World War II Database

Country of Origin	United Kingdom
Type	Grenade
Length	152.400 mm
Weight	0.538 kg

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseInitially known as A. W. (Albright & Wilson) bombs, officially named No. 76 Special Incendiary Grenades, and commonly nicknamed SIP (Self Igniting Phosphorus) grenades, these weapons contained phosphorus that ignited when exposed to air, burning the flammable benzene also present in the grenades. They were essentially Molotov cocktail bombs mass produced with standard specifications. They could be used as hand grenades or as ammunition for "Northover Projectors" (officially Projector, 2.5-Inch). These weapons were issued mainly to the men of the British Home Guard, with caution never to store them inside their homes, for use against German tanks should they ever reach Britain. There were much skepticism about their effectiveness against German medium and heavy tanks. When production ceased in Aug 1941, over 6,000,000 grenades were made.

Source: Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Mar 2015

No. 76 Grenade Interactive Map

Photographs

No. 76 Timeline

29 Jul 1940

The weapons firm Albright & Wilson of Oldbury, England, United Kingdom demonstrated to the British Royal Air Force a self-igniting explosive containing petrol and phosphorus.

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