This is a battlefield bring-back by a relative who picked it up on Okinawa during WW2.
It's a Type 89 Japanese Army HE mortar round for the Type 89 Nambu "Knee Mortar" seen in The Pacific and recounted by nearly every Marine who fought the Japanese in WW2. The mortar was valued because it could be braced against a wall or tree and used in direct fire mode, or braced vertically at an angle on the ground for nearly point blank high angle fire through the jungle canopy. Max range was about 650 meters. The red band around the top indicates Army issue (dark green was Naval Landing Forces) and the yellow band indicates HE. Notice the copper rifling band on the bottom. The Type 88 fuse is dated April 1943, Mfg at the Tokyo Arsenal, and was a contact type fuse. The body is dated May 1943 and appears to be from the Kokura Arsenal according to the symbols. The grenades were carried in a pouch that held 4... and almost every guy in a squad was used to mule the ammo so there was plenty to be had. The Nambu mortar itself was ingeniously simple, cheap to make and very effective. The Type 89 HE round packed a heck of a punch... it was also possible to fire the Type 91 fragmentation hand grenade with an add-on propellant charge attached to the bottom of the grenade.
And yes... the explosive compound was removed and impact fuse rendered safe.
It's a Type 89 Japanese Army HE mortar round for the Type 89 Nambu "Knee Mortar" seen in The Pacific and recounted by nearly every Marine who fought the Japanese in WW2. The mortar was valued because it could be braced against a wall or tree and used in direct fire mode, or braced vertically at an angle on the ground for nearly point blank high angle fire through the jungle canopy. Max range was about 650 meters. The red band around the top indicates Army issue (dark green was Naval Landing Forces) and the yellow band indicates HE. Notice the copper rifling band on the bottom. The Type 88 fuse is dated April 1943, Mfg at the Tokyo Arsenal, and was a contact type fuse. The body is dated May 1943 and appears to be from the Kokura Arsenal according to the symbols. The grenades were carried in a pouch that held 4... and almost every guy in a squad was used to mule the ammo so there was plenty to be had. The Nambu mortar itself was ingeniously simple, cheap to make and very effective. The Type 89 HE round packed a heck of a punch... it was also possible to fire the Type 91 fragmentation hand grenade with an add-on propellant charge attached to the bottom of the grenade.
And yes... the explosive compound was removed and impact fuse rendered safe.
