British No. 82 Gammon Grenade - Use By US Airborne Units

[Richard Stone]

The attached 11 April 1945 short report, co-written by Major General Matthew Ridgeway, discusses the successful use of the British No. 82 Gammon Grenade by the US Airborne units during the European campaign.

Two items of note in the report are the occasional malfunction of the Gammon Bomb’s No. 247 'Always Fuze' and the successful use of the Gammon bomb against German armor, including the Mk IV.

The fuze malfunction problems indicate possible manufacturing problems at the British shops that manufactured the No. 247 fuze along with possible handling errors by some of the US troops. The No. 247 'Always Fuze’ is an impact-type fuze.

The 82nd Airborne reported using the Gammon Bomb successfully against the Mk V Panther during the Ardennes offensive on at least one occasion.

This report is from the US Army Combat Notes report series for the European Campaign. Where necessary, the text obscured by the ‘Unclassified’ stamp can be read by enlarging the attachment.

I’ve includes a sectional view of the Gammon Grenade from the Grenades & Mines website for reference.