| Place | Middle East: Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Dardanelles, Gallipoli, Anzac Area (Gallipoli), Lone Pine Area, Lone Pine |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | RELAWM00408 |
| Collection type | Technology |
| Object type | Grenade |
| Physical description | Cast iron |
| Location | Main Bld: First World War Gallery: The Anzac Story: Gallipoli: Life at Anzac 1 |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Date made | c 1914-1915 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Turkish 'Cricket ball' grenade fragments : Lone Pine, Gallipoli
Description
Four fragments from one or more 'cricket ball' grenades.
History / Summary
Known as 'cricket ball' grenades due to their shape, the remains of these Turkish bombs were found at Lone Pine on 8 January 1919 by members of the Australian War Records Section (AWRS).
The small party of AWRS staff, led by Lieutenant William Hopkin James, worked on Gallipoli between December 1918 and March 1919, taking photographs and collecting items for the national collection.
Grenades were an important aspect of combat on Gallipoli. Due to low supplies of properly manufactured grenades, 'jam tin bombs' became associated with the campaign. However supplies of properly manufactured grenades, such as this one, were also used at Gallipoli.
The Turkish 1914 model hand grenade, better known to the Australians as a ‘cricket ball’ grenade, was developed by Tufenidjieff, according to an August 1915 translation of a Turkish handbook by the Intelligence section of the Headquarters Unit, Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Manufactured by the Kalafat Yeri Foundries at Constantinople, they formed an essential part of the Turkish Army’s capability.
The spherical bodies of these grenades were about 73 mm in circumference and made from cast iron, the body being divided into equal rectangles and dimpled on the insides to assist fragmentation. They were filled with 100 grams of TNT (described in the translation as ‘Bombiet’ by the Turks) and provided with a fuse protected by a copper tube; the fuse – 2 grams of fulminate of mercury - is lit by a friction material, described in the booklet as being similar to that “put outside the safety match boxes”. The fuse is capped on the exterior by a screwed bronze cover provided with a belt hook.
The handbook then describes the method of use: “The man holds his rifle with his left hand and the grenade with his right hand. He uncovers the fuse with his right hand; he rubs the fuse on the match sheet hung on the right or left of his chest, [and] throws it to the desired place. It explodes in 19 seconds as the pieces of the grenade are dispersed in a circular and upward direction, the thrower must find a cover if possible.”
The 19 second timing of this fuse explains the ability of Australians, often noted in accounts such as the battle of Lone Pine, to grab a Turkish grenade and hurl it back.