No 77 grenade
77 grenade was a British white phosphorus grenade introduced in September 1943 and used during the Second World War.
No 77 grenade
- Field
- incendiary grenade.
- Region
- United Kingdom.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
77 grenade was a British white phosphorus grenade introduced in September 1943 and used during the Second World War.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for No 77 grenade. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
original value insufficient · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q7043952 · wikipedia · No 77 grenade
In this article
Design
Design
The No. 77 consisted of around 225 grams (7.9 ounces) of white phosphorus, an impact fuze and a tin casing. This grenade was fitted with an "all-ways" action impact fuze designed to set the grenade off when it hit a surface - the fuze was called "all-ways" as it was designed to work no matter which way the grenade landed. Once the grenade exploded, the contents (i.e. the white phosphorus) scattered and ignited as soon as they touched the air. This made the grenade extremely dangerous — hence its usefulness in combat.
Adoption
Adoption
As well as being issued to the Home Guard, the No. 77 grenade was issued to the British Army. The No, 77 was intended for laying down smoke screens and as a signalling device. The grenade was also very effective as an anti-personnel, incendiary weapon. When the war had ended, many of the grenades had become dangerous, due to corroding of the inferior tin plate steel used in the manufacture of the grenade bodies. In 1948 the grenade was determined to be obsolete and all were destroyed to minimize the danger they could cause. However, these were produced and used in Canada until the 1950s, for the quality and manufacturing of them was better than found in Britain. Denmark used the No 77 as the Nr.77 (Danish: Røghåndbombe Nr.77) as the Dutch also employed the No. 77 (Dutch: No. 77 Rookhandgranaat). References to the No. 77 smoke grenade could also still be found in Dutch army manuals up to the fifties, coded as "C-hgr Nr 77" (Dutch: Chemische handgranaat nummer 77) indicating its use up to that decade in Western Europe.
Users
Users
Canada Denmark Netherlands United Kingdom
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
United Kingdom.
Country
No 77 grenade is associated with United Kingdom.
Country
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.British Hand Grenade No.77, WWI - Inert-Ord.Net.
- 2.Granater [78].
- 3.Chef van de Generalen Staf. Lichte Vuurwapenen, Ontwerp-Voorschrift, No. 1505, Handgranaten. 18–21. 11 August 1945.
- 4.Small Arms Training, Volume I, Pamphlet No. 13 Grenade. 35–37. 1942.
- 5.NAVORD OP 1665 British Explosive Ordnance 1946 (Changed 1 June 1970). 387. 1970.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Nkm wz.38 FKTerminology
- No 1 GrenadeTerminology
- No 2 grenadeTerminology
- No 69 grenadeTerminology
- No. 68 AT grenadeTerminology
- No. 73 GrenadeTerminology
- Nock gunTerminology
- nodachiTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with No 77 grenade?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.