New Made Item, Only One Available. Now this is a fantastic copy of the WWI Imperial German M17 Karabingranate grenade discharger. Finding original surviving examples is nearly impossible as they are almost non-existent in today’s market. Even though this is a replica, as "ordnance", it is NOT AVAILABLE FOR EXPORT.

The apparition of the remarkable French Viven-Bessière on the battlefields in 1916 was an essential game changer in trench warfare. The discharger was “safer” in a sense because didn’t have to change the rifle ammunition to fire. It was easily transportable in large quantities and tactically efficient since it could saturate a target by the firing of several launchers. This discharger was just a miniature artillery piece. Soon the weapon system was copied in 1917 by the German army as the Rifle grenade M1917 ('Karabingranate 1917').

Based on the same general principles as the French VB, it was likewise cylindrical, prefragmentated, introduced in a sleeve fixed to the Mauser infantry rifle, propelled by conventional ammunition combustion gasses, and explosive after a fixed time triggered by the passing of the bullet inside of a central tube.

Major differences were found in its bigger size (6 cm diameter instead of 5 cm for the VB), and by the ignition system, not triggered by the bullet hitting a small hammer like with the VB, but instead igniting a lateral starter communicating with the detonator via a radial channel. The maximum range could reach 180 m.

This is an outstanding copy, measuring 10 7/8 inches, which really looks the business. It has a heavy blued finish on the steel body, and is marked DMW (instead of DWM) to clearly mark it as a replica item.

An outstanding copy that comes more than ready for further research and display.