2018.002.012 [Grenade, Antipersonnel]

This is a German Discushandgranaten, comprised of two circular steel plates clamped together. Steel plates show extensive wear and tear; corrosion is common around the edges where the plates contact with each other, as well as across the surface of both plates. The outer black casing is interrupted by five metal tubes protruding at equidistant cross sections from one another. The largest of the tubes is the grenade's firing pin mechanism, which is capped on one end by a metal screw cap and by the circular metal pull pin on the other. The other four tubes are part of the grenade's spin-arming design. Due to the close and prolonged nature of trench warfare in the first years of World War I, there was a strong desire to create a type of hand-propelled explosive device that could detonate instantly, without giving any enemy soldiers the chance to pick it up and throw it back. The "Turtle Grenade," as it was called by Allied soldiers, worked so that if it was thrown with a spin, the inertia would loosen the four arming pins and release the primary spring-loaded firing pin. This meant that when the spin stopped, the grenade would detonate more or less instantly. There were two types of these grenades manufactured by the German Army in the First World War: the offensive version for use against single targets, and a defensive version for use against waves of advancing infantry. This content can be used with the following resources: SS.4.25: Technological Change This content can be used to educate students on the evolution and advancement of warfare technology during the first half of the twentieth century and what impacts they may have had upon Iowans who served in the First World War. For any use other than instructional resources, please check with the organization that owns this item for any copyright restrictions.