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...