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 (2.2 lb)
Diameter	80 mm (3.1 in)
Effective firing range	20 m (66 ft)
Filling	Mixture of black powder, barium nitrate, and potassium perchlorate
Filling weight	45 g (1.6 oz)
Detonation mechanism	Friction wire & delayed fuse

The Kugelhandgranate ('ball hand grenade') is a model of hand thrown fragmentation grenade manufactured in Germany, also known as Mod. 1913.

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.

The body of the grenade was cast iron 8 mm (0.31 in) 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.

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 (49 ft).

• Mills bomb
• F1 grenade (France)

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

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