It started as a medieval hand bomb that could be thrown from castle walls. By the 17th Century, grenadier units had been formed. They had their own drill for throwing grenades. Early grenades were almost as much a hazard to the user as the target, so they dropped out of use on the battlefield.
French troops using a catapult to throw hand grenades during World War I.
However, trench warfare favored the grenade.
"We have a new invention to annoy our friends in their pits. It consists in filling empty soda water bottles full of powder, old twisted nails and any other sharp or cutting thing we can find at the time, sticking a bit of tow in for a fuse then lighting it and throwing it quickly into our neighbor's pit where it bursts, to their great annoyance. You may imagine their rage at seeing a soda water bottle come tumbling into a hole full of men with a little fuse burning away as proud as a real shell exploding and burying itself into soft parts of the flesh."
World War I:
Early in World War I, both sides only had small grenades of a pre-war design. For example, in Italy, the Besozzi grenade had a five-second fuse with a match-tip that was ignited by striking on a ring on the soldier's hand. As an interim measure, the troops often improvised their own, such as the Jam Tin Grenade. These were replaced when manufactured versions such as the Mills bomb, the first modern fragmentation grenade, became available to British front-line troops.
Mills bomb:
William Mills, a hand grenade designer from Sunderland, patented, developed and manufactured the "Mills bomb" at the Mills Munition Factory in Birmingham, England, in 1915 and designated the No.5. It was described as the first "safe grenade." Approximately 75,000,000 grenades were made during World War I. They were explosive-filled steel canisters with a triggering pin and a distinctive deeply notched surface.
The Mills was a classic design; a grooved cast iron "pineapple" with a central striker held by a close hand lever and secured with a pin. According to Mills' notes the casing was grooved to make it easier to grip and not as an aid to fragmentation, and in practice it has been demonstrated that it does not shatter along the segmented lines. The Mills was a defensive grenade: after throwing the user had to take cover immediately. A competent thrower could manage 15 metres (49 feet) with reasonable accuracy, but the grenade could throw lethal fragments farther than this. The British Home Guard were instructed that throwing range of the No. 36 was about 30 yards with a danger area of about 100 yds.
At first the grenade was fitted with a seven-second fuse, but during combat in the Battle of France in 1940 this delay proved too long—giving defenders time to escape the explosion, or even to throw the grenade back—and was reduced to four seconds.
German stick grenade:
The German stick grenade was introduced in 1915 and the design developed throughout World War I. A friction igniter was used; this was uncommon in other countries but used for German grenades. "A pull cord ran down the hollow handle from the detonator within the explosive head, terminating in a porcelain ball held in place by a detachable base closing cap. To use the grenade, the base cap was unscrewed, permitting the ball and cord to fall out. Pulling the cord dragged a roughened steel rod through the igniter causing it to flare-up and start the five-second fuse burning." Says Wikipedia. This simple design continued to evolve throughout the First and Second World Wars, with the grenade becoming one of the most easily recognized of all small arms with the German soldier.
-Information provided by Wikipedia
French troops using a catapult to throw hand grenades during World War I.
However, trench warfare favored the grenade.
"We have a new invention to annoy our friends in their pits. It consists in filling empty soda water bottles full of powder, old twisted nails and any other sharp or cutting thing we can find at the time, sticking a bit of tow in for a fuse then lighting it and throwing it quickly into our neighbor's pit where it bursts, to their great annoyance. You may imagine their rage at seeing a soda water bottle come tumbling into a hole full of men with a little fuse burning away as proud as a real shell exploding and burying itself into soft parts of the flesh."
World War I:
Early in World War I, both sides only had small grenades of a pre-war design. For example, in Italy, the Besozzi grenade had a five-second fuse with a match-tip that was ignited by striking on a ring on the soldier's hand. As an interim measure, the troops often improvised their own, such as the Jam Tin Grenade. These were replaced when manufactured versions such as the Mills bomb, the first modern fragmentation grenade, became available to British front-line troops.
Mills bomb:
William Mills, a hand grenade designer from Sunderland, patented, developed and manufactured the "Mills bomb" at the Mills Munition Factory in Birmingham, England, in 1915 and designated the No.5. It was described as the first "safe grenade." Approximately 75,000,000 grenades were made during World War I. They were explosive-filled steel canisters with a triggering pin and a distinctive deeply notched surface.
The Mills was a classic design; a grooved cast iron "pineapple" with a central striker held by a close hand lever and secured with a pin. According to Mills' notes the casing was grooved to make it easier to grip and not as an aid to fragmentation, and in practice it has been demonstrated that it does not shatter along the segmented lines. The Mills was a defensive grenade: after throwing the user had to take cover immediately. A competent thrower could manage 15 metres (49 feet) with reasonable accuracy, but the grenade could throw lethal fragments farther than this. The British Home Guard were instructed that throwing range of the No. 36 was about 30 yards with a danger area of about 100 yds.
At first the grenade was fitted with a seven-second fuse, but during combat in the Battle of France in 1940 this delay proved too long—giving defenders time to escape the explosion, or even to throw the grenade back—and was reduced to four seconds.
German stick grenade:
The German stick grenade was introduced in 1915 and the design developed throughout World War I. A friction igniter was used; this was uncommon in other countries but used for German grenades. "A pull cord ran down the hollow handle from the detonator within the explosive head, terminating in a porcelain ball held in place by a detachable base closing cap. To use the grenade, the base cap was unscrewed, permitting the ball and cord to fall out. Pulling the cord dragged a roughened steel rod through the igniter causing it to flare-up and start the five-second fuse burning." Says Wikipedia. This simple design continued to evolve throughout the First and Second World Wars, with the grenade becoming one of the most easily recognized of all small arms with the German soldier.
-Information provided by Wikipedia