Achtung Spitfire! Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 I have a few Italian WW1 grenades and this is probably my favourite the Benaglia Rifle Grenade. I had to work hard on the wings because they were pretty badly corroded but soaking them in white vinegar,wire wooling and a careful use of a drimmel bought them back nicely. Like anything Italian I think it has lots of style 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gildwiller1918 Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Very nice! Italian grenades here are very scarce. I have only the SIPE and BPD models. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achtung Spitfire! Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 Roger that.I also have an M14 Discus, Carbone ,Brevetatto & a BPD. Post some pics shortly. Does your Snipe have a fuse? Loads of Snipes over here just bodies though no fuses. A fuse makes a grenade in my humble opinion. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achtung Spitfire! Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 (edited) M14 Discus. Semi relic but solid. Original brass fuse and housing. Added the wick for effect. Edited July 31, 2020 by Achtung Spitfire! Edit photos 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gildwiller1918 Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Nice discus, I also have the besozzi I forgot to mention earlier. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gildwiller1918 Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 My SIPE grenade does not have the fuse, unfortunately, however I was thinking of having one made. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achtung Spitfire! Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 Besozzis & Brevetattos are quite similar appearance wise don't you think? A repro fuse for the snipe would be good. Would that be off someone Stateside? My Brevetatto.Again with a wick. Haven't got those quite right yet .So far they've been soaked in tea,coffee, had rust coloured paint and varnish applied. I'll keep at it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gildwiller1918 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 Yes, most Italian grenades had simple fuses, it would be easy to replicate those. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gildwiller1918 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 I have a machinist that I can use to make hard to find items, for instance he is making a slip ring that went on the WW1 German grenade launcher as the one I have was missing. But it takes a lot of time, so guess its a trade off. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achtung Spitfire! Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Replica fuses are hard to come by over here but if you look hard enough you will find them. Leather washer that sits under an Egg Grenade transit plug. Egg Grenade fuse (Later fragmented band version) Note the leather washer. Nos 15 16 & 28 Brocks Igniter 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achtung Spitfire! Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Last of my Italian grenades in my collecion to date. Carbone grenade. Fragmented cast iron body. Relic status but basically sound. Really like the stamps that run down both sides. Of all the grenades I've come across the stamps on Carbone grenades are by far the boldest. BPD grenade. This is a really tidy example. On removing the brass fuse cap the fuse itself had to be struck on something hard to initiate the ignition process. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gildwiller1918 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 Here is my BPD, I did some digging into my junk bins, and it turns out I do have the remains of the SIPE fuse, I will work on restoring it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achtung Spitfire! Posted August 2, 2020 Author Share Posted August 2, 2020 Ah a Sipe fuse in the junk bin nice find. Nice BPD too. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gildwiller1918 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 Here is a WW1 era Italian Bertone rifle grenade. This item was launched from a discharger cup, similar to the French VB type, the last image shows a diagram of this grenade and launcher. Not much else is known about this grenade and launcher, in fact I have never seen the launcher. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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