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.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
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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
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Places
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United Kingdom.
Country
No 77 grenade is associated with United Kingdom.
Country
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article No 77 grenade, revision 1325963981 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
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.
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