No.82 Grenade (Gammon Bomb)

The "Gammon Bomb" or "Gammon Grenade" was officially the Grenade, Hand, No. 82, a British-made hand grenade with an impact fuse, capable of delivering a useful amount of Composition C High Explosive at a short distance. Deadly against vehicles, the Composition C also made a handy fuel for heating coffee - it is reported that the Ordnance Sections had to continually top up Gammons because of unauthorised usage of the explosive!

All three grenades in the above picture came from Normandy - the one of the left from the British Airborne drop zone area, and the other two from the La Fiere drop zone area. The remains of the black stocking pouch are still attached to the metal upper of the middle Gammon. When found it still had a lump of Composition C stuck to it - this was very carefully removed and disposed of!

Fitting the fuses into Gammon Grenades prior to the Normandy drop. Each crate contains 40 Gammons, according to the stencil on the side. The man second left appears to be holding a chunk of Composition C.

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