In formation I have seen says that the potato masher grenade was lighter and easy to throw than the american hand grenade but it did not pack the killing punch the american one did ? was this true 
You could throw the german one further cause of the lever the stick provided and it had a bigger explosive charge, but it had no metal around it for a fragmentation effect. I wouldnāt recommend standing next to either one.
The German stick grenade was more of a concussion type of weapon rather than a killing weapon, it had a thinner shell that would fragment into smaller, less deadly, pieces than the US grenade, there was a sleeve that could be put on it to make it more deadly, but as Drake said, you still didnāt want to be nearby when it went off .
Great questionā¦I donāt know a lot about German grenades but I do know a little about the American MKIIās. The MKII weights a little over 1 pound. I weighted out the same amount in frag pieces, you can see the deadly shrapnel ( see pics) and remember the fuze is flying through the air too. If any member of WWII in color would like a few shrapnel pieces for their collection get in touch with me, its free you just have to pay for shipping.
edited to add: Thats a little over 1 pound emptyā¦no powder fuze or spoon, just the empty body
Great questionā¦I donāt know a lot about German grenades but I do know a little about the American MKIIās. The MKII weights a little over 1 pound. I weighted out the same amount in frag pieces, you can see the deadly shrapnel ( see pics) and remember the fuze is flying through the air too. If any member of WWII in color would like a few shrapnel pieces for their collection get in touch with me, its free you just have to pay for shipping.
Thats a little over 1 pound emptyā¦no powder fuze or spoon, just the empty body
I believe the American āpineappleā grenade was much more powerful than the potato masher, mainly because the fragmentation jacket compressed the blast more. I recall reading that some Allied troops using it had to be careful as they were often in nonlethal frag radius in close quarters battle. And that later in the War, some US soldiers carried both, using the German grenades as a concussion grenade for quick assaults, and using the MKII to clear houses or bunkersā¦
The potato-masher was in fact designed with the German concept of quick assault tactics in mind, in which it could quickly be thrown and the user could then rush in quickly after his opponents without fragging himself, and take them while they were stunnedā¦
The Americans in WWII did have the MKIII and the MKIIIA1 grenade that was intended to produce a concussive effect in enclosed areas. These grenades weighed about 14 ounces and was constructed of a pressed fiber body with sheet metal ends filled with TNT. They saw limited use during WWII and problems were sometimes encountered when they were utilized. The early versions had an impact type fuze but were considered dangerous so the later versions had a timed fuze.
Ill look for a photo and post if I can find one.
edited to add. here is a page that has a pic of the MKIII, scroll about half way down page for a pic.
http://members.shaw.ca/dwlynn/yank/usid.htm
I have a friend who was a child during WWII and he picked up an American grenade during the war. Some reason it didnāt explode. They messed with it some and left it there. A week later some other kids were playing with it and it exploded. He said that the Germans were always more worried about the American grenades because they were made so much more vicious.