Identify German explosive device?

[Tom W.]

These are some kind of explosives carried by troops during a night raid on British trenches.

"We used them to clear out everything over there," says the writing on the back of the postcard.

Anybody recognize them? Are they some kind of petrol bomb? Manufactured by one unit, or in general issue?

[spconnolly007]

First thought was anti-tank because of their size, but obviously not! Gas maybe, they all have masks? Sorry Tom, just thinking out loud.

Regards,

Sean.

[SiegeGunner]

'Clearing out' presumably refers to dugouts (could you post the caption in German, please, Tom). They look like a stick grenade in a ration carrier's hot food canister, perhaps packed with additional explosive. Thrown into the entrance of a dugout, like a satchel charge?

[centurion]

Britain had a drum shaped explosive device for rolling down dugout steps - perhaps this is the German equivalent?

[centurion]

Just a furher thought I've seen accounts of a German device in which a small explosive charge ruptured a canister containing mustard gas. This not only killed anyone in a dugout but rendered it impossible to reoccupy without significant de contamination effort. Seen no photos of this however - possibly this is what this is?

[Tom W.]

'Clearing out' presumably refers to dugouts (could you post the caption in German, please, Tom). They look like a stick grenade in a ration carrier's hot food canister, perhaps packed with additional explosive. Thrown into the entrance of a dugout, like a satchel charge?

Transcribed by a native speaker of German:

9.6.16

Liebe Patin!

Herzl. Dank für dein l.[iebes] Paket. Befinde mich noch Immer in bester Gesundheit. Übrigens Bild zeigt eine gewaltsame Erkundungspatrouille, darunter auch ich, die wir vom 29. Auf 30. April vollzogen. Wie hier gingen wir des Nachts in den englischen Graben rüber und räumten dort auf.

Sei nun herzl. gegrüßt Von Deinem Patenk.[ind]

Fritz

Viele Grüße auch

an Pat u. Marie

They do look like the handles of stick grenades. I've never seen a German ration carrier. So these could be IEDs unique to the unidentified pioneer unit.

[SiegeGunner]

"We used them to clear out everything over there," says the writing on the back of the postcard.

The German doesn't specifically refer to these devices, Tom. It just says "We went over into the British trenches at night and cleaned up there".

The 'packaging' does look a bit elaborate for a purely explosive device, so Centurion's suggestion of a hybrid explosive/mustard gas device is persuasive. I've never come across anything in my translation work that sounded like these devices. Is that a lanyard or a hose coming off the 'neck' of the device. If a hose, they're not perhaps cooling water containers for MGs, are they ...?

[trenchtrotter]

Ice buckets to chill wine / beer???

TT

[4thGordons]

just a comment, the obvious presence of gasmasks (out of their cases) in the photo might support the contention that these are some sort of gas grenade.

Chris

[Michael Haselgrove]

The carrying straps are identical to the strap on the bread bag in my collection. I think that is a measured length of safety fuse running into the top, or spout, of each container that has then been sealed to make it waterproof. In the circumstances, my guess is that they are locally produced demolition charges.

I can't say what the canisters contained, but my opinion is that it would be explosive. Certainly it is not mustard gas as the card is dated 1916 and that date tends to be corroborated by the type of gas mask carried by the soldiers. Mustard gas was not, as far as I am aware, introduced until July 1917.

Regards,

Michael H.

[Tom W.]

The carrying straps are identical to the strap on the bread bag in my collection. I think that is a measured length of safety fuse running into the top, or spout, of each container that has then been sealed to make it waterproof. In the circumstances, my guess is that they are locally produced demolition charges.

I can't say what the canisters contained, but my opinion is that it would be explosive. Certainly it is not mustard gas as the card is dated 1916 and that date tends to be corroborated by the type of gas mask carried by the soldiers. Mustard gas was not, as far as I am aware, introduced until July 1917.

Regards,

Michael H.

Interesting. The Germans had a few experimental gas grenades, but I've never seen anything like these devices. I thought they might be full of gasoline, but they could be larger versions of the "jam-tin" grenade. The men are pioneers, so it's makes sense that these would be demolition charges.

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

Probably locally made explosive charges, pull the fuze and toss it down the steps. Pioneer troops often were used to manufacture items like these.

ralph

[Rob Connolly]

To be flippant, they look like champagne bottles cooling in an ice bucket. "Ha ha! we cleaned out the British trenches - stood outside their dugouts and popped the corks and out they came like moths to a flame ..." Being more serious, those containers are large; if they contained explosives rather than simply a collection of improvised shrapnel they would need a significant fuse length to allow the chucker to get clear, or risk being blown to atoms themselves. And the gasmasks imply a chemical component. Phosphorus, maybe?