My great-grandpa was in WWII, and died not long ago. Going through his stuff I found a little handheld flare gun. It is just a tube with a spring in it with a handle to pull back the spring. Attached to it was 4 rounds of flares, shaped somewhat like a rifle cartridge. They screw into the end of flare gun, and shoot a flare into the air that then explodes. It has a fair amount of kick. (I had to try it once...)

On the flares this is stamped:
U.S. NAVY BUWEPS
SIGNAL HAND FIRED MK 80 MOD 0
FSN: 1370-930-7746-258
LOT NO. 86-PAI-567-104 5-67
PENGUIN ASSOC., INC. PAI (2) (2 is in a circle)

CCC

When was this used, and is it worth anything?

Thanks!

I think that it is a miniflare from just at the end of the Vietnam War. So I guess he was given it by a serviceman or bought it as milsurp? Code is date 5-67. June 1967.

You can still buy them. If sea fishing or elsewhere they are good distress flares if you need help!

I had lots of relatives in vietnam, he must have got it from one of them.

I had one of those. With mine you could reload the flares using 209 primers.

What do you put inside the flare case?

quote:

Code is date 5-67. June 1967

May 1967

I used to put several layers of orange peel over 5-10 grains of black powder and shoot it up into the trees! (I was young and bored and easily amused.

Nowadays I think I would disassemble a roman candle.