Schwere hand grenades, made of cast-iron, and in quite a number of different styles and sizes, were used by Austro-Hungarian forces throughout the war.
One of the smallest Schwere grenades, this example still has its fuse protector, although slightly split, most likely due to 100 years of glacial ice.
The fuse itself still unscrews perfectly,…
…the cotton untouched after all this time.
Unscrew the fuse protector, and remarkably…
…this end too is in perfect condition. Isn’t that amazing? This is a percussion fuse; remove the cap, pull the string, unwrap the end,…
…and striking it hard on a solid surface would ignite the fuse and begin the delay.
As there are many types of Schwere hand grenades, and, hey-ho, as I just happen to own more than one, I will show you another in the next post in this series.
Fascinating!
Did you find all these grenades yourself or did you buy them?
I agree Chris. No, I didn’t find them; I wouldn’t pick up a grenade even if I did find one, which I have. These Austro-Hungarian grenades come from clearance that is still going on on the Austrian/Italian front – so much is still there to this day. And of course the glaciers are now discharging bodies and all sorts of ordnance. And there aren’t too many collectors, which means prices are not too exorbitant, and if you know the right people…
This Schwere grenade is a beauty, though. Wait ’til I show you what I call the sycamore grenade. Truly ingenious. I have yet to find out whether it worked…