SS-Hauptsturmführer Friedrich Hannes: 12. Kompanie, III. Bataillon, SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania"

     Somewhere on the Eastern Front, SS-Hauptsturmführer Friedrich Hannes checks to see how well a M24 Stielhandgranate (stick hand grenade) fits into the muzzle of the 76.2mm ZiS-3 gun utilized on the Soviet SU-76 (Samokhodnaya Ustanovka-76) assault gun. Hannes, whose rank was equivalent to a Captain in the U.S. Army, was the commander of 12. Kompanie, III. Bataillon, SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania", of the 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking”. Born on August 27, 1913, Hannes would eventually join the Waffen-SS and his membership number was 297 080. His promotion to SS-Hauptsturmführer occurred on June 21, 1944 and he would later be awarded the Deutsches Kreuz im Gold (German Cross in Gold) for his acts of bravery and combat prowess while company commander on October 9, 1944.

     The technique of using a stick grenade and shoving it down the gun barrel of an enemy tank or tank destroyer was taught to infantrymen as a means to attack enemy armor. The intent was to detonate the grenade inside the gun tube and hope the explosion caused enough damage to render the gun inoperable. A skilled “panzerknacker” (“Tank Breaker”) used the M24 stick grenade in other ways to achieve kills against enemy armor. One such way consisted of removing the wooden shaft from six grenades and using wire to secure the warheads around a seventh grenade, creating what was called a Geballte Ladung or bundled charge. The explosive power of seven grenades was able to render tanks immobile by blowing off tracks, damaging running gear, or causing engine damage if placed on the thinly armored rear deck of tanks. Even a single M24 stick grenade had the possibility of inflicting engine damage with a good placement. Another method of using the M24 consisted of lashing one grenade to a einheitskanister (a 20 liter metal fuel can...better known as a “Jerry Can”) which was ¾ full of fuel and throwing the can up onto the engine deck of an enemy tank. The resulting explosion was enough to cripple a tank. It was standard procedure for truck drivers to maintain one of these improvised anti-tank devices on their vehicles in case enemy armor broke through into rear echelon areas. The Eierhandgranate 39 (Egg Grenade Model 1939) could also be utilized to create a Geballte Ladung as well as be thrown down a gun barrel. Since it was egg shaped and depending on the elevation of the enemy tank's gun, it had the potential to roll down and detonate near the breech and if the “panzerknacker” was lucky, a round was already loaded or the grenade rolled out into the fighting compartment when the breech was opened, exploding inside the tank.

     Of course, to utilize any of the methods above required the infantryman to be very close to the target, even next to it. In an urban combat zone, tank hunters have more cover and opportunity to get close enough to utilize grenades. While still risky, more so if infantry were supporting the tanks, the odds were a bit more in favor of the tank hunter. In more open terrain, without some form of cover, attacking a tank at such close range was not likely to succeed. However, there was a variant of the M24 stick grenade, the Nebelhandgranate 39 (Nb.Hgr.39), or Smoke Hand Grenade Model 1939, and “panzerknackers” found a way to use them effectively to help them assault a tank. A six foot length of rope or cord connected two smoke grenades together. In one hand, one grenade was held facing upwards and the other facing downwards. Upon throwing, centrifugal force pulled the grenades apart, extending the rope. The target was the gun barrel of the enemy tank. The rope would catch on the barrel and wrap around it and by this time, the smoke commenced to issuing from the grenades and obscured the vision of the tank's driver and the hull machine-gunner (if the tank had one) as well as made it difficult for the commander in the turret to utilize his vision blocks to see what was happening. This allowed the “panzerknacker” to have a better chance to get up to the tank and effect an attack using explosive hand grenades or other close combat methods.