Color: Body, black with white label pasted around it. The top of the grenade is painted red; fuze cover, red; fuze, brass.

Total weight: 0.8 pound.

Filling: Cast picric acid.

Delay 4-5 seconds.

Description: The cast steel body has smooth surfaces. There is a shoulder projection 1/16 inch from each end of the body. The inside of the body is finished with lacquer to keep the filler from reacting with the steel case. The filler is also wrapped in heavy pa-per.

A light metal flash deflector is fitted in the top of the grenade. This deflector is 3/8 inch wide and 7/8 inch in diameter. Two 1/8-inch holes are punched in the outer periphery and match the spanner holes in the fuze body. This position the gas vents in the fuze 90° from the holes in the flash deflector. The flash deflector reduces the possibility of the flash from the cap bruning the hand of the thrower and the possibility of the flash being seen by the enemy at night.

The fuze is similar to that used in the type 91 and 97 grenades with a few improvements. On the old type the striker may turn or spring clear of the grenade when the safety wire is pulled. In this fuze, a screw in the fuze body projects through a slot in the striker co-ver and keeps the cover in place. The slot allows the cover to move down when the stri-ker is struck on a hard object. Also the striker and inertia weight are machined together and the striker protrudes so that is does not have to be threaded down to arm the gre-nade. In other respects, the fuzes are identical.

Operation: The safetypin is withdrawn and the head of the fuze is struck on some hard object. This forces the striker down into the primer igniting the delay.

Remarks: A type 99 grenade has been encountered with a machined, waterproof, metal fuze cover. The only difference between this variation and the standard grenade is the fact that the flash guard is externally threaded to receive the waterproof fuze cover.

Figure 171 – Type 99 Hand Grenade.