During the First and Second World Wars, German soldiers made extensive use of hand grenades. Mostly they equipped the German assault battalions. Carrying out raids, the Wehrmacht soldiers fired their rifles behind their backs. Their hands, therefore, always remained free for the effective use of Stielhandgranate. That is what the German M-24 hand grenade was originally called. This weapon has served the German army for more than a dozen years.
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 included in the outfit of Swiss soldiers.
When was the M-24 created?
The grenade began to be developed by German weapons engineers during the First World War. During this period, all the warring parties attempted to create a hand-held offensive weapon effective in close combat, craters and trenches. The Russian army has already used a hand grenade RG-14, created by V.I. Rdutlovsky. The British used the anti-personnel grenade of the 1915 system, which would later become known as the "lemon", or F-1.
Before making the M-24 grenade, German weapons designers carefully studied the Russian and German versions. It was decided to equip German infantry with similar offensive weapons. The Reichswehr assault battalions received Stielhandgranate as early as 1916.
The task of the new grenade was to defeat the enemy manpower with fragments and created by the explosion of the shock wave. Also, the target could be armored enemy barriers, fortifications, and firing points. In such cases, German soldiers used a bunch of several grenades. Thus, Stielhandgranate was intended solely for the offensive task. In 1917, the grenade entered the mandatory equipment of the German infantry.
1923-1924 years
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 means. For this, Stielhandgranate was equipped with a steel or cermet shirt. After revision, the product in the military documentation was listed as Stielhandgranate-24.
What else were the German grenades called?
M-24 - this designation can be found in many English and Russian-speaking military and literary sources. In everyday life, Russian soldiers, the German grenade of 1924, because of its peculiar shape, were mainly called the “mallet”, and the English - “pusher” (potato masher).
The Great Patriotic War
In World War I, Stielhandgranate-24, or the M-24 hand grenade, was considered one of the most modern. But by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War its construction needed modernization. Despite all the attempts made by German gunsmiths to improve the M-24, the grenade remained at the level of 1924. But nevertheless, due to the lack of the Wehrmacht’s forces the best enemy striking means, the serial production of Stielhandgranate-24 was not stopped. Over the entire Second World War, over 75 million M-24 units were produced. The grenade was in service with the German army until the 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-defensive offensive weapon. Its design has the following elements:
- The shell containing the explosive.
- The wooden handle.
- Ignition mechanism.
- Detonator.
Housing device
In the manufacture of cases for the M-24, sheet steel was used. The thickness of each sheet did not exceed 0.1 cm. In the course of work, they underwent a stamping procedure. The case had the shape of a glass, in the center of which the masters pressed in the central tube necessary for connecting the sleeve to the handle.
The contents of the housing consisted of a bursting charge and a detonator capsule. The objective of the explosive in M-24 was performed by the basis of ammonium nitrate - dynamon and ammonal. A special steel shell containing notches was provided in the garnet of the 1924 sample, for the manufacture of which a thick metal or sintered metal composition was used. In the people, this shell is also called a "shirt."
A grenade containing a steel shirt was used as a defensive grenade. She had an increased radius of destruction. Unlike the 1916 Stielhandgranate, for which the expansion of fragments 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.
To paint the body of the M-24, a gray or dark green field color was used. Before applying the finish coating, the surface of the body was carefully primed with red paint.
A stamp (imperial eagle) was applied on the case in its upper part using white paint. For the application of the number and year of manufacture, coinage was used.
Operating principle
For the M-24, German designers provided a grate type of igniter mechanism. It consisted of a grater device and an exhaust cord, the end of which was equipped with a special white porcelain or lead ring. With its upper end, the cord was attached to the grinding device. It had the form of a tube, inside which the grater composition was located, through it the designers passed a wire spiral (grater). The central channel of the sleeve, which the tube was equipped with by screwing in, became the location for the powder moderator.
Without a detonator capsule, the M-24 was considered absolutely safe. For the operation of 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 enemy’s eyes.
Handle device
For the manufacture of pens for M-24, wood was used. Both ends of this handle were equipped with threaded bushings. Using them, a grater device was attached to the upper end. Immediately screwed onto the wooden handle and the shell itself fragmentation M-24. The lower end of the handle was equipped with a special safety cap. The handle was hollow from the inside: in the through channel an extension cord was stretched to the gear mechanism. On the surface of the handle was exactly the same markings as on the body. They differed in that the stigma was squeezed out on the wood.
Wear Methods
In a combat situation, soldiers carried the M-24 in the following ways:
- Plugging a grenade behind a waist belt. This method was the most common.
- Behind the belt
- In special pouches that spilled over his shoulder. In this way, six grenades in one bag could be carried.
- On the neck. For this, the handles of two grenades were connected to each other.
- In the bootleg.
The performance characteristics
- Stielhandgranate was in service from 1916 to 1945.
- M-24 refers to the type of anti-personnel hand grenades.
- Country of origin - Germany.
- Dimensions of the M-24 grenade: 356 mm (length) x 75 mm (case) x 6 cm (diameter).
- Grenade weight: 500 grams.
- The explosive mass was 160 grams.
- The length of the handle of the M-24 grenade is 285 mm.
- M-24 was used in two world wars and during the war in Vietnam.
- The product was intended for throwing at a distance of 30 to 40 meters.
- The retarder M-24 is designed for 5 seconds.
Product Advantages
The strengths of M-24 are the following inherent qualities of the device:
- The grenade had a good balance. Due to this, the average fighter was able to throw her at a distance of up to forty meters.
- Manufacturing technology was not laborious. Production did not require large financial investments.
- The explosive allowed the use of M-24 with the greatest efficiency.
Weaknesses
Despite a number of advantages, the Stielhandgranate fragmentation grenade was not without some disadvantages:
- The explosive used to fill the hulls was very unstable to moisture. This is explained by the fact that, in wartime, a surrogate was mainly used as explosive, the basis of which was ammonium nitrate. In this regard, the storage of M-24 was significantly complicated: the grenades must have been disassembled (with the detonators caps removed and placed separately). At the same time, in warehouses, it was necessary to carefully monitor that moisture did not affect the Stielhandgranate case itself. The negative effect of moisture affected the gravel fuse. Very often, he fell into disrepair. When pulling the cord, ignition was not carried out, and the grenade did not work.
- Manual fragmentation M-24 could come into complete disrepair as a result of long-term storage. This was due to the caking property of the explosives.
- The retarder was designed for five seconds. Thus, the German soldier, who pulled out the ignition cord, had to keep within this time and throw the M-24. The retarder could also work as half a second earlier, and 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, it was equipped with troops of the Swiss army, and in China its mass production was established.