wouldn’t normally get away with broadcasting today!). So hilariously bad it was actually brilliant
@@neilturner6749 Rude Guy on YT has a spoof of that scene 😅😅😅
Lol I can’t get over how busted that grenade throw is at the beginning in the movie Kokoda. Guess the Chocos didn’t get much training on Mills Bombs.
I mean the way the movie is set up to this point makes it clear that they really were scared shitless when the combat stated. Can't blame them. The training is there to just really get things such as Grenade throwing into your muscle memory, so stuff Like this doesnt happen.
Nice repost here johnny
Gets my vote...as always...cheers..E...😊😊😊
@@eamonnclabby7067 *E*
a very underrated design
There was a surprising long development period on these. The title “grenadier” was quite an imposing but by title. It’s not actually a surprise that the term “grenadier” became a title. These were men who took risk upon themselves to create a hazard for the enemy. For safety professionals, it’s basically a job with a completely unacceptable risk profile. If they don’t blow themselves up today, it’s they are bound to blow themselves up tomorrow.
You definitely do your research and it is greatly appreciated by us fans... great work as always.....
5:22 I like how he cooked the grenade before throwing. It was risky but it made sure the grenade would catch the Germans by surprise instead of falling onto the floor and staying a few seconds there.
This channel is everything I want in a history show
Subscribed!
Sweet! Welcome
It’s actually a common misconception of the german army. In WW2 the Wehrmacht used their egg shaped hand granate (M39) more often than the Stielgranate.
Cool movie scenes.
It was very popular in WWI as a trench clearing tool.
I threw a couple in the army reserve, its really quite scary to pull the pin and be aware you are holding a live bomb in your hand. Kerping accuracy when throwing it to max dustance isn't so easy either.
First time on the grenade range in Sydney in the 1960's went through the pit's all's good sent 50 meters to the rear for lunch sat leaning against a tree felt a shock hitting the tree looked up about an inch above my head was a base plate from a 36 mill's bomb embedded in the tree think luck was with me that day.
I actually believed in may childhood that the German stick grenade had a 10 second fuse
By WW2 they updated that mills grenade thrower to a cup thrower which used the gases from a blank cartridge. Using angle of attack of the rifle and a small adjustable vent at the base could be used to effect range of the launch.
The one where it’s anchored then put in a tin can and the trip wire pulls the can off and the spoon is released etc. I thought that was clever. Aren’t we so clever when it comes to maiming each other?
Great vid as always, matey!)
A fire repost.
My Grandfather served on anti zeppelin guns in WW1 in the N.East and was therefore deemed to old to serve in WW2, so he worked as an inspector on munitions production. I loved going to my grandparents house and playing with the complete but unfilled hand grenade (presumably faulty product) which Grandad had brought home from the factory. We used to play with it , going to the beach and seeing how far we could throw it! None of the neighbours seemed to mind! Can you imagine a child doing that today.
As a mills I approve this bomb
In the 1960's I trained with these grenades in the Canadian army but they weren't called Mills bombs then...they were known as the grenade No.36M with the "M" standing for Mesopotamia because they were covered in a waxy substance that protected the grenade from rust etc. during storage. Before arming these grenades the waxy substance had to be removed from inside and outside of the grenade before they could be armed with the igniter. Then they could be used on the range. I must say I got quite a "bang" out of these things!
Very cool! I never knew about the wax. Thanks for sharing 👍
thats doesn't seem a very good idea. waxing a grenade . wax on, wax off Karate Kid style..
Bill Speakman VC just lobbed as many Mills bombs and rocks as he could find, at the Chinese in Korea ...😊😊
The British entered the war with the Grenade No 1, which was a stick grenade with an impact fuse. It worked well enough until troops tried to use them in the trenches. When a soldier would reach back to throw the green they could accidentally set it off by hitting the backside of the trench.
Real talk, Anzacs is a great show.
In WW2 the British Holman projector even shot mills bombs as an anti aircraft weapon on merchant ships.
Hey Johnny, can you do an episode on the Italian "Red Devils" hand grenades of WW2? Good job as always, BTW! Loved the bit w the holy hand grenade of Antioch.
*Original post gang right here!*
ah yes the Holy Hand Grenade
Also the Mills bomb was invented by a Guy from Sunderland called William Mills who was born and raised in Sunderland ( My Home town )
Not forgetting that the Mills bomb was designed as an offensive grenade, not a defensive one. In WW1, initially before the Mills bomb was developed, British squaddies made simple grenade type bombs by filling empty jam cans with explosives and metal waste and then attach a simple fuse.
You missed out the famous Dads Army episode where Wilson doesn't fuze the mills bombs ( the deadly attachment) because he thinks it's dangerous and then a German U boat crew put them down Jones trousers. Because theres no fuze it saves Jones's life when the pin is pulled.
