This is a good example of an early version of the Vivien-Bessiere (“VB”) rifle grenade launcher. Rifle grenades were useful for medium range targets- beyond throwing distance but not far enough to require heavier ordnance, somewhere between 50 and 200 yards, and were extremely useful in small unit attacks on enemy strong points. Early attempts involved a grenade simply mounted on a rod fired from a rifle with a blank cartridge- subject to various mishaps and severe wear to the rifle barrel. This design used a cup launcher fitted to the muzzle of a rifle launching a cylindrical grenade with hole through it allowing a live cartridge to be used for both ignition of the fuse and serve as the propellant. These were developed by the French, supplied to U.S. troops with French rifles and then adopted and improved by U.S. forces for use on both the 1903 a M1917 rifle.

This is an excavated example of an early version with the lower section fitting over the barrel having simple straight cuts along the top and bottom to fit over the front sight and bayonet lug. Later versions used more secure means of attachment with spiral mortises, spring catches, etc. These remained in U.S inventories through WW2 with evidence of use by the USMC in the Pacific.  [sr] [ph:L]

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