Weight: | 74 lbs. |
Barrel: | 3 ft. 10 ins. |
Calibre: | 2.6 ins. |
This was the simplest Home Guard weapon devised. It consisted of about half
a dozen components and looked like a section of drain pipe on legs. It was
sighted from 50 to 200 yards in 25 yard divisions. The aim of the device was to
propel grenades by using a small explosive propellant charge. The projector was
operated by pulling back a cocking handle which, when released by the trigger,
would release the firing pin on to a percussion cap placed on the propellant
charge.
The grenade used in the Northover projector was the green cap SIP grenade, the
Nº 36 grenade or the Nº 68 grenade. The crew consisted of two gunners
and a commander.
There were some 'home made' variations of the Northover projector. Some had the
legs removed and were placed on wheeled carriages to make transportation
easier. A slightly more elaborate version was designed by two members of the
Buckinghamshire Home Guard. They produced a Northover 'Revolver' Projector
which had a five-chambered revolving magazine. Each of the chambers was loaded
from the front, the magazine was rotated using a ratchet lever, operated by
hand. As each chamber came in line with the barrel, the trigger self-cocked and
then just had to be fired. This projector weighed 86lb and could easily be
operated by two men.