Those that weigh half a pound, have 1 French inch 8 lines diameter, and are 3 lines thick.
Those that weigh a quarter of a pound, have 1 French inch 6 lines diameter, and are 2¹⁄₂ lines thick.
These proportions were formerly attended to in the old French service, with occasional deviations from the strict measurement of the lines; as it was supposed to be of little consequence whether the grenades fitted the mortars exactly. It was, indeed, generally thought advisable to adapt their sizes, so that they might be thrown out without the least resistance or compression.
Grenades were directed to be thicker at the breech than elsewhere, in proportion to their several diameters.
Durtubie, in his Manuel de l’Artilleur, gives the following succinct account of grenades. That writer observes, “that besides bombs or shells, and howitzers, hollow vessels made of iron in globular shapes, which are called grenades, are frequently used; gunpowder is poured in through the cavity or vent, called in French lumiere, into which a fuse loaded with a composition of combustible materials is introduced.”
There are two sorts of grenades. Those distinguished by the name of grenades de rampart, are rolled from the top of the parapet into the ditch; they are equal in calibre to that of a 33 and a 16 pounder; and they weigh 16, 11, and 8 ounces.
The other species is called grenades à main. These are thrown into the covert way, and the trenches, &c. Their calibre is that of a 4 pounder, and they weigh 2 pounds. The ordinary thickness of grenades is four lines throughout.
It will occur to our military readers, that by this account a considerable alteration has taken place in the casting of grenades, as the intermediate differences have been consolidated; hand-grenades, instead of being thicker at the breach, are uniformly of the same consistency. It cannot, however, be thought superfluous to preserve an account of the original dimensions.
GRENADES—Hand grenades may be thrown to the distance of 13 fathoms. For their dimensions see the word [Shell].
Grenades Turques. Fr. Turkish grenades. A sort of grenade which is made by the Turks. Their grenades are extremely defective, and do little execution.