Stielhandgranate

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Stielhandgranate

Top left: German soldier ready to throw a Stielhandgranate 24.
Top right: Translated cross-section of the Stielhandgranate 24.
Lower left: Two Stielhandgranate 24s on a belt.
Lower right: Demonstration of a German Stielhandgranate 24, 1946.

Stielhandgranate is the German term for "stick hand grenade" and generally refers to a prominent series of World War I and World War II–era German stick grenade designs, distinguished by their long wooden handles, pull cord arming and cylindrical warheads. The first models were introduced by the Imperial German Army during World War I and the final design was introduced during World War II by the German Wehrmacht.

The distinctive appearance of the Stielhandgranate family has led to them being called "potato mashers" in British Army slang, and they remain one of the most easily recognized infantry weapons of the 20th century.^{[1][page needed]}