{{Infobox weapon |name= Hawkins grenade |image= 300px |caption= Diagram of a Hawkins grenade, ''British Explosive Ordnance'', NAVORD OP 1665, Naval Ordnance Systems Command (1946), p.384 |origin=United Kingdom |type= Anti-tank hand grenade/anti-tank mine <!-- Type selection --> |is_ranged= |is_explosive=yes |is_UK=yes <!-- Service history --> |service= 1942 - 1955<ref name=Rottmanantitank>Rottman, ''World War II Infantry Anti-Tank Tactics'', p. 43</ref> |used_by=United Kingdom, United States, Canada |wars= World War II <!-- Production history --> |designer= |design_date= |manufacturer= |unit_cost= |production_date=1942-? |number= |variants= United States M7 anti-tank mine<ref name=RottmanInfantry/> <!-- General specifications --> |weight={{convert|1.02|kg|lb}} |length={{convert|150|mm|in}} |part_length= |width={{convert|75|mm|in}} |height= |diameter= |crew= <!-- Explosive specifications --> |filling=Ammonal/TNT |filling_weight={{convert|0.45|kg|lb}} |detonation=Crush igniter |yield= }}
[[File:The_British_Army_in_Italy_1943_NA10071.jpg|right|thumb|Battle patrol of the 1st East Surreys rest after returning from enemy territory in Italy, 16 December 1943. The soldier in the centre is holding a Hawkins grenade]]
The '''Grenade, Hand, Anti-Tank, No. 75''', also known as the "'''Hawkins grenade'''" was a British anti-tank hand grenade used during World War II. It was one of a number of grenades developed for use by the British Army and Home Guard in the aftermath of the Dunkirk evacuation. The grenade first appeared in 1942, and was designed to be more versatile than previous grenades, such as the No. 73 grenade and the sticky bomb.
It was rectangular, about {{convert|150|mm|in}} in length and {{convert|75|mm|in}} in width, containing approximately {{convert|0.45|kg|lb}} of explosive. When a vehicle drove over the grenade, it cracked a chemical igniter and leaked acid onto a sensitive chemical, which detonated the explosive. Multiple grenades were often used to destroy tanks or disable their tracks, and the grenade could also be used as a demolition charge. It was used by the British Army and the United States Army, with the former using it until 1955 and the latter also creating their own variant, the M7 anti-tank mine.
==Development== With the end of the Battle of France and the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the port of Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June 1940, a German invasion of Great Britain seemed likely.<ref>Mackenzie, p. 20</ref> However, the British Army was not well-equipped to defend the country in such an event; in the weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation it could only field twenty-seven divisions.<ref name="Lampe3">Lampe, p. 3</ref> The army was particularly short of anti-tank guns, 840 of which had been left behind in France and only 167 were available in Britain; ammunition was so scarce for the remaining guns that regulations forbade even a single round being used for training purposes.<ref name="Lampe3" />
As a result of these shortcomings, a number of new anti-tank weapons had to be developed to equip the British Army and the Home Guard with the means to repel German armoured vehicles.<ref>Hogg, pp. 237-239</ref> Many of these were anti-tank hand grenades, large numbers of which could be built in a very short space of time and for a low cost.<ref name="Mackenzie92">Mackenzie, p. 92</ref> They included the No. 73 Grenade, which was little more than a Thermos-sized bottle filled with TNT, and the grenade, hand, anti-tank No. 74, also known as the "sticky bomb", which was coated with a strong adhesive and stuck to a vehicle.<ref>Hogg, pp. 239-240</ref> A more versatile grenade appeared in 1942 in the form of the grenade, hand, anti-tank, No. 75, more commonly known as the "Hawkins grenade", which was designed so that it could be used in a number of roles.<ref name=Bishop214>Bishop, p. 214</ref>
==Design== The grenade was rectangular in shape and approximately {{convert|150|mm|in}} in length and {{convert|75|mm|in}} in width,<ref name=Hogg240>Hogg, p. 240</ref> and weighed about {{convert|1.02|kg|lb}}.<ref name=Bishop214/> Its explosive content consisted of around {{convert|0.45|kg|lb}} of blasting explosive,<ref name=Hogg240>Hogg, p. 240</ref> which was usually either ammonal or TNT.<ref name=RottmanInfantry/> On the top of the grenade was a plate, under which the user would insert a chemical igniter, which would act as the weapon's fuse.<ref name=Bishop214/><ref name=Hogg240/> When a vehicle drove over the grenade, its weight crushed the plate, which in turn cracked the igniter; this then leaked acid onto a sensitive chemical which detonated the charge.<ref name=Hogg240/> The grenade was designed so that it could either be thrown at a vehicle like an ordinary anti-tank grenade, or placed at a location when used as an anti-tank mine.<ref name=Bishop214/> It was also fitted with areas where blasting caps or cordtex could be placed, so that it could be used as a demolition charge.<ref name=RottmanInfantry>Rottman, ''World War II Infantry Assault Tactics'', p. 25</ref> When the grenade was used, it was recommended that the user be within a short distance of their target, ideally concealed within a trench; if the target were an armoured vehicle, then the best areas to target were the sides and rear, where the engine compartment was located and armour was generally thinner.<ref>Hogg, p. 241</ref>
