In Italy the German Army has been issuing the stick hand grenade, model 24, with a removable "shrapnel ring" fitted over the thin iron or steel casing, or head, of the grenade. This addition permits the German soldier to employ the grenade as a defensive weapon. The stick hand grenade with a shrapnel ring (labeled Stielhandgranate 24 mit Splitterring) is illustrated in figure 29.¹

It should be remembered that all the hand grenades used by the German Army are normally of the "offensive" type; that is, they have a thin metal casing with a high proportion of explosive filler. Since they are of this type, they depend on blast effect, instead of on fragmentation of the casing, as in the U.S. "defensive-type" Mills grenade. The normal German hand grenades can be used safely by men advancing erect in the open, because they can be thrown a distance greater than their effective bursting radius.

Figure 29. German Stick Hand Grenade with Shrapnel Ring Added.

On the other hand, the German stick hand grenade with a shrapnel ring is intended solely for use as a defensive weapon. Enemy instructions state that soldiers are to use it only when they are protected by good cover, since the shrapnel is effective up to a radius of 30 meters (about 32 1/2 yards). Without the ring, the grenade may be used in the usual manner.

These grenades are packed in boxes of five.

¹There continues to be an urgent need for all military personnel to turn over captured material and documents to the proper authorities. In the case of the Stielhandgranate mit Splitterring, for example, prompt action taken by Pvt. Jerry S. Hardy, A.S.N. 19002098, was of great value to intelligence officers.