US WW2 M15 Smoke WP grenade reproduction.

HISTORY :

The M15 (sometimes nicknamed "Willy Pete" for White Phosphorous) was a white phosphorous smoke grenade that was used by the United States during WW2.

Each M15 contained 425 grams of white phosphorous with the burn time of about 60 seconds at the very high temperature of over 2,600 degrees Celsius. The typical soldier could throw the grenade at the range of about 30 meters, and the grenade's damage radius was about 9 meters. The delay time for the typical M6 or M206 fuses was about 4.5 seconds.

M15 were intended to be screening weapons, hiding infantry movements with the dense smoke generated by the white phosphorous content, but they were also often used as an extremely effective weapon against enemy infantrymen. In this anti-infantry role, they were notably used in great numbers against Japanese bunkers and caves in the Pacific theater of war, either to burn or to drive out the defenders.

About 5,800,000 M15 grenades were produced by Dec 1945.

BODY & FUZE :

The body and fuze of our WP repros are 3D printed with solid PETG plastic.

Fuse is also made of solid PETG, and can NOT be unscrewed from the body for durability purpose. Also, we consider it is not necessary to unscrew fuse from body for reenactment purposes. Solidity first!

BODY & FUSE COLOR :

The body is made of dark grey solid PETG. The body is then painted light grey, with a yellow band.

When using your grenade, the paint will slowly wear off and scratch over time, revealing the grey/steel aspect underneath (just like the real deal, which is a plus regarding authenticity).

We propose 2 aspects : "factory new" or "battle-scarred".

MARKINGS :

Yellow markings indicate the grenade type, lot number, and manufacturing dates.

They are roll stamped using a rubber stamp (the same way they were during WWII), which sometimes causes some numbers and letters to be missed or smudged. This is an acceptable "error", because original manufactures had the exact same problem.

SPOON :

Correct spoons are maybe the most complicated part of the grenade to find or make (for a fair price). We have invested in some heavy machinery, and are able to make them with correct WW2 specs :

• long angled handle with mechanically stamped ‘Y’ stiffener on the back
• cups over the top of the fuse head
• metal grey, or painted OD green

Spoon can be removed.

RING & PIN :

Surprisingly, reproduction rings with correct WW2 specs are very hard to find. So here again, we make our own rings. And they look just perfect, with correct diameter and cut.

The ring can be pulled.

WEIGHT :

Our repro WP weights around 110g.

You might maybe think that our grenades are "expensive" compared to other reproductions available on the market. Keep in mind that these other reproductions are often Made in China, and do not meet WW2 standards, unlike ours.

Also, the price you see is not our margin, but our turnover. We then have to deduct :

• 3D printing material
• Professional 3D printer depreciation, accessories and energy
• The price of steel parts
• Paints and other consumables
• Tools and their depreciation (brushes, pliers, drills, etc.)
• Personal protective equipments (masks, gloves, etc.)
• Packagings
• Website and payment systems expenses and fees
• Workshop rent and variable costs (electricity, etc.)
• Legal taxes and social security contributions (20% of the order's final price)
• Insurances
• Other incidental expenses regarding production or shipping

ATTENTION :

⚠️ To ensure durability of the product, do not pull the pin and remove the spoon hundred of times. This reproduction is made to be used as a simple display element on your gear or in your collection, not as a functional or training device that you can "arm" and/or throw.

⚠️ Please be aware that the spoon, safety pin and ring are not made to be used on real grenades, and do not meet any real weapon safety criteria. These are reproductions for dummy props.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE :

https://ww2gear.shop/pages/terms