American

Color or Marking

Meaning

Notes

Olive green body

Normally used for operational purposes (camoflage).  Can be found on HE, Antitank, Smoke or any other types.

Normally with yellow markings for HE

Grey body

In early grenades (WWI) indicated a filled grenade, thereafter indicates a chemical grenade, smoke, gas, phosphorous, incendiary

Old markings

Light Red body

Incendiary grenade

New marking

Black body

Offensive grenade, early training grenades, may indicate armour defeating ammunition

Offensive grenades have yellow label or yellow markings

Yellow

HE filled grenade, Fragmentation, Offensive, antitank

Also used for markings and bands indicating an HE filling

Old marking

Blue body

Practice grenade

May have white markings

White or unpainted

Illumination grenade

May have black markings

Bronze, gold, or brass

Indicates completely inert ammunition

May have black markings

Brown

Indicates a low explosive filler

Normally a brown band around the item

Violet

Indicates an incapacitating agent filler,

Markings and bands

Dark Green

Indicates a toxic chemical agent filler

Normally markings and band

Dark Red

Identifies Riot control munition

Normally used for markings and bands

Light green body

Colored smoke grenade, white phosphorous grenade, HC smoke grenade

 

Black tip on safety lever

Indicates a safety lever that has been recovered from a grenade range and reused.

 

 

Lot numbers will be found both on the fuse mechanism, normally painted and stamped into the top of the safety lever, and on the body, normally painted on the side.

Lot Numbers Defined

Old

Lot # ABC-8-124

ABC

8

124

Manufacturers ID Symbol

Interfix Number

Serial Number

New

Lot # AMC 75 D 018 124 B

AMC

75

D

018

124

B

Manufacturers ID Symbol

Year of Manufacture

Single digit for Month of Manufacture

Lot interfix number

Lot Sequence number

Ammunition Lot suffix

 

American Manufacturers

Marking

Grenade

Manufacturer

Notes

A (body)

Mk IIA1

   

AF

Mk IIA1

American Fireworks Co. New Jersey
AKT   Action Manufacturing  

AMR

M227 fuze

Amram Mfg. Corp

Vineland NJ

AR

Mk. II    

BII

M204 fuzes

Bradar Industries Inc. 

New Hyde Park, NY

BWD

M201A1 fuze

Brunswick Corp Defense Products, 

Lincoln NE

BWG

M213 fuzes

Brunswick Corp Tech Products 

Sugar Grove, VA

C

Mk. II body

Crane

Burns City

CME

Chemical Grenades

Camden Mfg Co. 

Camden AR
COL   Colt Firearms, Pyrodynamics Operation Atglen, PA

EA

Tear gas and Chemical grenades

Edgewood Arsenal, 

Edgewood MD
EK    Eastman Kodak  

FDL

M201A1 fuzes

Federal Labs 

Saltzberg, PA

FL

M10A2 fuze

   

GOI

M213 Fuzes

Gerhart-Owens Industries

Fort Worth, Texas

HA or HAW

M18

Hawthorne Naval Ammo Depot 

Hawthorne, NV

HRV

M204 Series fuzes

Harvelle-Kilgore Corp

Bolivar, TN

IOP

M204 and M205 series fuze mechanisms

Iowa Ordnance Plant 

Burlington Iowa

JA

M26, M67

Joliet Army Ammo Plant 

Joliet IL

K (in circle)

M10A2 fuze

Eastman-Kodak

 

L (in a diamond)

Mk. II body

Littlestown Foundry and Hardware

Littlestown, Pennsylvania

LNX

M213 Fuzes

Lynx Incorporated 

Elkton MD

LOP

M26 series

Louisiana Ordnance Plant, 

Shreveport LA

LOW

M26 series, Flares

Longhorn Ordnance Works, 

Marshall TX

LS

M26, M30, M33, M61, M67

Lone Star Ordnance Plant, 

Texarkana TX

MA

M26, M67

Milan Army Ammo Plant 

Milan, TN

MAI

Fuzes

Maryland Assemblies Inc., 

Perry FL

MDC

M1A1 adapters

Dynamic Corporation of America, Massa Division, 

Hingham, MA

MEI

Fuzes

Martin Electric Inc. 

Perry FL

MSO

Chemical Grenades

Maxson Elec Corp. 

Macon, GA

N (body)

Mk. II (WWI vintage)

   

NC

T2E1 and M2A1 adapters

New Cumberland Army Depot, 

New Cumberland PA

NCI

M25 series

Northrop Carolina Inc. 

Ashevill, NC

NFO

M204 series fuzes

   

NY

M6 series grenades

   

NYI

M201A1 fuzes

   

OA

M26 series

Ordnance Associates Inc. South 

Pasedena, CA

OPI

M205A2 fuze

Ordnance Products Inc., 

Northeast MD

PA

Mk. III, M26 series, M217 fuzes

Picatinny Arsenal 

Dover NJ

PAL

M206A2, M213 fuzes

Penguin Associates Inc, 

Parkesburg, PA

PB or PBA

Chemical grenades

Pine Bluff Arsenal, 

Little Rock AR

PMC

  Practical Mfg Company Hopkins, MN

RFX

M21, M30

Richmond Foundry & Mfg. Co. Inc.

Richmond VA

RMA

M34

Rocky Mountain Arsenal, 

Denver CO

RPB

AN-M14

   

SF

M25 series

   

S on its side inside an oval

Mk. IIA1 body

   

Shamrock with small C inside

M200A1 fuze

Continental Can Company

 

SWP

AN-M8, M18, M7 series

Smith and Wesson Pyrotechnics 

Jefferson OH

TAC

AN-M8, M18

Talley Industries Inc. 

Mesa AZ

TE

M10A3 fuze

   

UAMCO

M200A1 fuze

Universal Automatic Machine Co. 

Marshall TX

UCH

Mk. 1 illum

United Chemical Corp. 

Lancaster PA

UNV or UMO

AN-M8, M18

Universal Match Corp. 

Phoenix AZ

UOD

M1A2 adapters

Umatilla Ordnance Depot 

Hermiston, OR

WE (body)

Mk. II (WWII vintage)

Weber Engine

 

WAD

M1A2 adapters