considers that the phosphorus grenades might have been more successful. To make handling easier, a lighter version of the weapon, the Northover Projector Mk 2 was developed in 1941, but few were produced. Operational history The Northover Projector was issued to both Home Guard and regular British Army units, and by August, 1941 over 8,000 Northover Projectors were in service. This number had increased to 18,919 by the beginning of 1943. Initial reactions to the Northover Projector were varied, with a number of Home Guard volunteers uncertain about the weapon's unusual design, and some officers never accepted that it could be useful. However, most Home Guard units came to accept the weapon and have confidence in it, aided by large amounts of what Mackenzie terms "War Office propaganda" which cited the positive qualities of the weapon, such as its simplicity of use, ease of manufacture and low maintenance requirements. It was, as one Home Guard volunteer put it, "something to be accepted gratefully until something better arrived." Like many of the obsolete weapons designed for the Home Guard, the Northover Projector was only taken out of service when it could be replaced with "marginally less ineffective" weapons provided by the Army, such as the 2-pounder anti-tank gun. See also Ampulomet — similar Soviet weapon of World War II Smith gun Blacker Bombard References Bibliography Hogg, Ian. Twentieth-Century Artillery. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000. Pg.143 Official documents External links UK Anti-Invasion Defences World War II infantry weapons of the United Kingdom Anti-tank weapons Grenade launchers of the United Kingdom Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1940