This page concerns the BEANO T-13 hand grenade, for other uses, see Beano (disambiguation)

The BEANO T-13 hand grenade was an experimental hand grenade

Hand grenade

A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...

 developed by the Office of Strategic Services

Office of Strategic Services

The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...

 (which later became the CIA) in the latter years of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Concept

The concept for the BEANO hand grenade was that a spherical grenade the size and weight of a common baseball would be effective in the hands of American troops. The designers believed that by emulating a baseball that any American young man should be able to properly throw the grenade with both accuracy and distance.

Design

The final design for the T-13 hand grenade utilized a pressure trigger as well as an in-flight arming device. The grenade was designed to be thrown as a traditional baseball, and as such it was held with two fingers on a weighted and knurled "butterfly cap" and the arming pin was removed. Once thrown, the cap detached from the body of the grenade and a length of nylon

Nylon

Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...

 string unwound until a secondary arming pin attached to the far end of the cord was pulled, arming the grenade to detonate upon impact with a hard surface. While the original design called for a 5.5 oz total weight, it was later decided that this was too light and the weight was increased to 12 oz.

Usage

The T-13 was approved for field use, and several thousand were shipped to Europe. They were reportedly issued in limited quantities during the invasion of Normandy, but is believed to have injured more American soldiers than enemy troops due to premature detonation.

Collectiblity

Due to the timing of its development, and lack of deployment into service the T-13 remains one of the rarest and most sought after World War II grenades. At the war's end, the remaining stock was ordered destroyed and the records classified. While there are T-13's in existence, they are rare, and demand top price in their class.