FILLER EQUIVALENT TO TNT (R.E.) – Picric acid – 1.17
AVERAGE RANGE – Tossed or placed
COLOR CODE – Olive drab
MARKINGS – VOR GEBRAUCH SPRENGKAPSEL EINSETZEN [Before Use Insert Detonator] – Printed on explosive head in white block letters
STATUS – Obsolete
SERVICE – Limited field service with Imperial German Army
This was much more of a demolition charge than a hand grenade, though it resembled nothing more than a huge stick grenade. It was the first purpose-built antitank grenade in any service during WWI. The body of the grenade was a large metal can filled with Grenade Filling 88 (Picric acid) to help insure the detonation of the large explosive charge, a complete Model 1917 Stick Grenade was used as the initiator, handle, and firing mechanism. The “grenade” was much too massive to be able to be thrown very far, so it took a very solid soldier to get up close to a WWI tank and toss the grenade onto the target. The soldier would have to immediately take cover before the charge detonated. The blast from the grenade could easily break a tread of the early tanks, immobilizing them into stationary targets for artillery. It was the large size and weight of the Tankabwehr-Handgranate that made it unpopular with the German troops, as well as it being available in relatively small numbers late in the war. Various Geballte Ladung charges made from standard, and common, stick grenades were much more popular and available.
