German Kugelkopft Grenade. Real or Fake?

[paul the grenade]

On another forum it has been suggested that the 1WW German Kugelkopft Grenade is none other than a clever fake from the 50's and not a real grenade at all:tinysmile_cry_t3:. There appears to be no original documentation showing the grenade.
Can anyone provide any period info about this grenade??? or is it a clever fake as suggested. If so it has fooled a lot of people.
Cheers, Paul

 

[Millsman]

Well Delhomme certainly documented it in 1919. Page 13 in the book I have.

John

 

[Snufkin]

Well Delhomme certainly documented it in 1919. Page 13 in the book I have.

John, I'd be interested in what edition you have. I have author-signed copies of his 1982-1983 editions on British and German grenades, but I didn't realise he'd been active over 60 years earlier.



Tom.

 

[paul the grenade]

Thats interesting as i thought the books were a lot later too.

 

[millsbomber]

Have any of the EoD battlefield guys ever found any...... If no... then there is the answer

 

[Fusse2004]

I bought such a handgranate in the 1970s in France on a stock exchange.price 35.-DM= ca 20.-€. The dealer told me that it is a replica of a found original. He had about 25 pieces on the table at that time. In my opinion there is no original, it is all copies, made in Belgium.

 

[Millsman]

Tom

I've got a French copy bought a number of years ago. I always understood that he was contemporaneous to the Great War and out of copyright. If they are more recent I've been under the wrong impression. When were they authored?

John

 

[Snufkin]

John,

The French text edition of the English Grenades has "Copyright 1982 - Patrice Delhomme" in the front, and "Copyright 1983 - Patrice Delhomme" in the German Grenades. The copies I have are signed by the author - or at least by someone using the name Delhomme.

Tom.

 

[Millsman]

Thanks Tom

What puzzles me is that the illustrations look old, very much like the hand drawn images in the Australian Bombers instruction of the time. I think I was told that they were drawn after the Great War. Odd. Perhaps it's just the impression they are not 1980's drawn.

John

 

[Snufkin]

Thanks Tom

What puzzles me is that the illustrations look old, very much like the hand drawn images in the Australian Bombers instruction of the time. I think I was told that they were drawn after the Great War. Odd. Perhaps it's just the impression they are not 1980's drawn.

John

John,

With acknowledgements to M. Delhomme I attach an image of pages 44-45 that describe the grenade. Your edition must be a different one, as you mention it is on p13 in your copy. It would be interesting to see whether it is a completely different text.





Tom.

 

[Millsman]

Hi Tom

Identical picture and text but on the same page.

John

 

[Alpini]

Have any of the EoD battlefield guys ever found any...... If no... then there is the answer

The French publication "En attendant les démineus" from Henry & Michael Bélot of year 2000 contains the grenade. But I don't know the authors so can't ask them about the origin of the grenades.

 

[deepsea]

Hi Paul, your is a good question. Talking of other time ago I found in some books a WW! >Serbian grenade, called "Krakujevac". It was the grenade used on the 1914 Ferdinand Killing at Sarajevo. In this book they said: " used by the Austrian army, as war booty, on the Italian front, but I had no news of digging of similar stuff from 30 years. Last month someone found some here and now I've one.

 

[jeeeensy]

There are repro ones out there,, here is one I bought years ago, side by side to an original you can tell them apart.

 

[jeeeensy]

I would ad this,, I bought this stick 2 months back for a Kugel, it arrived and here are the piccs ( its actually the one in the above post)

I asked where it was found, and was found in the Meuse Verdun sector in a small pond.
I have no reason to think its a fantasy piece, the stick has not been cleaned by myself as yet,, probably wont clean it to much as this has some provenance with it.
you can still see remnants inside the fuse area of debris, I'll take better piccs later of it and post.