Germany Following WWI, Germany was forbidden to manufacture weapons of war but the restriction was not always followed. In 1930, Hubert Ruhlemann designed the ECR or Electrical, Condenser ,Resistance fuze which was tested between 1931 and 1932 in Russia. The ECR fuze was designed for use on aerial dropped bombs. The fuze was connected to the aircraft and electrically charged (i.e., energized) before leaving the aircraft. As the bomb fell to earth, the electric charge would trickle through various resistors to a firing condensor. The impact of the bomb caused a sensitive vibrator switch to close the circuit and detonate the bomb through a firing bridge (similar to a match head) which created a flash that detonated the sensitive penthrite wax contained in the attached gaine, which is the steel or bakelite container screwed into the base of the fuze.

Shown below is a German 50kg bomb (without the fins) with a Type 25B ECR fuze.

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Article submitted by UXO Guest Author Rick Stauber. For more information on the UXO Guest Author program, click here.

The British prior to the start of WWII developed the No. 68 Rifle Grenade. It was initially introduced into the British military service around mid-1940 but by 1942 it was withdrawn from front line service and issued to Home Guard units. The Home Guard units were essentially civilian militias that were armed by the military to assist in the event the homeland was invaded. The No. 68 Rifle Grenade required the use of a special designed "discharge cup" that was fitted on the barrel of a Mk-III service rifle as shown in the image below.

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