• setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world
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    22 days ago

    In WW2, the Red Army did use similar form factor grenades. The RGD-33 looked similar at a glance to a German stick grenade, but used a more complicated fuze mechanism. The German stick grenades used a pull string ignition inside of a wooden handle. You can see in the video how the cap on the bottom is removed to reveal the string. The Soviet RDG-33 used a complicated arming process which aligned mechanisms inside of a metal handle. (The picture below shows an RGD-33 fitted with optional fragmentation sleeve.)

    After WW2, there are Soviet anti-tank grenades like the RKG-3 which continue the stick grenade form factor, but are used for a different purpose; the RKG-3 has a HEAT warhead, with the metal handle containing a parachute to help orient the warhead toward the target. This kind of grenade remains seen in modern conflicts.

    The German stick grenades in WW2 had relatively poor effects compared to other designs due to the lack of a proper fragmentation sleeve over the thin warhead body by default. This is sometimes colloquially called an “offensive” type of grenade as it can be thrown from a position without cover, as the short ranged blast is the only major hazard presented. The German M24 did also have a fragmentation sleeve, which would make it a “defensive” grenade, but it seems to have been used less often than the Soviet counterpart for some reason, and in any case it is not present in the video, which means the fragmentation hazard is minimal.