Sticky bomb

The "Grenade, Hand, Anti-Tank No. 74", commonly known as the S.T. grenade or simply sticky bomb, was a British hand grenade designed and produced during the Second World War. The grenade was one of a number of ad hoc anti-tank weapons developed for use by the British Army and Home Guard after the loss of many anti-tank guns in France after the Dunkirk evacuation. The grenade was designed by a team from MIR(c) including Major Millis Jefferis and Stuart Macrae. It consisted of a glass sphere containing an explosive made of nitroglycerin and additives which added stability. When the user pulled a pin on the handle, the casing would fall away and expose the sticky sphere. Pulling another pin would arm the firing mechanism and the user would attempt to attach the grenade to an enemy vehicle. Letting go of the handle would release a lever that would activate a five-second fuse, which would then detonate the nitroglycerin compound. The grenade had several faults in its design. The Ordnance Board of the War Department did not approve the grenade for use by the British Army, but intervention by the prime minister, Winston Churchill, led to production of the grenade. Between 1940 and 1943, approximately 2.5 million were produced. It was primarily issued to the Home Guard but was also used by British and Commonwealth forces in North Africa. It was used by Allied Forces on the Anzio Beachhead, including the First Special Service Force; as well as by Australian Army units during the New Guinea campaign. The French Resistance were also issued a quantity of the grenades. In 1938, Maj. Millis Jefferis developed an anti-tank weapon that would be ideal for irregular warfare. It would have an explosive charge deform so that it had a substantial area of intimate contact with the surface of the target. Then, when detonated, the effect of the explosion would be focused on a small area and would rupture an armoured plate. Sappers call such a device a "poultice" or "squash head" charge.