Original U.S. Pre-WWII Inert Early Body MkII Pineapple Grenade with Yellow Ring & M10A3 Fuze

Original Item: Only One Available. Totally inert and demilitarized according to BATF guidelines with hollow body and inert fuse. This grenade cannot be converted to an explosive device and is not available for export.

This is an iconic U.S. fragmentation pineapple grenade issued during WWII. The Mk II was standardized in 1920 replacing the Mk I of 1917. It was phased out gradually, the U.S. Navy being the last users, on 2 April 1945 the Mk II and Mk IIA1 were re-designated the Mk 2 and Mk 2A1.

The Mk II was commonly known as a pineapple grenade, because of its shape and structure. Grooves were cast into the cast iron shell, which was believed at the time to aid in fragmentation and had the side benefit of aiding in gripping the grenade; this provision gave it the appearance of a pineapple fruit.

Pre-WWII high explosive-filled Mk 2s were painted bright yellow. During wartime (from about 1943 and after), grenades were over-painted in olive drab, leaving a narrow yellow ring remaining at the top. Not all were over-painted, however, as D-Day film footage shows.

This is a good pre-war example which was not painted over and is mostly void of paint now. It retains the screw on the bottom, a feature of early Mk. II grenades. An often overlooked period in the history of the Mk.II is from the 1920's thru the early 1930's. Another recognizable feature includes the noticeable flat "shoulder" on the body.

This example is stamped with a maker’s mark on the body, A R G on three “panels”. The WWII era fuze reads:

FUZE M10A3
K LOT EK-
1-73

This iconic grenade comes ready for further research and display.