Original German WWII Inert 98k Rifle Small Anti-Tank Armor Penetrating Grenade – Klein Gewehr-Panzergranate Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice inert BATF compliant German WWII 30mm Anti-Tank rifle grenade round, offered in very good condition. We have had several of the later model 40 “Large” version of this grenade, but this is the first of the smaller versions that we have had in some time.

The grenade is in very good condition, with only minor oxidation, and most of the original black paint on the warhead portion. The grenade can still be unscrewed to examine the internal structure. A really great example of this rare AP Rifle Grenade.

The Gewehr-Panzergranate (Rifle Armor Grenade) was a shaped charge rifle grenade that was developed by Germany and used by the Wehrmacht during World War II. The grenade was launched from a Gewehrgranatengerät or Schießbecher (“shooting cup”) on a standard service rifle by a blank cartridge. The primary components were a nose cap, internal steel cone, steel upper body, aluminum lower body, rifled driving band, TNT filling, and a PETN base fuze.

The Gewehr-Panzergranate was an anti-armor weapon which upon hitting the target ignited the PETN base fuze which in turn ignited the TNT filling which collapsed the internal steel cone to create a superplastic high-velocity jet to punch through enemy armor. Since shaped charge weapons rely on chemical energy to penetrate enemy armor the low velocity of the grenade did not adversely affect penetration. A downside of the Gewehr-Panzergranate was its short range 46–114 m (50–125 yd). The Große Gewehrpanzergranate (Large armored rifle grenade) was developed for a bit better penetration later in the war. After that this model was known as the Klein (small) version.

The grenade would be used with propellant cartridge and a Schießbecher (shooting cup) grenade launcher to direct the projectile. Unlike many grenade launchers, the German launcher had a short rifled barrel with a caliber of 30 mm, which engaged the rifling ridges on the bottom of the aluminum grenade housing.