==Operational history== [[File:Eisenhower d-day.jpg|thumb| 1st Lieutenant Wallace Strobel, speaking with SHAEF commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower, has a Hawkins grenade strapped to his leg]] Introduced in 1942, the grenade saw service with the British Army until 1955. The United States Army also used the grenade, as well as developing their own variant, the M7 light anti-tank mine.<ref name=RottmanInfantry/> When used in an anti-tank role, a number of the grenades could be strung together in a "daisy chain" at intervals of around two feet before being placed across a road.<ref>Rottman, ''World War II Infantry Anti-Tank Tactics'', pp. 61-62</ref> It was particularly effective at damaging the tracks of tanks.<ref>Bull, 2005 p. 32</ref> When sufficient grenades were grouped together, they were capable of disabling a medium tank.<ref>Lowry, p. 16</ref> The Hawkins was also used in other roles, such as breaching walls,<ref name=Rottmanantitank/> and its small size enabled its placement into the "web" of a railway line to destroy a section of track.<ref name=Hogg240/> The weapon received the nickname "Johnson's Wax tin" due to its appearance to a commercially produced floor treatment product. In the Battle of Ortona Canadian troops used them as demolition charges to "mousehole" between buildings.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bull |first= Stephen |title=World War II Street-Fighting Tactics |series=Elite No. 168 |publisher= Osprey Publishing |location= Botley, Oxford, UK |date= 2008 |edition=pbk |isbn=978-1-84603-291-2 |page=29}}</ref>
==Users== Users of the grenade included: *{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}<ref name=RottmanInfantry/> *{{flagcountry|Canada}}<ref name=RottmanInfantry/> *{{flagcountry|United States}}<ref name=RottmanInfantry/>
==See also== *British anti-invasion preparations of World War II
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{Cite report |date=10 June 1946 |title=British Explosive Ordnance |url=http://www.lexpev.nl/downloads/britishexplosiveordnance1946.pdf |publisher=Department of the Navy, Ordnance Systems Command |series=Ordnance Pamphlet |id=NAVORD OP 1665 |oclc=51810278 |access-date=6 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185457/http://www.lexpev.nl/downloads/britishexplosiveordnance1946.pdf |archivedate=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }} *{{cite book | last = Bishop | first = Chris | title = The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,500 Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships and Submarines | publisher = Sterling Publishing Company, Inc | year = 2002 | isbn = 1-58663-762-2}} *{{cite book | last=Bull | first=Stephen |others=illustrated by Peter Dennis | title=World War II Infantry Tactics: Company and Battalion | publisher=Osprey Publishing | year=2005 |series= Elite No. 122 | isbn=1-84176-663-1}} *{{cite book | last=Bull | first=Stephen |others=illustrated by Mike Chappell and Brian Delf | title=World War II Infantry Tactics: Squad and Platoon | publisher=Osprey Publishing | year=2004 |series= Elite No. 51 | isbn=1-84176-662-3}} *{{cite book | last = Hogg | first = Ian | title = Tank Killers: Anti-Tank Warfare by Men and Machines | publisher = Pan Macmillan | year = 1995 | isbn = 0-330-35316-0}} *{{cite book | last = Lampe | first = David | title = The Last Ditch: Britain's Secret Resistance and the Nazi Invasion Plan | publisher = Greenhill Books | year = 1968 | isbn = 978-1-85367-730-4}} *{{cite book | last = Lowry | first = Bernard |others = illustrated by Chris Taylor and Vincent Boulanger | title = British Home Defences 1940-45 | publisher = Osprey Publishing |series=Fortress No. 20 | year = 2004 | isbn = 1-84176-767-0}} *{{cite book | last = Mackenzie | first = S.P. | title = The Home Guard: A Military and Political History | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1995 | isbn = 0-19-820577-5}} *{{cite book | last=Rottman | first=Gordon L. |others=illustrated by Steven Noon | title=World War II Infantry Anti-Tank Tactics | publisher=Osprey Publishing | year=2005 |series=Elite No. 124 | isbn=1-84176-842-1}} *{{cite book | last=Rottman | first=Gordon L. |others=illustrated by Peter Dennis | title=World War II Infantry Assault Tactics | publisher=Osprey Publishing | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-84603-191-5}} {{refend}}
==External links== * [https://jonlinney.co.uk/hg_manual/01.htm ''The Home Guard Pocket Manual'', by Capt. A. Southworth, M.B.E.], pp. 49–50: description, use and diagram.{{ISBN?}}
{{WW1and2 British Grenades}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
Category:World War II grenades of the United Kingdom Category:World War II infantry weapons of the United Kingdom Category:Anti-tank grenades Category:Anti-tank mines of the United Kingdom Category:Hand grenades of the United Kingdom Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942