Jam-tin grenades were improvised answers to shortages of trench ammunition. Food containers and available fragmentation material appeared in several designs, with smaller and larger versions according to the tins available. Some variants also served as improvised mortar ammunition. Australian and New Zealand troops used them at Gallipoli and elsewhere in the Middle East, including as booby traps. Canadian troops developed forms praised here for reliability. The range of designs and users makes attribution to one inventor or one national design difficult.
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Jam-tin grenades filled a trench-warfare shortage
Shortages encouraged several Allied forces to develop local forms of jam-tin grenade and improvised mortar ammunition.