Spränghandgranat m/43

Spränghandgranat m/43 (shgr m/43; "high-explosive hand grenade model 1943") is a Swedish stick grenade introduced during World War II. It borrowed the design of the German Stielhandgranate 24, which Sweden had purchased at the start of the war, featuring a hollow shaft with a pullcord for igniting the time-fuze.

To catch up in the arms race leading to World War II, Sweden managed to purchase a large amount of German produced Stielhandgranate 24 in 1939, adopting it as the spränghandgranat m/39 (shgr m/39; "high-explosive hand grenade model 1939"),^[1] including the Übungs-Stielhandgranate 24 practice model: övningshandgranat m/39 (övnhgr m/39; "practice hand grenade m/39")^[1] Such were painted in Swedish color markings.^[2] Later shipments were produced in Sweden and included wartime changes, such as a metal pull cord and cheaper explosives such as nitrolite, with analog practice grenades: m/39, m/39A, m/39B and m/39C.^[2][4] These would remain in use until expended during the Cold War.^[4]

The German design was not ideal, promting the construction of an indigenous replacement design. This became the shgr m/43. It differed in a great number of areas to the m/39, such as having a full metal tube for the handle, a more rounded warhead, and other quality of life additions to the overall design, such as featuring fin-like nubs on the bottom screw to aid removal with gloves in winter warfare.^[2] Some features were carried over from the m/39, such as the igniter and detonator, although later replaced with indigenous post-war designs.^[3]

Two variants where produced, a wartime model, and a post-war model called m/43B. The grenade head could be equipped with a fragmentation sleeve called sprängskal m/43 (sskal m/43).^[3][4] A dummy model, blindhandgranat m/43 (blindhgr m/43) also existed.