13–006-943

NAME – Mk II Blast Bomb

NAME (NATIVE) – Grenade Initiated Ammonal Charge

COMMON NAMES – Blockbuster

TYPE – Grenade/Demolition charge

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN – Australia

DATE OF MANUFACTURE – 1943

LENGTH – 28.1 cm (11.06 in)

WIDTH (DIAMETER) – 8.6 cm (3.39 in)

WEIGHT – 1.94 kg (4 lb 4 oz)

EFFECT – Heavy blast, fragmentation

BURST RADIUS – 20 m (22 yards)

FUSE TYPE – Pull ring/Safety lever percussion

FUSE INITIATION – Safety lever release

FUSE DELAY – 5 seconds

FILLER – Ammonal (65% Ammonium Nitrate, 17% Aluminum, 15% TNT, 3% Carbon)

FILLER WEIGHT (TOTAL EXPLOSIVE) – 1.19 kg (2 lb 10 oz) including grenade and CE Primer

FILLER WEIGHT – Ammonal – 1.62 kg (3 lb 9 oz), 0.028 kg (1 oz) Composition Explosive (Tetryl), 0.18 kg (6.3 oz) Baratol (75.5% Barium Nitrate, 23.5% TNT, 1% paraffin wax)

FILLER EQUIVALENT TO TNT (R.E.) – 1.25

AVERAGE RANGE – 10 to 15 m (11 to 16 yards)

MANUFACTURER – Locally (Field) produced

STATUS – Obsolete

SERVICE – Australian forces

     This is not as much a hand grenade as it is a demolition charge, along the lines of the German Geballte Ladung. Intended to give the infantryman an effective means to attack an enemy bunker in the Pacific War, the Mark II Blast Bomb utilizes a standard No. 36 Mills bomb to supply both the delay fusing as well as the means to fire the main charge.