British research into shaped charges in the
inter-war period brought about some useful progress but did not result in any weapons. Development of the grenade started in late 1939, after a demonstration arranged for a British military commission of a series of anti-tank rifle grenades and artillery warheads at the Swiss Army Proving Ground at
Thun in Switzerland, which had been designed by
Henry Mohaupt. Guessing that Mohaupt's weapons were using the hollow charge principle, the British abandoned negotiations and began development of a rifle grenade based on their own previous work. The No. 68 has some claim to have been the first
high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) device in use. The design of the warhead was simple and was capable of penetrating of armour. The
fuze of the grenade was armed by removing a pin in the tail which prevented the
firing pin from flying forward. The grenade was launched from a rifle cup. The simple fins gave it some stability in the air and, provided the grenade hit the target at the proper angle (90 degrees), the charge would be effective.
Detonation occurred on impact, when a striker in the tail of the grenade overcame the resistance of a creep spring and was thrown forward into a stab
detonator. The grenade was fired, as was the No. 36M
Mills bomb, from a specially adapted
Lee-Enfield Rifle No. 1 EY, often converted from a rifle that was unfit for general use and had been marked "DP" for
drill purpose. The converted rifles were strengthened by adding an extra bolt to secure the breech mechanism to the stock, and by a cord binding which was fastened around the forestock. A special
Ballistite high-explosive cartridge was required to propel the grenade. The grenade itself was held in place by the discharger cup No. 1 Mk I. With the weapon's introduction into Home Guard use, the Adaptor No. 1 and the Discharger No. 2 Mk I were introduced, which allowed grenades to be launched from the
M1917 Enfield rifle with which they were equipped, although a contemporary manual warned that rifles used for that purpose were likely to be "somewhat spoilt as a precision weapon". == Service ==