Kugelhandgranate

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Kugelhandgranate
Type	Fragmentation hand grenade
Place of origin	German Empire
Service history
Wars	World War I
Specifications
Mass	1 kg
Diameter	80 mm
Effective firing range	20 m
Filling	Mixture of black powder, barium nitrate, and potassium perchlorate
Filling weight	45 g
Detonation mechanism	Friction wire & delayed fuse

The Kugelhandgranate ("ball hand grenade") is the name given to a model of a hand thrown fragmentation grenade 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 8 mm thick, spherical shaped and externally segmented designed to produce between 70 and 80 fragments. A bronze-like stick (which was the igniter) was introduced to the spherical body. The filling was a mixture of black powder, barium nitrate, 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, and potassium chlorate.

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
• F1 grenade (France)

References[]

• Kugelhandgranate at ORDATA
• http://www.inert-ord.net/gerimp/kugels/
• Images and description of Kugelhandgranate 1913 and other grenades

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