Mills bomb rifle grenade by attaching a metallic rod to its base. This rod-type rifle-grenade had an effective range of about 150 yards. The operating procedure was to insert the Mills bomb rod down the barrel of a standard rifle, put a special blank cartridge in the rifle's chamber, place the rifle stock on the ground, then pull the Mills bomb's safety pin, releasing the safety spoon and immediately fire the rifle. If the soldier did not launch the grenade quickly, the grenade's fuse would time out and explode. The British soon developed a simple cradle attached to the rifle's bayonet lug
British Army uniform and equipment in World War I as the mortar body. Drawbacks were that the steel tail was usually projected backwards towards the firer when the bomb detonated, resulting in occasional casualties; and the No. 80 fuse was also required by the 18 pounder field guns which were given priority, limiting mortar ammunition supply to the front until early 1916, when a special cheap trench mortar fuse was developed. The 2-inch mortar served in limited numbers in France in 1915, from March, with early mortars and ammunition made by the Royal Ordnance Factory, mass production finally began with an order in August 1915, for 800 mortars from