Jones was the most useless person in the unit and a complete coward who always thought he knew better. He frequently disobeyed orders which, given the circumstances, were sensible, as with the fuses. He got lucky frequently though which made him appear competent. His constant whining and apparent desire to destroy the morale of his unit was irritating.
@@MrArgus11111Do what?
@@MrArgus11111 you’re watching a different set of characters to the rest of the viewing world, my friend. “They don’t like it up ‘em” Jones a coward??
Press G to throwback grenade
The scene from all quiet on the western from is probably depicting the german egg grenade. It dosent get as much attention as the iconic german stick grenade but was just as prolific
As a gamer my first experience with this explosive weapon was in a game. I believe one of the older "Medal of Honor"games featured this. Not my favourite design for a grenade but its important to recognise its role in many battles and influence in future nade design
Great video mate!
Very informative!
I loved it!
GJ!
Wish "Asa Holds Hand Grenade Too Long " would have been included.
The Batman clip is outstanding
I'm going to be real with you, homie; this one of the last places I expected a clip from Inuyasha to show up in.
I try to have some of the clips be as random as possible.
From training with these many years ago my memory is it was called the 36:Mills Grenade grooved for easy fragmentation weight one and a half pound with a four second or seven second fuse normally four. It was a throw observe where it landed counting to four then duck it explodes and you can hear the hase plate wizz overhead.The effective lethal range was different on soft ground from hard ground i cant remember the exact distances. But thats my memories 1970.
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Could be wrong but I doubt if a grenade was ever put inside a glass - or at least that sort of glass. The spring on that lever is very powerful and I suspect it would have forced its way out and shot the grenade out of the glass - unless it was a little more straight sided maybe. Edit: good god - and I discover that someone has made a film about Biggles. Oh well, I was probably to old for it in 1986 anyway.
It's an odd film, basically a scifi with a time travelling American. Liked it as a kid, but watching recently made it realise it's rather mediocre.
I'd have called the pineapple grenade the "dragon fruit grenade", cause of the bowel evacuation it creates when seeing one start smoking
Brooo you showed Police Story 3!!? (also known as Supercop for the Dimension Films release) thats a classic right there
Remember the unkillable Soldier still did take grenade pins out with he's teeth because of his lost hand.
My dad had a mills bomb that he wrestled off a drunk at a party in the 50s. The bloke was acting crazy and saying that's he'd kill everybody.
It was later found out that it wasn't fused.
I mainly use this channel for the sheer amount of movie recommendations :D
It’s called prepping a grenade by bending the pin’s legs straight before use. I was a grenadier on a SWAT team and did it all the time with flashbangs.
great movies I give them all 5 bags of popcorn with a grenade hidden in each bag
The fuse mechanism for the Mills bomb and its British successor came packed separate from the body and the user had to install it before use.
all grenades and shells and just about everything is shipped fuses separate, even belt ammo for the .50 cal has to be put together before use
@@jhnshep American M67 grenades come pre assembled with fuses. No assembly required. Modern Brit grenades still have separate fuses. Any mg ammo I have ever seen, .50 cal included comes linked and ready to fire. 60 mm and 81mm mortar rds come fused, artillery ammo fuses are packaged separately partly for safety and partly because different types of fuses are available for different purposes.
@@minuteman4199 good to know but Ive spent hours belting 50cal ammo and jumped with rounds of 81 without fuses only to dump them off for the crew to pick up, more than likely a unit order as per SOP also had to dodge 120mm rounds on a dz still had to carry them off though lol
@@jhnshep In who's army, because that's not my experience?
@@minuteman4199 legion 2REP for a live fire exercise we would have our kit ready and then prepare everything else on the landing strip, also we were often detached for ammo depots, meaning we spent hours getting ammo ready for those heading to the range or deployment, in short ammo isnt stored and needs some prep
I see cillian murphy, I click
I agree
Once again thanks for debunking all the Hollywood myths about this weapon and others.
Pulling pins with your teeth however is not one of those myths.
Aces high is such a hidden gem
Can't believe the grenade scene from Leon didn't make it into this video
Hello Johnny Johnson, just wondering if your going to do any ww2 bolt action firearms?
The Batman clip made my day 😅
I assumed that the grenades thrown by the german soldiers in "All Quiet on the Western Front" were of the type Kugelhandgranate. ("Ball Hand Grenade")
I don't know how many of those were produced or how prevalent they were, but they would fit the timeframe shown in the movie.
Excellent video.
when the pin is pulled and the spoon flings off.....mr. grenade is no longer your close buddy.
Now I’m
Going to have to go watch aces high again , great and sad movie
3:12 Paul Hogan fit the role well.
Thank you 😊