Grenade
Description
Dark brown fuse grenade with small hole in base. Other end gets wider with hollowed out ‘cup’ with hole in middle. XXI inscription around one side of wider end.
‘Grenades’ – from the Spanish Grenada, meaning ‘pomegranate’ – consisted of iron shells of one or two inches diameter filled with black powder. Grenades were stored on ships such as the Invincible in crates of 12 per box. The British Navy used the grenade on the top deck or from the rigging above the ship where it was thrown down, from the rigging, upon the enemy vessel. The grenades on Invincible were larger and heavier than comparable grenades from the time period.
See full details