Short Grenade Launching thingy?

[Brit plumber]

Heres a Stubby Grenade Launcing SMLE

http://www.dandbmilitaria.com/smle-m...981-4900-p.asp

Way to expensive, but has anyone an idea of its intended use? I looks like it could be a Armoured Vehicle Smoke discharger or similar with that collar thing.

Information

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[BushyFromOz]

Its there on the screen matey

Rare SMLE Mills Grenade Discharger, dated 1918, in excellent condition. These were designed to fire a converted Mills Grenade with a `Cup’ attached to its base. The stock was placed on the ground and the weapon was fired very much like a mortar.

It looks kinda agricultural in design though!

[Peter Laidler]

If anyone seriously thinks that it would survive even one grenade firing by placing the butt on the ground, they must be living in the land of the fairies. And they were asleep during their school physics lesson too.

No doubt it fired grenades but not as they suggest. Those things poking out of the sides look like trunnion axis to me.

[Brit plumber]

Agreed Peter, why convert a SMLE to fire a grenade in that way, when the SMLE EY rifle did the same job with the same cup. I'm thinking smoke grenade discharger for a vehicle or its a made up item like a starwars blaster type affair.

[Badger]

Saved original ad here for posterity and future research ...

SMLE Mills Grenade Discharger** SN. 981

Selling Price £1,250.00

Seller says:

Rare SMLE Mills Grenade Discharger, dated 1918, in excellent condition. These were designed to fire a converted Mills Grenade with a `Cup’ attached to its base. The stock was placed on the ground and the weapon was fired very much like a mortar. All deactivated weapons sold by D and B Militaria are deactivated in the United Kingdom, and hold a London or Birmingham proof mark and certificate stating that the weapon has been deactivated correctly and is legal within the U.K.

Attachment 18714 - Attachment 18715 - Attachment 18716 - Attachment 18717 - Attachment 18718

Maybe it could shoot tennis balls....

Regards,
Doug

[Son]

Here's a pic of a pair of smoke dischargers fitted to a Matilda tank in Singleton during WW2. They were loaded with smoke canisters and cocked, then fired remotely by pull wire from inside.

Attachment 18720Attachment 18721

In comparison, I could see the one presented here being used for the same thing, only being fired by hand sitting in a trunnion (as Peter suggested) mount on a hatch cover perhaps...

[BushyFromOz]

Thats truly interesting...

[Warren]

Take a close look at Star Wars......I suspect these are the ones made up by our favourite theatrical house...

[peregrinvs]

Way to expensive

Indeed. I wouldn't have said a South African 7.62mm converted Bren was 'priced to sell' at £49,500...

http://www.dandbmilitaria.com/ww2-46-c.asp

[Peter Laidler]

Those SA converted Brens, converted to the old original and useless L4A1 spec were a pig in a poke. Without the magazine lip supports, they were BOUND to (and inevitably did.....) fail.

He's clearly made a mistake with the decimal point and means £49:50p or more likely, £4:95p

But having been brought up on the .303"s and L4A2's, I am slightly biased

Has anone out there in forumland got an internal picture of the shredded unsupported magazine lips