Kugelhandgranate

• Name — Kugelhandgranate • Origin — German Empire • Type — Fragmentation hand grenade • Is Explosive — yes • Wars — World War I • Weight — 1 kg • Diameter — 80 mm • Range — 20 m • Filling — Mixture of black powder, barium nitrate, and potassium perchlorate • Filling Weight — 45 g • Detonation — Friction wire & delayed fuse

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.

• German Empire

The body of the grenade was cast iron 8 mm thick, spherical 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.

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.