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Mills Bomb
Mills Bomb is the nickname for a series of British grenades developed during WWI by William Mills. There are several models of the Mills Bomb, each with an official British number designation:
- No. 5: The first version of the Mills Bomb introduced in 1915, which can only be used as a hand grenade. Features only one variant, No. 5 Mk. I.
- No. 23: Modified so it can be used as a rifle grenade in addition to being a hand grenade. Features a modified base plug drilled with a threaded hole that accepts a short rod, which can then be fired with a cradle-styled launcher mounted on a standard-issue Lee-Enfield. Features three variants: No. 23 Mk. I through III. Mk. II featured an improved iron base plug, while Mk. III featured a modified grenade top design that is kept in the No. 36.
- No. 36: Introduced in 1917, the No. 36 was designed to be used with the No.1 Mk.I Cup Discharger when used as a rifle grenade. The base plug was modified again so a gas check can be screwed on to the base plug when the grenade was used with the discharger. The No. 36 featured a No. 36M variant which was coated in shellac for waterproofing, initially designed for the 1917 Mesopotamian campaign. By 1918, the No. 5 and No. 23 Mills Bomb models were declared obsolete, and the No. 36 became the standard British fragmentation grenade, which was later replaced with the No. 36M in 1930s. The No. 36 (and No. 36M) held the position as the standard British frag grenade for over 55 years until 1972.
The specific model and mark of a Mills Bomb are marked on the base plug, but as all base plugs are interchangeable, identification may become muddy.
Specifications
- In service: 1915-1970
- Diameter: 61mm (2.4 in)
- Weight: 765g
- Length: 95.2mm (3.75 in)
- Detonation mechanism: 7 seconds, later reduced to 4
- Blast radius: 30 - 100 meters (98 - 328 ft)
The Mills Bomb and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearts of the World | British soldiers | No. 23 rifle grenade | 1918 | |
| The Heart of Humanity | William Stowell | John Patricia | 1918 | |
| American, British, and Canadian soldiers | ||||
| Journey's End | British soldiers | 1930 | ||
| All Quiet on the Western Front | Louis Wolheim | Stanislaus Katczinsky | 1930 | |
| German soldiers | ||||
| Shock Troop | British soldiers | 1934 | ||
| German soldiers | ||||
| Lenin in October (Lenin v oktyabre) | Red Guards | 1937 | ||
| Soviet Border (Na granitse) | Erast Garin | Volkov | 1938 | |
| Forty Thousand Horsemen | ANZAC soldiers | 1940 | ||
| Went the Day Well? | British Army/Home Guard Soldiers | 1942 | ||
| German Paratroopers | ||||
| A Hill in Korea | George Baker | Lieutenant Butler | 1956 | |
| Dunkirk | British soldiers | 1958 | ||
| Dr. Mabuse vs. Scotland Yard | Jürgen Draeger | James | 1963 | |
| The Great Spy Chase (Les Barbouzes) | Bernard Blier | Eusebio Cafarelli | 1964 | |
| Charles Millot | Hans Müller | |||
| The Ipcress File | 1965 | |||
| Viva Maria! | Carlos López Moctezuma | Ródriguez | Resembles to this type | 1965 |
| Check Passed: No Mines (Provereno nema mina) | Boro Begovic | Stevan | 1965 | |
| Oleg Anofriev | Alyosha | |||
| Eskendir Umurzakov | Shaken | |||
| Leonid Tarabarinov | Demid | |||
| Branko Pleša | Lt. Rade | |||
| Judith | Haganah troops | 1966 | ||
| Dark of the Sun | Rod Taylor | Capt. Bruce Curry | 1968 | |
| Play Dirty | Nigel Davenport | Captain Cyril Leech | 1969 | |
| When Eight Bells Toll | Anthony Hopkins | Philip Calvert | 1971 | |
| The Man from Acapulco (Le Magnifique) | Jean-Paul Belmondo | Bob Saint-Clair | 1973 | |
| The spies on the airport | ||||
| Aces High | 1976 | |||
| From Hell to Victory | George Hamilton | Maurice Bernard | 1979 | |
| Escape to Athena | Richard Roundtree | Nat Judson | 1979 | |
| Cuba | A female guerilla | 1979 | ||
| Bulldogs and Cherries | Ludek Sobota | Helmut | 1981 | |
| Miroslav Streda | Fofo | |||
| Fracchia the Human Beast (Fracchia la belva umana) | Paolo Villaggio | Giandomenico Fracchia | 1981 | |
| Roberto Della Casa | Tino | |||
| Nonstop Trouble with the Family | Dieter Hallervorden | Kongo-Otto | 1985 | |
| Biggles: Adventures in Time | Daniel Flynn | Ginger | 186 | |
| Neil Dickson | James ‘Biggels’ Bigglesworth | |||
| Never Say Die | In Blake's boat | 1994 | ||
| The Trench | British soldiers | 1999 | ||
| Deathwatch | Jamie Bell | Pte. Charlie Shakespeare | incorrectly identified as a 'Pineapple' | 2002 |
| Kokoda | Luke Ford | Burke | 2006 | |
| Jack Finsterer | Jack Scholt | |||
| Flame and Citron | Mads Mikkelsen | Jørgen 'Citron' Haagen Schmith | 2008 | |
| Passchendaele | Paul Gross | Sgt. Michael Dunne | 2008 | |
| Kokoda | Pte. Laurie 'Smoky' Howson | 2010 | ||
| War Horse | Jeremy Irvine | Albert Narracott | 2011 | |
| British soldiers | ||||
| Allied | Brad Pitt | Max Vatan | 2016 | |
| Wonder Woman | Eugene Brave Rock | Chief Napi | 2017 | |
| 1917 | Dean-Charles Chapman | Tom Blake | 2019 | |
| George MacKay | Will Schofield | |||
| British soldiers |
Television
| Show Title / Episode | Actor | Character | Note | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Professionals | "Old Dog with New Tricks" | 1977-1983 | ||
| Anzacs | Jon Blake | Captain Flanagan | 1985 | |
| Andrew Clarke | Captain Martin "Marty" Barrington | |||
| Journey's End | British soldiers | 1988 | ||
| Campion | Nicolas Chagrin | 'Squire' Mercer | "Dancers in Mourning: Part 2" (S02E04) | 1990 |
| The Somme – From Defeat to Victory | British soldiers | 2006 | ||
| The Promise | British paratroopers | 2011 | ||
| The Promise | British paratroopers | in arms cache | 2011 | |
| Birdsong | Eddie Redmayne | Stephen Wraysford | 2012 | |
| Parer's War | New Guinea soldier | 2014 | ||
| Foyle's War - Season 9 | Ellie Haddington | Hilda Pierce | "Elise" (S9E3) | 2015 |
| Endeavour - Season 4 | Simon Meacock | Nigel Warren | "Harvest" (S04E04) | 2017 |
Video Games
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro | Fujiko Mine | 1979 | |
| Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century | Scorpio | 1999 | |
| Magikano | Rika Anju | "Did a Maid Really Come?" (Ep.07) | 2006 |