grenade canister
Report a Mistake- Object Number 20070067-547
- Event 1939-1945 Second World War
- Affiliation --
- Artist / Maker / Manufacturer H.S.S.
- Date Made 1944
- Place of Use Continent - Europe, Country - United Kingdom
- Category Tools and equipment for science and technology
- Sub-category Armament accessory
- Department Arms and Technology
- Museum CWM
- Earliest 1944/01/01
- Latest 1944/12/31
- Brand Name / Model Mk. II N
- Inscription (on top cover of canister/sur la couvercle du contenant) TOP /| (on side of canister/sur le côté du contenant) 36 M II N / H.S.S. 1941 / 02 / /| / M CHIZH / A3661 (underneath canister/en-dessous du contenant) BOTTOM / BOTTOM
- Pattern Name Holman
- Materials Tin
- Service Component Royal NavyMerchant Navy
- Measurements Length 11.4 cm, Outside Diameter 6.9 cm
- Caption Holman Projector Canister and Grenade
- Additional Information This canister (20070067-547) and hand grenade (19740189-005) were ammunition for a Holman Projector, a stop-gap anti-aircraft weapon fitted to many merchant ships. The tube-like Holman Projector fired hand grenades in containers like these into the air using steam from the ship's boilers. The two-part metal canister held a standard hand grenade (right) and kept the lever that armed it from moving until air resistance pulled the canister away after it was fired from the projector. Exploding a few seconds later, the grenade produced a cloud of fragments and a puff of smoke. While the Holman Projector posed little actual threat to aircraft, the grenades' visible explosions may have helped deter enemy pilots.