The current issue of Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics shows that the topics treated by Manfred Held (1933–2011) remain of high interest, even five years after his death. Four papers report experimental and theoretical results on the topics of shaped charges and explosive reactive armour. It is therefore appropriate to recall his outstanding contributions; Manfred Held, a man completely dedicated to the research and development of explosives and detonation science. He never missed an International Ballistics Symposium, presenting new results each time and fascinating the experts. He was highly honoured for his accomplishments, that are documented in numerous patents and publications, many of which are to be found in Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics. Manfred Held continued the work of Franz Rudolf Thomanek and Walter Trinks to further investigate and develop shaped charges for anti-tank and civil explosives applications. It is worth observing that in the invention of explosive reactive armour he thus also found methods to defeat the penetrating jets of shaped charges. Shaped charges both threatened tanks with their effectiveness while also supporting the construction of wells for oil and gas industries and for cutting complex geometries of materials. He was also strongly involved in the development of tandem warheads to overcome explosive reactive armour by two consecutive impacts. The work of Manfred Held covered nearly all the important areas of detonation science. Much of his work was based on a unique set of diagnostic equipment, which enabled him to measure and visualise effects in the nanosecond timescale. His pictures from illumination flashes, X-ray flash radiography and streak camera records are legendary. The audiences for his presentations were always expecting surprising and impressive images backed by his striking explanations. His intuition for detonation effects guided him to simple descriptions of results such as the initiation criterion of explosives by impact; the v2d-criterion for example. In conclusion, Manfred Held prepared fruitful ground for future ideas, investigations and the understanding of explosives and detonations. Norbert Eisenreich Fraunhofer-Institut für Chemische Technologie, Pfinztal