Russian WW1 M 1912 Grenade
Hand Grenade Model 1912
This is a high explosive stick grenade, consisting of a fabricated sheet metal head attached to a wooden handle.
It utilized a grip safety mechanism that armed a delay fuze when thrown. (Same design as the gas grenade)
A carrying hook is provided for attachment to a soldier's belt.
Also referred to as the "Lantern Head" type, referring to the square head design.
Early Russian and Soviet Hand Grenades
M1912
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Type: Stick
Explosive: Ammonal
Weight: 600 g
Weight of frag j: ? g
Weight of expl: 100 g*
Eff blast rad : 13-15 m
Number of fragments: ?
Fuse length : 4-5 s
Throwing range: 20-35 m
* Estimated
Stats:
Early Russian and Soviet Hand Grenades
Imperial Russia, Soviet Union
M1912
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Weight: 1.3 lb
AT: 4
Fuse: 2
Range: 16
Russia was one of the few nations to field hand grenades at the beginning of WWI. The country had both impact and time-fused grenades in its inventory when the war began but the impact-fused models were quickly withdrawn after their numerous shortcomings became known.
The Hand Grenade Model 1912 was a stick grenade consisting of a sheet metal cylinder, filled with explosive and a sheet metal fragmentation jacket drilled with holes, attached to a wooden handle. A detonator was attached to the cover of the cylinder. A spring-loaded priming handle was attached and held fast to the wooden handle by a metal ring which served as the weapon's safety. A piece of string was tied around the handle at the factory in order to make sure the priming handle stayed in place.
When the soldier grasped the grenade's wooden handle the priming handle was also depressed. The correct way of grasping the grenade was so that the safety ring went between the third and fourth finger of the hand. The soldier then armed the grenade by turning a safety catch away from the front of the hammer at the end of the priming handle. The next step was simply to throw the grenade - the safety ring was to slide off the handle as the grenade was thrown and remain in the thrower's hand.
When the handle was released, the hammer at its end would strike the fuse, lighting up a small quantity of black powder in a copper tube. The resulting smoke would escape through small holes in the tube. When four or five seconds later the fire reached a primer set at the other end it blew up, detonating the grenade.
There was a hook on the grenade so that it could easily be attached to a soldier's belt. Probably because ammonal is water soluble the Model 1912 hand grenades were packed into airtight zinc boxes at the factory. The fuses too had to be protected against humidity because of their black powder.
