The Stielgranate 42 was a German fin-stabilized demolition charge, used with the 15 cm

SIG 33 The 15 cm sIG 33 (''schweres Infanterie Geschütz 33'', lit. "Heavy Infantry Gun") was the standard German heavy infantry gun used in the Second World War. It was the largest weapon ever classified as an infantry gun by any nation.Hogg, p. ...

heavy infantry gun and armored vehicles armed with the SIG 33 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The primary purpose of the Stielgranate 42 was the demolition of concrete fortifications and for the clearing of minefields and barbed wire. Unlike the

Stielgranate 41 The Stielgranate 41 (German: "stick grenade"; model 1941) was a German shaped charge, fin-stabilized shell, used with the 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank gun to give it better anti-tank performance. The 3.7 cm PaK-36, was the standard anti-tank gun ...

it was not a

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 ...

anti-tank weapon. In an emergency, the Stielgranate 42 could be used in an

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 ...

role to great effect but due to its short range and poor accuracy the gun crew would be dangerously exposed to enemy fire.

Design

The Stielgranate 42 was of welded steel construction, consisting of three main parts: the nose cone, a cylindrical body, and a tapered tail with fins. Both the nose and the base of the projectile were reinforced with steel rings welded to the casing. The nose ring is threaded to accept a WgrZ.36 impact fuze also used by the leichter Ladungswerfer. A booster charge made up of compressed TNT pellets is located in the center of a tube of

picric acid Picric acid is an organic compound with the formula (O2N)3C6H2OH. Its IUPAC name is 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The name "picric" comes from el, πικρός (''pikros''), meaning "bitter", due to its bitter taste. It is one of the most acidi ...

pellets. The complete projectile weighs and is filled with of

amatol Amatol is a highly explosive material made from a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate. The British name originates from the words ammonium and toluene (the precursor of TNT). Similar mixtures (one part dinitronaphthalene and seven parts amm ...

. A stick which fits over the base of the projectile is placed in the gun barrel and the projectile is then propelled by a charge. After approximately the stick falls away and the projectile continues on its course. The tail consists of six small fins in pairs at the base of the projectile with three steel bars with larger fins in between the small fins. The fins were angled to impart spin to help stabilize the projectile.

References

Artillery shells World War II weapons of Germany Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942 {{artillery-stub