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The Stielgranate 41 (German: "stick grenade"; model 1941) was a 
The design looked like a rifle grenade, only considerably larger. One part of its stem, a stick, was placed inside the
* Weight as fired: 8.6 kg
* Explosive content:
** TNT, 2.42 kg, shaped charge
* Total length: 73.9 cm
* Stem diameter: 37 mm
* Warhead diameter: 160 mm
* Fuzes
** base fuze ''Bd Z 5130 - Bodenzünder 5130''
** nose fuze ''AZ 5075 - Aufschlagzünder 5075'' (identical with the one used for
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, init ...
, fin-stabilized shell, used with the 3.7 cm Pak 36
The Pak 36 (''Panzerabwehrkanone 36'') is a 3.7 cm / 37mm caliber Nazi Germany, German anti-tank gun used during the Second World War. It was the main anti-tank weapon of Wehrmacht ''Panzerjäger'' units until 1942. Developed by ''Rheinmet ...
anti-tank
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first de ...
gun to give it better anti-tank performance.
The 3.7 cm PaK-36, was the standard anti-tank gun
An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance ...
of the Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...
in 1940. During the battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
in 1940 it had trouble dealing with thick armour of French and British tanks. In 1941, when Germany invaded the USSR, the gun was next to useless when confronted with Russian T-34
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The Chri ...
or KV-series tanks. It was successively replaced by larger calibre weapons, like the 5 cm PaK 38, but there were never enough of them, so it was decided to enhance the capability of the PaK 36 by providing it with new ammunition.
The design looked like a rifle grenade, only considerably larger. One part of its stem, a stick, was placed inside the gun barrel
A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as small arms, small firearms, artillery pieces, and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high ...
; the other part, a perforated tube, fitted around it. On the tube there were six stabilizing fins. It was shot with a special blank cartridge at a velocity of , which gave it maximum range of about (with gun elevation 25°) and around 180 m point blank
Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel par ...
range (gun elevation 5°).
It was equipped with two fuzes: in the nose, for direct hits, and in the base, to ensure detonation if the target was only grazed. The large calibre of the HEAT
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
warhead and shaped charge of 2.42 kg HE, enabled it to penetrate armour 180 mm thick, enough to defeat any World War II tank. The hit was equally dangerous at any distance, as the shaped-charge effect is not dependent on the velocity of the round at the point of impact. However, due to low velocity the grenade was not very accurate, so the effective range against tanks was around 300 m.
Another disadvantage of using ''Stielgranate'' was that the gun loader had to leave cover, go in front of the gun and place another grenade on the barrel.
Panzerschreck
''Panzerschreck'' (lit. "tank fright", "tank's fright" or "tank's bane") was the popular name for the ''Raketenpanzerbüchse'' 54 ("Rocket Anti-armor Rifle Model 54", abbreviated to RPzB 54), an 88 mm reusable anti-tank rocket launcher de ...
rockets) or its improved variant ''AZ 5095 - Aufschlagzünder 5095''
References
{{WWIIGermanGuns Artillery shells Anti-tank rounds World War II weapons of Germany Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1941