During the First and Second World Wars, German soldiers widely used hand grenades. Mostly they were equipped with German assault battalions. Carrying out raids, Wehrmacht soldiers wound up their rifles behind their backs. Their hands were thus always free to use the Stielhandgranate effectively. This is how the German M-24 hand grenade was originally named. This weapon served the German army for decades.
Today the image of a German soldier is hard to imagine without the M-24. The grenade proved its high efficiency during the years of two world wars. Almost until 1990, she was part of the equipment of Swiss soldiers.
When was M-24 created?
Grenade began to be developed by German weapons engineers during the First World War. During this period, all the belligerents made attempts to create effective hand-held offensive weapons in close combat, craters and trenches. The Russian army has already used a hand grenadeRG-14, created by V. I. Rdutlovsky. The British used the anti-personnel grenade of the 1915 system, which would later become known as the Lemonka, or F-1.
Before making the M-24 grenade, German weapons designers carefully studied the Russian and German variants. It was decided to equip German foot soldiers with similar offensive weapons. Reichswehr assault battalions received the Stielhandgranate already in 1916.
The task of the new grenade was to defeat the enemy's manpower with the help of fragments and the shock wave created during the explosion. Also, the target could be armored enemy barriers, fortifications and firing points. In such cases, German soldiers used a bunch of several grenades. Thus, the Stielhandgranate was intended solely for the offensive task. In 1917, the grenade entered the mandatory equipment of the German infantry.
1923-1924
At this time, German engineers made some changes in the design of this grenade, which made it possible to use it also as a defensive tool. For this, the Stielhandgranate was equipped with a steel or ceramic-metal jacket. After completion, the product in the military documentation was listed as Stielhandgranate-24.
What was the German grenade called?
M-24 - this designation can be found in many English and Russian-language military and literary sources. In everyday life, Russian soldiers mostly called the German grenade of the 1924 model of the year because of its peculiar shape, and the British -"masher" (potato masher).
The Great Patriotic War
In World War I, the Stielhandgranate-24, or M-24 hand grenade, was considered one of the most modern. But by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, its design needed to be modernized. Despite all the attempts made by the German gunsmiths to improve the M-24, the grenade remained at the 1924 level. But nevertheless, due to the lack of the Wehrmacht's forces of the best damaging enemy weapon, the serial production of the Stielhandgranate-24 was not stopped. During the entire Second World War, over 75 million M-24 units were produced. The grenade was in service with the German army until the very end of the war.
What is Stielhandgranate-24?
The M-24 grenade (the photo of which is presented in the article) is a manual fragmentation offensive and defensive weapon. Its design contains the following elements:
- Case containing explosives.
- Wooden handle.
- Ignition mechanism.
- Detonator.
Case device
Sheet steel was used in the manufacture of housings for the M-24. The thickness of each sheet did not exceed 0.1 cm. In the course of work, they were subjected to the stamping procedure. The case had the shape of a glass, in the center of which the craftsmen pressed in the central tube necessary to attach the sleeve under the handle.
The contents of the case consisted of a bursting charge and a detonator cap. The task of the explosive in the M-24 was performed by the basis of ammonium nitrate - dynamon and ammonal. The 1924 sample grenade was provided with a special steel shell containing notches, for the manufacture of which thick metal or a cermet composition was used. In the people, this shell is also called a "shirt".
A grenade containing a steel jacket was used as a defensive grenade. She had an increased damage radius. Unlike the 1916 Stielhandgranate, for which fragments spread up to 15 meters was considered the limit, the radius of the modified M-24 increased to 30. At the same time, individual fragments could fly almost 100 meters.
The M-24 hull was painted gray or dark field green. Before applying the finish coat, the surface of the hull was carefully primed with red paint.
On the case in its upper part, a stamp (imperial eagle) was applied with white paint. Chasing was used to apply the number and year of manufacture.
Operation principle
For the M-24, German designers provided for a grating type of ignition mechanism. It consisted of a grater and a lanyard, the end of which was equipped with a special white porcelain or lead ring. The upper end of the cord was attached to the grater. It had the shape of a tube, inside which the grating composition was located, the designers passed a wire spiral (grater) through it. Location forThe powder retarder was the central channel of the sleeve, which was equipped with a tube by screwing in.
Without a detonator cap, the M-24 was considered absolutely safe. To operate a grenade, its sleeve must necessarily contain this igniter. One of the features of the M-24 can be considered the presence of a gray-white smoke screen, which could last up to three minutes, thus covering the infantry from the eyes of the enemy.
Handle device
Wood was used to make the M-24 handle. Both ends of this handle were equipped with threaded bushings. With the help of them, a grater device was attached to the upper end. Immediately screwed onto a wooden handle and the body of the fragmentation M-24. The lower end of the handle was equipped with a special safety cap. The handle was hollow from the inside: a lanyard was stretched through the through channel to the grater mechanism. On the surface of the handle was applied exactly the same markings as on the body. They differed in that the brand was squeezed out on the wood.
Wearing Methods
In a combat situation, soldiers wore the M-24 in the following ways:
- Putting a grenade behind the waist belt. This method was the most common.
- Behind the harness belt.
- In special pouches that were thrown over the shoulder. In this way, it was possible to carry six grenades in one bag.
- On the neck. For this, the handles of two grenades were connected to each other.
- In the boot shaft.
Tactical and technical characteristics
- Stielhandgranate was in service from 1916 to 1945
- M-24 is a type of anti-personnel hand grenade.
- Country of origin - Germany.
- M-24 grenade dimensions: 356 mm (length) x 75 mm (body) x 6 cm (diameter).
- Grenade weight: 500 grams.
- The mass of the explosive was 160 grams.
- The length of the M-24 grenade handle is 285 mm.
- M-24 was used in two world wars and during the Vietnam War.
- The product was intended for throwing at a distance of 30 to 40 meters.
- The M-24 retarder is designed for 5 seconds.
Product benefits
The strengths of the M-24 are considered to be the following inherent qualities of the device:
- The grenade was well balanced. Due to this, the average fighter was able to throw it at a distance of up to forty meters.
- The manufacturing technology turned out to be not laborious. Production did not require large financial investments.
- Explosive material allowed the M-24 to be used with the greatest efficiency.
Weaknesses
Despite a number of advantages, the Stielhandgranate fragmentation grenade was not without some drawbacks:
- The explosive used to stuff the hulls was very unstable to moisture. This is explained by the fact that a surrogate was mainly used as an explosive in wartime, the basis for which was ammonium nitrate. In this regard, the storage of the M-24 became significantly more complicated:the grenades must have been disassembled (with the detonator caps taken out and placed separately). At the same time, in warehouses, it was necessary to carefully monitor that moisture did not affect the body of Stielhandgranate itself. The negative impact of moisture also affected the grating fuse. Very often he fell into disrepair. When the cord was pulled out, ignition was not carried out, and the grenade did not work.
- The manual fragmentation M-24 could have become completely unusable as a result of long-term storage. This was caused by the caking property of explosives.
- The retarder was designed for five seconds. Thus, the German soldier, who pulled out the ignition cord, had to meet this time and throw the M-24. The retarder could also work half a second earlier or four seconds later.
Conclusion
At a certain historical stage, the creation of the M-24 contributed to the development of the effectiveness of the functioning of the assault battalions of the German army. After the end of World War II, the German Stielhandgranate-24 grenade was no longer used in the German army. Nevertheless, the M-24 has not disappeared from the global arms market. For a long time, Swiss army personnel were equipped with it, and its mass production was launched in China.
