The primary purpose of the Stielgranate 42 was the demolition of concrete fortifications and for the clearing of minefields and barbed wire.

In an emergency, the Stielgranate 42 could be used in an anti-tank role to great effect but due to its short range and poor accuracy the gun crew would be dangerously exposed to enemy fire.

[4] The Stielgranate 42 was of welded steel construction, consisting of three main parts: the nose cone, a cylindrical body, and a tapered tail with fins.

Both the nose and the base of the projectile were reinforced with steel rings welded to the casing.

The nose ring is threaded to accept a WgrZ.36 impact fuze also used by the 20 cm (7.9 in) leichter Ladungswerfer.