WWII Tech Pubs Briefing

Written by
Lawrence Nyveen

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Overview

The German grenades in service during World War II relied on blast rather than fragmentation for their effect.  The two basic types were the Stielhandgranate (handle hand grenade) stick grenade - often called a potato masher and practically unchanged since World War I - and the smaller, round Eihandgranate (egg hand grenade).

The Stielhandgranate 24 (StiGr 24) consisted of a hollow wooden handle attached to a thin sheet-metal head that contained the high-explosive bursting charge.  These grenades used friction ignition, a mechanism widely used in German grenades but rarely by other nations.  A cord ran from the head through the hollow handle and out the bottom, where a porcelain bead kept it in place behind a metal cap.  To use the grenade, a soldier had to unscrew the metal cap, pull on the bead, and throw.  When pulled, the cord would draw a roughened steel pin through a sensitive chemical in the head that would then ignite and set off the detonator.

Because blast, or concussive, effect isn’t as lethal over as big a range as shrapnel is, Germany kept moving to larger grenades.  The StiGr 39 was essentially a heavier StiGr 24 with more explosive.  After 1942, the StiGr 24 could have its anti-personnel effect enhanced by the manual addition of Splitterringe (shrapnel rings), a grooved fragmentation sleeve clipped over the head of the grenade, but these never saw much use. 

While Allied fragmentation grenades were more deadly over a wider area, the German Stielhandgranate could be thrown farther, thanks to the leverage the handle provided.

A later variation, the StiGr 43, had the detonator relocated to the top of the grenade head. This not only simplified manufacture but also enabled the grenade to be thrown without the stick or used as mines or booby traps.  For specialized demolition charges or anti-tank work, six StiGr 43 grenade heads could be secured round a seventh in a configuration known as a Geballte Ladung (clenched charge).

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Specifications