M-24, German hand grenade: description

During the First and Second World Wars, German soldiers widely used hand grenades. Most of them were equipped with assault battalions of Germany. Carrying out raids, the Wehrmacht soldiers wound their rifles behind their backs. Their hands, therefore, always remained free for the effective use of Stielhandgranate. This is how the German hand grenade M-24 was originally named. This weapon has served the German army for decades.

Today, the image of a German soldier is hard to imagine without the M-24. The grenade proved to be highly effective in the years of two world wars. Almost until 1990, it was part of the equipment of soldiers in Switzerland.

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 belligerents attempted to create an effective offensive weapon effective in close combat, funnels and trenches. The Russian army already used hand grenade RG-14, created by V.I. Rudlinsky. The British used the anti-personnel grenade system of 1915, which later became known as "limonka", or F-1.

Before making an M-24 grenade, German weapon designers carefully studied the Russian and German variants. It was decided to equip the infantrymen of Germany with a similar offensive weapon. Assault battalions of the Reichswehr received Stielhandgranate as early as 1916.

The task of the new grenade was to defeat the enemy's manpower with the help of splinters and the shock wave created during the explosion. Also, the target could be armored enemy defenses, fortifications and firing points. In such cases, German soldiers used a bundle of several grenades. Thus, Stielhandgranate was intended exclusively for an offensive task. In 1917, the grenade received compulsory equipment and German infantry.

1923-1924

At this time, German engineers in the construction of this grenade made some changes, which made it possible to use it also as a defensive weapon. For this Stielhandgranate was equipped with a steel or metal-ceramic jacket. After the completion of the product in the military documentation was listed as Stielhandgranate-24.

How else were the German grenades called?

M-24 - this designation can be found in many English and Russian-speaking military and literary sources. In the life of Russian soldiers, a German grenade of the 1924 sample, because of its peculiar form, was mostly called a "rattle", and English soldiers - "tolkushka" (potato-hamlet).

The Great Patriotic War

In the First World Stielhandgranate-24, or hand grenade M-24, was considered one of the most modern. But by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War its design 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 best striking means of the Wehrmacht, serial production of Stielhandgranate-24 was not stopped. During the Second World War, more than 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?

Grenade M-24 (photo of which is presented in the article) is a manual fragmentation attack-defensive means. Its structure includes the following elements:

• The shell containing the explosive.
• Wooden handle.
• Ignition mechanism.
• Detonator.

Body construction

In the manufacture of cases for M-24, sheet steel was used. The thickness of each sheet did not exceed 0.1 cm. During the work, they were subjected to the procedure of stamping. The case had the shape of a glass, in the center of which the masters pressed the central tube, necessary for connecting the sleeve to the handle.

The contents of the body consisted of a bursting charge and a detonator cap. The task of the explosive in M-24 was performed by the base of ammonium nitrate - dynamo and ammonal. In the grenade of the 1924 sample, a special steel shell was provided containing incisions for the production of which a thick metal or cermet was used. In the people this shell is also called a "shirt".

The grenade, containing a steel shirt, was used as a defensive one. She had an increased radius of defeat. Unlike Stielhandgranate in 1916, for which the spread of fragments of up to 15 meters was considered the limit, the modified M-24 radius increased to 30. At the same time, individual fragments could fly almost 100 meters.

For painting the M-24 body, a gray or dark green field color was used. Before applying the finish coat the surface of the body was carefully primed with a red paint.

On the body in its upper part with a white paint applied stamp (imperial eagle). For the application of the number and the year of manufacture, chasing was used.

Operating principle

For the M-24 German designers were provided with the type of the ignition mechanism. It consisted of a thermo device and a lanyard, the end of which was equipped with a special white porcelain or lead ring. The upper end of the lace was attached to the teething device. It had the form of a tube, inside of which was located the tero structure, through it the designers missed the wire spiral (grater). The location of the powder retarder was the central channel of the sleeve, which was equipped with a screw-in tube.

Without a detonator capsule, the M-24 was considered absolutely safe. To operate the grenade, its bushing must 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

To produce the handle for the M-24 wood was used. Both ends of this handle were equipped with threaded bushings. With the help of them, a teething device was attached to the upper end. Immediately screwed on the 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 from the inside was hollow: in the through channel was drawn a lanyard to the mechanism of the mechanism. On the surface of the handle was put exactly the same marking as on the case. They differed in that the stamp was squeezed out on the wood.

Wearing methods

In the combat situation, soldiers wore M-24 in the following ways:

• Plugging a grenade at the waist belt. This method was the most common.
• Behind the strap of the sword belt.
• In special pouches that were thrown over your shoulder. In this way it was possible to carry six grenades in one bag.
• On the neck. For this, the handles of the two grenades were connected to each other.
• In the boot top.

Tactical and technical characteristics

• Stielhandgranate was in service from 1916 to 1945.
• M-24 refers to the type of anti-personnel hand grenades.
• The country of origin is Germany.
• Dimensions of the grenade M-24: 356 mm (length) x 75 mm (body) x 6 cm (diameter).
• Weight grenade: 500 grams.
• The mass of the explosive was 160 grams.
• The handle length of the M-24 grenade 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 retarder M-24 is designed for 5 seconds.

Advantages of the product

The strengths of the M-24 are the following inherent qualities:

• The pomegranate had a good balance. Due to this, the average fighter was able to throw it at a distance of up to forty meters.
• Manufacturing technology was not time-consuming. The production did not require large financial investments.
• The explosive allowed using M-24 with the greatest efficiency.

Weak sides

Despite a number of advantages, the fragmentation grenade Stielhandgranate was not without some drawbacks:

• The explosive used to stuff the hulls was very unstable to moisture. This is explained by the fact that in military times a surrogate was predominantly used as an ammunition, the basis for which was ammonium nitrate. In this regard, the storage of M-24 is significantly complicated: the grenades must have been disassembled (with the detonators detonated and detached). At the same time, warehouses had to carefully monitor the fact that moisture does not affect the Stielhandgranate itself. The negative effect of moisture was also felt in the heat fuse. Very often it became worthless. When pulling the cord, the ignition was not carried out, and the grenade did not work.
• Manual fragmentation M-24 could come to full disrepair and as a result of long-term storage. This was caused by the property of explosives to cake up.
• The retarder was designed for five seconds. Thus, the German soldier, pulling 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 the Great Patriotic War, the German grenade Stielhandgranate-24 ceased to be used in the German army. Nevertheless, the M-24 has not disappeared from the world arms market. For a long time, it was completed by soldiers of the army of Switzerland, and in China, its serial production was established.