Conical Antitank Hollow Charge Hand Grenade

This Japanese antitank grenade consists of a Pentalite (50/50 TNT & PETN) explosive charge cast around a thin aluminum cone, a wooden stand-off head, a fuze, and a tail attachment.

The explosive charge, which is shaped in the form of a hollow truncated cone, has a covering of thin waxed paper and a well in the upper end to receive the booster of the fuze. A cast ring pellet surrounds the cyclonite booster. The fuze, an all-ways impact type, is constructed in two parts which are threaded together. It will not function unless the mine has attained a velocity of approximately forty feet per second, and strikes a hard surface. The wooden base provides proper stand-off distance and has a central hole of slightly smaller diameter than that of the cone.

The grenade is encased in a silk bag, either white or olive drab in color, and closed by a draw-string at the bottom. A tail made of hemp is tied around the top of the grenade to provide stability in flight. The device, which will penetrate about 2 inches of armor plate, should be thrown from a distance of approximately ten meters.

A modified version of this grenade, referred to as the Type B, has been recovered. It differs from the grenade previously encountered in the Philippines in the following respects: it is smaller, the cover is yellow silk instead of canvas, the fuze is screwed into a metal seat on top of the mine, the fuze body is metal with a single-pronged safety pin, and the detonator tube is larger.

According to reports, there is also a larger grenade of the same type which has a Type 94 explosive charge.

SPECIFICATIONS

Japanese: p. 304.1 (April 1, 1945)