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| 2006/5/22-28 [Reference/History/WW2, Reference/History/WW2/Germany] UID:43144 Activity:nil |
5/22 http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060522/od_nm/britain_potatoes_dc Potatoes may contain pieces of German ordnances from WW1 and WW2. \_ obPotatoMasher: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_24_grenade |
| news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060522/od_nm/britain_potatoes_dc Reuters Here's your grenade -- you want fries with that? Mon May 22, 10:10 AM ET YORK (Reuters) - Workers at a British factory making French fries were evacuated two days running last week after bomb parts turned up in potatoes imported from France and Belgium, the site of battles in World War One and Two. The Scarborough plant, owned by Canada's McCain Foods, the world's largest producer of frozen fries, was emptied Friday after a worker spotted a shell tip among the potatoes as they were being cleaned for slicing. "The police were called and the bomb squad advised a 100 meter exclusion zone should be set up," said a McCain spokesman. Saturday, an entire hand grenade was discovered in the potatoes and the plant in northern England was evacuated again. "The army took the device away and blew it up in a controlled explosion in a field nearby," a spokeswoman for the North Yorkshire police said. The Scarborough plant was opened in 1969 and uses 1,400 tons of potatoes every week. McCain's Whittlesey plant near Peterborough in eastern England has also been evacuated several times this year after World War Two ordnance was found in batches of potatoes. "Occasionally during the use of imported potatoes from Belgium and northern France, ordnance debris from the First and Second World War is found," McCain said in a statement. Workers at a factory making chips were evacuated two days running last week after bomb parts turned up in potatoes imported from France and Belgium, the site of battles in World War One and Two. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. |
| en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_24_grenade edit Design and Operation The stick grenade was introduced in 1915 and the design developed throughout World War I A friction igniter was used - this method was uncommon in other countries but widely used for German grenades. porcelain ball held in place by a detachable base closing cap. To use the grenade, the base cap was unscrewed, permitting the ball and cord to fall out. Pulling the cord dragged a roughened steel rod through the igniter causing it to flare-up and start the five-second fuse burning. This allowed the grenade to be hung from fence-wire to prevent it from being climbed over; any disturbance to the dangling grenade would start the fuse. The first stick grenades featured a permanently-revealed pull cord which came out from the handle near the bottom (rather than tucked inside the removable screw-capped base). These exposed pull cords had a tendency to accidentally snag and detonate the grenades while being carried, causing severe (usually fatal) injuries. Splitterring) was adopted in 1942 which could be slid over the head of the grenade. Fragments of the sleeve would be scattered on detonation, making the grenade more effective against personnel. The stick allowed the thrower to achieve a longer throwing range (depending of course on individual ability) than other grenades. The design also minimized the risk of the grenade rolling downhill back towards the thrower when used in hilly terrain or in urban areas. fortifications, the grenade could be used in an improvised "bundle" style with a number of explosive heads (without their sticks) wired around a central stick grenade. These were known as Geballte Ladung (literally "balled charge" or "concentrated charge"). edit Variants The grenade went through numerous variants, several versions being deployed in World War I before a settled design emerged in 1917. Into World War II the grenade had a slightly smaller head and the unnecessary belt clip was removed. smokescreen version, which existed in an early and later model and is easily identified by a white band around the handle and (on the later model) a grooved handgrip to permit a user to differentiate it from the regular explosive version in the dark by touch alone. As a cold climate could cause the Model 24 to fail to detonate, a special explosive powder was used in those destined for Russia, and these were marked with 'K' (Kalt or "cold") on the can. Inert (non-exploding) training versions were also produced. edit Collecting German stick grenades were desirable souvenirs for Allied soldiers in World War II, and originals are still much sought after by collectors. There is also a market in replicas, with examples of these being of varied quality and accuracy (many have a fundamentally incorrect profile and are notably lacking in details). As with all collectible militaria items (particularly German World War II pieces), the collector should make certain before buying that an example is original and not a reproduction sold under false pretences. |