German Model 24 Hand Grenade

By Crusader1307

The Model 24 Hand Grenade is an iconic piece of battlefield history. Instantly recognized as German, this “Stick Grenade” was developed for The Imperial German Army in 1915. So popular, it maintain it's basic design until production stopped in 1945. Weighing 2.5 pounds, the device used a purer TNT composite for it's primary explosive compound. The explosive head was designed to fragment into shrapnel upon detonation. Activation was accomplished via the 12 to 15 inch wooden handle. Twisting (or pulling) the head in a counterclockwise direction, activated the fusing cord (which ran down the inside of the throwing handle). Detonation was in 7 seconds. The Model 24 had a 25 meter blast radius. Nicknamed “The Potato Masher” by British soldiers, Different variants were manufactured (smoke, concussion, etc). The Model 24 was copied by many other Countries and it's basic design could be seen well into the 1960s.