Bizarre German Grenade-Throwing-Contraption, Somme

[LizardKing]

This picture was taken at the exact point with the first one posted in this thread! The wooden planks are the same...

[timpe]

here is better pic
I suspect that that is used to throw a grenade turtle



"The disk grenade had a novel arming mechanism. The grenade contained a cross of four tubes with metal rods that blocked the spring loaded firing pin. If the grenade was thrown with a spin, the restraining rods moved outward, releasing the firing pin which ignited the fuse. I don't know how this worked in practice; I can imagine a wind up like a discus thrower might have been necessary. This would have been awkward in trench warfare"

[RSVBiffer]

here is better pic
I suspect that that is used to throw a grenade turtle

"The disk grenade had a novel arming mechanism. The grenade contained a cross of four tubes with metal rods that blocked the spring loaded firing pin. If the grenade was thrown with a spin, the restraining rods moved outward, releasing the firing pin which ignited the fuse. I don't know how this worked in practice; I can imagine a wind up like a discus thrower might have been necessary. This would have been awkward in trench warfare"

It was thrown in a similar manner to which a pebble is skimmed across water.

The were two variants of M1915 Diskus. The Offensive version was designed to stun/wound rather than kill and was not fragmented. It posed less risk to the thrower. The Défensive Diskus was fragmented inside and designed to kill over a wide radius. It was smaller and carried less explosive charge than the offensive variant.

[Gunny Hartmann]

Great thread!...

[timpe]

It was thrown in a similar manner to which a pebble is skimmed across water.

The were two variants of M1915 Diskus. The Offensive version was designed to stun/wound rather than kill and was not fragmented. It posed less risk to the thrower. The Défensive Diskus was fragmented inside and designed to kill over a wide radius. It was smaller and carried less explosive charge than the offensive variant.

You are right... and there was 1913 version too.

Here are offensive and defensive
Attachment 760412

defansive in left...pic shows good site to study all sort of grenades