Angler snags hand grenade in SW Mo. lake

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — An angler trying his luck at a southwest Missouri reservoir stocked with bass and other desirable fish pulled in something that prompted a military response: a hand grenade.

The Springfield News-Leader reports (http://sgfnow.co/QDe4Li ) the fisherman snagged the grenade around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Fellows Lake. It was encased in an old, white tube sock and appeared to have been in the water for some time.

Explosives experts from Fort Leonard Wood and the Springfield Fire Department bomb squad were called.

Army Staff Sgt. Garrett Herbert donned a Kevlar vest to pick up the device, which he described as Mark 2 pineapple grenade from the Vietnam era. Herbert says X-rays showed the pin was still in the grenade.

The grenade was being taken to Fort Leonard Wood for disposal.

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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com

More like this story

eileen10 9 months, 1 week ago

I don't know if the grenade would still work but I'd prefer to catch a walleye or northern pike.

Paroquet 9 months, 1 week ago

Doesn't say whether it was live or not. All your dummy grenades have pins and spoons in tact, but no firing mechanism or primer. You'd think they could tell by weight alone.

eileen10 9 months, 1 week ago

Hi Paroquet! I don't know anything about grenades except they go boom. I wonder if there are other things lurking in the water.

John 9 months, 1 week ago

I've spent many many years using hand grenades and other military weapons. Considering the weight of the material used to make the grenade, it would be extremely difficult to feel the difference between an armed grendade and a disarmed grenade -- EXTREMELY so.

Paroquet 9 months, 1 week ago

Scales are cheap, weights are known, and at one point in life, I could tell a one-gram (1/28th oz.) difference by feel alone. EXTREMELY difficult? Not at all. Want of experience? The Mk. 2 pineapple held 56g (2oz.) of explosive, and had a total weight of 595g (24oz.). The explosive and water to fill the same volume of the combustion chamber would not have weighed the same.

Presuming the powder-plug was in place, or appeared to be in place, it would be a simple matter to determine if the combustion chamber of the grenade were filled with water, TNT, or EC.

That said, I think the bomb squads need to be sent for a gradeschool refresher--presuming the reporting is accurate--because this type of field diagnosis is below remedial-level thinking.

John 9 months, 1 week ago

I have read your posts with interest. I am truly amazed at your apparent super-human powers of. . . .nearly everything.

Okay, you who knows so much. How would one know if they are weighting (and goodness knows, that is the very first thing any EOD personnel want to do.) the grenade, powder/explosive and detonator as opposed to an empty grenade that has leaked an allowed water into the cavity.

You need to apply for work with the federal government. I do believe that your "self-professed" powers would be of use to them in just about everything.

TickledPink 9 months, 1 week ago

Are you forgetting the fact that it was pulled out of a lake? I'd love to see you tell me whether it was "live" or not by comparing a nice clean, dry grenade to one that's been sitting in the water for who knows how long.

John 9 months, 1 week ago

Tickled: I assume you are referring to the posting by Paroquet (poison spray?). I absolutely agree that nobody could tell if it was charged or disarmed.

eileen10 9 months, 1 week ago

Are grenades still used by the military?

John 9 months, 1 week ago

Yes, several different types, there are simple smoke grenades, concussion grenades,and High Explosive fragmentation grenades. There are also grenades that are called "flash bang" grenades. They are designed to temporarily blind you and disorient you with a loud noise. That particular type grenade is also generally in the aresenal of many police departments.

eileen10 9 months, 1 week ago

Whew. I didn't realize there were so many different kinds. Hopefully there aren't any more of those things in the lake. If a kid would pull one out and pull that thing out that I've seen done when watching war movies..ya. Hopefully that was the only one.

JCLifer 9 months, 1 week ago

Why not toss that sucker over a hill and see if it blows up?

TickledPink 9 months, 1 week ago

Toss it back in the lake and see how many fish pop up!

John 9 months, 1 week ago

Except that time and conditions can cause a timed detonator to become extremely unreliable. It might detonate as soon as the spoon is released, or it might wait 5 minutes, or it might not detonate at all. That is why EOD was called.

By the way, while I have fished that way while on active duty, the MO Dept of Conser. frowns upon that type of fishing bait. LOL

eileen10 9 months, 1 week ago

JCLifer and Tickled pink, Both of you made my day. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.

Paroquet 9 months, 1 week ago

We had a joke back when I worked with State Parks...

Bad year for fishing. Rumor got 'round to the game warden there was this one guy, though, who always came in with a good haul. He finds the guy, and the guy invites the warden to go out with him the next morning.

Next morning while motoring out with the guy in his boat, the warden notes there's no fishing equipment in it. The warden asks about this. The guy opens his toolbox, takes out a stick of dynamite, lights it from his cigar, tosses it in the warden's lap & says: "You gonna tell me that's illegal, or are you gonna fish?"

eileen10 9 months, 1 week ago

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!OK OK You had me rolling!!! Any more and I'll need oxygen!

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