| Hawkins grenade | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Anti-tank hand grenade/mine |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1942 - 1945 |
| Used by | United Kingdom, United States, Canada |
| Wars | World War II |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 1020 g |
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| Filling | Nobel 704 (Ammonal) |
| Filling weight | 750 g |
| Detonation mechanism |
Crush igniter |
The Number 75 Hawkins Grenade was a British anti-tank hand grenade used during World War II.
Contents |
Overview
The Hawkins grenade was used partly as a grenade but often more effectively as a mine as the latter was effective in damaging tanks and other vehicles.
Design
The grenade was a flattened rectangular container filled with high explosive. One side, the upper in use, carried pockets for two contact fuses. These were glass ampoules filled with acid. When broken by the weight of a vehicle driving over them, the acid leaked onto the detonator setting off the main charge.
Use
The Hawkins could be thrown at a vehicle but it was more popular when used as a mine placed in the path of a tank because its shape and weight made accurate throwing difficult. Although unable to penetrate the armoured hull of a tank it was enough to sever a tank’s track or damage the suspension, disabling it and making it unable to be effective. Hawkins mines were also very useful in attacks on infantry and could do punishing tolls on large groups of soldiers crowded together. Hawkins mines as they were also called were widely issued to Airborne forces, including U.S. troops. In the Rayleigh bath-chair murder of 1943 the use of a Hawkins grenade in the killing of Archibald Brown by his son, Eric, was notable because he was directly linked to the murder weapon by his military training.
In popular culture
- The Hawkins Mine is used by the American soldiers in the defence of the town of Ramelle in the final battle of the 1998 Academy Award winning movie Saving Private Ryan.[1]
- The Hawkins Mine is mentioned by the American soldiers when preparing for D-Day in the first episode of Band of Brothers.
References
- Ian V. Hogg - The Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II - Arms & Armour Press - 1977 - ISBN 0-85368-281-X
External links
- The Home Guard Pocket Manual, by Capt. A. Southworth, M.B.E., p49-50: description, use and diagram.
- Bath-chair murder
See also
| British Grenades of World War I & World War II |
|---|
| Anti-personnel |
| Grenade, No 1 Hales | No.s 5, 23, 36 Mills | No. 69 | No.s 8, 9 Double Cylinder Jam Tin |
| Anti-tank |
| No. 68 AT (Rifle) | No. 73 Thermos | No. 74 Sticky bomb | No. 75 AT Hawkins | |
| Special Types |
| No. 82 Gammon | No. 76 (WP) | No. 77 (WP) | "Lewes bomb" |
