Friend dropped in.....

[CINDERS]

Had a good friend contact me asking me if I'd like this apparently it was an old chaps range box for full bore shooting.
I said no worries most definitely yes, I have not seen to many grenade carrying tins it is made of very heavy gauge galvanised tin it's missing a divider but I'm not that fussed on that point its unique to me!
So it could house 4 - M36's or the like has SK72 on the lid any clues on this could it be an Australian manufacturer, I'd just rubbed in some Dubbin on the leather strap to keep it supple has brass rivets attaching it to the tin.

[browningautorifle]

So it could house 4 - M36's or the like

Maybe vehicle smoke grenades? From an armored vehicle? Are there any old bolt down points on it?

[Sapper740]

The standard WWII crate for Number 36 grenades held twelve with a tin box affixed to the bottom of the lid to hold the base plugs to be installed after the igniters....same for the Number 75 Anti-Tank grenade. The only grenade I'm aware of with a 4 grenade container was the Number 74 "Sticky Type".

[CINDERS]

No Jim no hold down bolt holes anywhere.

[browningautorifle]

Maybe a couple more pics from angles? I still think it's for vehicles...

[CINDERS]

As requested Jim.

Marking on the side reads SK72A

[Sapper740]

The '72' in SK72A wouldn't refer to the grenade number since the Number 72 grenade was a last ditch emergency glass anti-tank design that was abandoned before it even got to trials. The Brits were fully expecting the Germans to complete Operation Sealion in 1940 and were thinking up all sorts of emergency defensive weapons and projectiles such as the Northover Projector and glass grenades filled with self-igniting phosphorous.

[browningautorifle]

I'm not so sure this was actually a military item at all. The old shooter could have adopted a useful box from anywhere, used a couple split rivets to hold the strap on and away to the range... It's a cabinet door hinge holding the lid on, the kind that goes inside.

[CINDERS]

Only thing I think is possibly plausible that it was perhaps a field modded item then stencilled on top what it's contents were I'll drop an M36 in there tomorrow as well as a M26A2 to see how they line up in the compartment spots as the north south divider is missing.

[Peter Laidler]

Could it be one of the old radio valve cases - as used for the 10 round Thompson gun magazine bozes. Easy to remove the yellowish hosehair matting and modify it for whatever you need......... like 10x 30 round Thompson magazines. Just a thought