13–040-916

NAME – Model 1917 Egg grenade

NAME (NATIVE) – Eierhandgranate 17

COMMON NAMES – Egg grenade, Pigeon Egg

TYPE – Fragmentation hand grenade

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN – Germany

DATE OF MANUFACTURE – 1916

LENGTH – 6 cm (2.36 in) without fuze, 8.9 cm (3.50 in) with fuze

WIDTH (DIAMETER) – 4.5 cm (1.77 in)

WEIGHT – 0.318 kg (11 oz)

EFFECT – Blast and fragmentation

BURST RADIUS – 8 to 10 m (9 to 11 yards)

FUSE TYPE – Brennzünder 15 pull-type friction igniter

FUSE INITIATION – Sharp pull on wire at top of fuse

FUSE DELAY – 5 seconds

FILLER – Black powder with Barium Nitrate added

FILLER WEIGHT – 0.031 kg (1.11 oz)

FILLER EQUIVALENT TO TNT (R.E.) – 0.56

AVERAGE RANGE – 40 to 50 m (44 to 55 yards)

COLOR CODE – Black body brass or gunmetal fuze, a red band at the top of the fuse indicates a five-second delay

MARKINGS – None on body,

MANUFACTURER – State arsenals

STATUS – Obsolete

SERVICE – Imperial German military

     For the most part, this is a slightly modified version of the earlier M1915 Egg Grenade with a smooth body. Troops in the field generally liked the smaller Egg grenade. But the original smooth-bodied version could be difficult to hold or handle in the cold, wet environment of the trenches. The fuse also needed improvement as it was susceptible to damp. The new M1917 nA egg grenade had an improved fuze that could be simply screwed into the top of any grenade that it would fit, increasing the dependability of the device. For the new model of the egg grenade, a simple raised belt was around the center of the body, with scalloping along the circumference of the belt. The belt was found to aid in the handling of the new model egg grenade in the field, but added almost no additional demands on its manufacture.

    Designed in later 1916, the small grenade began reaching the troops in volume by 1917. The small size of the grenade, about half that of the Kugelhandgranate, allowed a number of them to be carried. Without the large handle of the stick grenades, the Eierhandgranate 17 could be carried in numbers in bread bags, empty sandbags, or even a few in a pocket, though this was not considered a safe practice. The thick iron walls of the Eierhandgranate 17 gave fairly good fragmentation so it was considered an effective weapon. One drawback with the fuse system was that the wire loop could get caught if the carrier wasn’t paying attention. A caught wire when the soldier moved could cause an accidental ignition and subsequent detonation of the grenade. This type of accident caused soldiers issued with the grenade to have a certain level of nervousness when using it. This reluctance to use the weapon could be resolved with more training with the Eierhandgranate 17, and the problem with the fuse was quickly addressed by the designers back in Germany.