The ''Kugelhandgranate'' ('ball hand grenade') is a model of hand thrown
fragmentation grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade gene ...
manufactured in Germany, also known as Mod. 1913.
M1915 Kugelhandgranate NA
By 1915, German industry was preparing for a long war and resources were already becoming stretched, making it beneficial from both an economic and manufacturing point of view to design a replacement for the ''Kugelhandgranate'' Mod. 1913. The ''Kugelhandgranate'' Mod. 1915 (which was considerably easier to produce) was thus introduced and used from 1915 onward.
Description
The body of the grenade was
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
8 mm thick, spherical shaped and externally segmented designed to produce between 70 and 80 fragments. A bronze-like stick (which was the
igniter
In pyrotechnics, a pyrotechnic initiator (also initiator or igniter) is a device containing a pyrotechnic composition used primarily to ignite other, more difficult-to-ignite materials, such as thermites, gas generators, and solid-fuel rockets. The ...
) was introduced to the spherical body. The filling was a mixture of
black powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...
,
barium nitrate
Barium nitrate is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula Ba( NO3)2. It, like most barium salts, is colorless, toxic, and water-soluble. It burns with a green flame and is an oxidizer; the compound is commonly used in pyrotechnics.
Man ...
, and
potassium perchlorate, and did not require a
detonator. The
friction igniter consisted of a bronze body with a central chamber filled with black powder and supplied with a 5 or 7 second delay, the powder train was topped with a priming wire made of brass with a loop at one end and serrated on the other. The serrated portion was coated with a mixture of ground glass,
manganese dioxide
Manganese dioxide is the inorganic compound with the formula . This blackish or brown solid occurs naturally as the mineral pyrolusite, which is the main ore of manganese and a component of manganese nodules. The principal use for is for dry-cell ...
, and
potassium chlorate
Potassium chlorate is a compound containing potassium, chlorine and oxygen, with the molecular formula KClO3. In its pure form, it is a white crystalline substance. After sodium chlorate, it is the second most common chlorate in industrial use. It ...
.
Method of use
To be used, the friction wire had to be pulled from the igniter, starting the
delay train at the last possible moment. To do this, a piece of leather was attached to the igniter with a snap hook; pulling this removed the wire so the grenade could be thrown. A man with average strength could throw this grenade about 15 m.
See also
*
Mills bomb
"Mills bomb" is the popular name for a series of British hand grenades which were designed by William Mills. They were the first modern fragmentation grenades used by the British Army and saw widespread use in the First and Second World Wars. ...
*
F1 grenade (France)
The F-1 grenade is a hand grenade mass-produced by France during and after WW1, used en masse in the majority of European countries throughout the First and Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviat ...
References
*
* http://www.inert-ord.net/gerimp/kugels/
Images and description of Kugelhandgranate 1913 and other grenades
1913 establishments in Germany
1920s disestablishments in Germany
Fragmentation grenades
Hand grenades of Germany
World War I German infantry weapons
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