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Grenade!

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by Sabre-Wulf (U2142937) on Wednesday, 5th October 2005

  This may be an obvious one, but why did the Germans go down the route of the "potato masher" style of grenade while the British and Americans favoured the "pineapple"?
  
  Is there any evidence from combat situations where soldiers expressed preferences of one style over the other?
  
  

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Anglo-Norman (U1965016) on Wednesday, 5th October 2005

  Actually the Germans used the 'pineapple' type as well. But the stick grenade could carry a larger charge and several could be strapped together for demolition work. The pineapple type, though, could be thrown further.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by Mani (U1821129) on Thursday, 6th October 2005

  HI AN,
  
  "The pineapple type, though, could be thrown further."
  
  It's the other way round, the stick Grenade can be thrown further. Leverage etc.

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Mani (U1821129) on Thursday, 6th October 2005

  Horses for coarses.
  
  The Mills Bomb etc (Pineapple) are fragmentation or shrapnel grenades, their damage is caused by a smaller charge fragmenting the case along the seams of the 'pineapple squares' thus causing the shrapnel.
  
  The Stick grenade had a larger charge, less shrapnel.
  
  For some situations a larger chard is required, for others fragmentation.... Then of course later on you have phosphorus grenades etc
  
  The Stick grenade could be thrown a lot further due to the leverage you can get with it.....
  

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by Sabre-Wulf (U2142937) on Thursday, 6th October 2005

  I'm sure I'd read/heard somewhere that one of the grenades allowed you to follow up quicker after the bang, which proved useful when clearing pill boxes etc (from your description I'm guessing this was the German?)- and I'm sure I'd read that there was an instance where a soldier was using a grenade of the other type, didn't factor the different charge in and ended up getting caught in the blast, which I guess is an easy mistake to make - once.

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by Mani (U1821129) on Thursday, 6th October 2005

  I've only used Soviet/Chinese Stick Grenades, so couldn’t really comment on the specifics of that Grenade. But in regards to a Pill box, the German grenade with the larger charge would have more of an effect similar to a Stun grenade (Minus the flash).
  
  As for a soldier getting caught up in the blast, I doubt whether he was a good soldier, as I'm sure DL, or any other ex-squadies here would testify, what you do is a variation on a theme, regardless of what kind of grenade.
  

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by Anglo-Norman (U1965016) on Friday, 7th October 2005

  Mani,
  
  I'm going from Bruce Quarries' "Waffen-SS Soldier 1940-45" (since Quarrie also wrote the supposedly definitive guide to the German Arm of WWII, which has even been translated into German, presumably he's reliable).
  
  According to Quarrie, the M1939 Eiergranate ('Egg Grenade') could be thrown approx. 45m, weighed 0.34kg and has a blast radius of about 13m. At 0.59kg the M1924 Stielhandgranate (Stick Hand Grenade) was heavier and thus could not be thrown as far. Of course, I'm not sure how this compares to Allied grenades. Having never thrown any type, I'm not in a position to judge.
  
  Of course, another version of the 'pineapple' tyoe is that it can be shot from a launcher.

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by Gilgamesh of Uruk (U211168) on Friday, 7th October 2005

  Grenade launchers called "Holman projectors" were fitted aboard ships - firing the grenade either by compressed ar or steam - as an anti-aircraft weapon. The only use that most were put to was for firing spuds at a chummy ship.
  
  We learned about, but never saw, and certainly never fired, the "energa" grenade which was fired from a cup-shaped launcher on the muzzle end of a MkIV Lee-Enfield

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• Message 9

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by Mani (U1821129) on Friday, 7th October 2005

  HI AN,
  
  As I said before, in regards to the 'stick grenade' I've only thrown a Chinese (Maybe Russian, or Chinese copy of?) 'stick grenade' the sizes may very somewhat compared to the German grenade (Probably will, the German's were quite hefty). I could throw the stick grenade much further, as logic and mechanics would suggest, but as you say, the weight must be taken into account. But I’d suggest (as a recall to my previous hasty words!) that given two grenades of similar weight (Or even the stick grenade being slightly heavier) a stick grenade could be thrown further….
  
  Incidentally, the Vietnamese (Maybe again, a Chinese made weapon) used a fragmentation stick grenade, quite light.
  

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• Message 10

  , in reply to message 8.

  Posted by expat32 (U2025313) on Friday, 21st October 2005

  The U.S. M1 and M14, plus the Albanian version of the S.K.S. can launch grenades. The propellant is something like a blank round. I'm sure there are other rifles that can launch regular type Grenades. The U.S. also has a round type grenade in addition to the Pineapple type described by Mani. The charge is wound with wire that fragments with ignition. The case is roundish Steele.
  
  Cheers.

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