Tank shell 39

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Sectional drawing of a 7.5 cm Pzgr. 39
1 - bottom igniter
2 - tracer set
3 - guide tape
4 - explosive filling
5 - iron body
6 - soft iron
cap 7 - ballistic hood

The Panzergranate 39 (short PzGr. 39 or Pzgr. 39 ) was a German standard grenade that was used in World War II . It was made in various calibers and was one of the most widely used armor-piercing shells in direct fire combat against armored combat vehicles. Externally similar to the projectile of Pzgr. 40 and has been primarily as a grenade cartridge from chariot guns (CHP), antitank guns (Pjk) and anti-tank guns fired (PAH). There were several changes by the end of the war.

Structure and technology

According to today's nomenclature, the grenade would be referred to as APCBC-HE-T (Armor Piercing Capped Ballistic Cap-High Explosive-Tracer; armor-piercing, with cap and ballistic hood - highly explosive - tracer).

Structurally, this means that the hardened, actual armor-piercing body ("penetrator") was provided with a cap made of softer material, which dampened the impact shock and protected the actual body. In order to compensate for the resulting deterioration in aerodynamics, it was provided with a further coating, the ballistic hood, in order to optimize the ballistics ("APCBC"). The effect on armor corresponds to that of a bullet , as only kinetic energy is used to penetrate it.

In addition, there was a small amount of explosives inside ("HE"), which caused the grenade to explode via a delay fuse on the ground after penetrating the armor. The tracer set ("T") was placed in the ground for shot observation.

For the PzGr. 39 different cartridge cases were made - with the same structural design - in order to be able to fire them from different cannons. For example, the 7.5 cm PaK 40 (L / 46) and the combat vehicle gun 7.5 cm KwK 40 (L / 48) , with completely different cartridge cases, fired the same projectile .

Different versions of the grenade were produced, which usually had only minor changes. For example, in the 8.8 cm version PzGr. 39-1 improves the quality of the steel. The 7.5 cm PzGr. 39/42 had two guide bands . In the PzGr. 39/43 the guide straps opposite the PzGr. 39-1 because the higher gas pressures of the longer tubes caused problems when firing the older PzGr. 39-1 produced with narrow guide bands. The abbreviation "FES", which can be found on many grenades, indicates the use of sintered iron in the guide belts, which was used instead of copper due to the shortage of raw materials due to the war.

Use in various weapon systems

The grenade was specially designed for fighting armored combat vehicles and was continuously improved and modified until the end of the war. As one of the standard projectiles, it was manufactured in various calibers that could be fired in a number of weapon systems. The following overview shows, in relation to weapons (KwK / PaK / PjK), the penetration performance of different calibers of this projectile in comparison to other armor-piercing shell types.

Weapon system-related penetration values ​​of the various projectiles
Weapon system grenade Distance ... / penetration value ...
cannon Caliber length 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
2 cm KwK 30
2 cm KwK 38 		L / 55 PzGr. 39 20 mm 14 mm 9 mm - -
PzGr. 40 49 mm 20 mm - - -
3.7 cm KwK 36
3.7 cm PaK 36 		L / 45 PzGr. 39 41 mm 35 mm 29 mm 24 mm -
PzGr. 40 64 mm 34 mm - - -
5 cm KwK 38 L / 42 PzGr. 39 54 mm 46 mm 36 mm 28 mm 22 mm
PzGr. 40 96 mm 58 mm - - -
5 cm KwK 39
5 cm PaK 38 		L / 60 PzGr. 39 67 mm 57 mm 44 mm 34 mm 26 mm
PzGr. 40 130 mm 72 mm 38 mm - -
7.5 cm KwK 37
(stub) 		L / 24 PzGr. 39 41 mm 39 mm 35 mm 33 mm 30 mm
Gran. 38 St. 100 mm 100 mm 100 mm 100 mm -
7.5 cm KwK 40 L / 43 PzGr. 39 98 mm 91 mm 82 mm 72 mm 63 mm
PzGr. 40 126 mm 108 mm 87 mm 69 mm -
L / 48 PzGr. 39 106 mm 96 mm 85 mm 74 mm 64 mm
PzGr. 40 143 mm 120 mm 97 mm 77 mm -
7.5 cm-KwK 42
7.5-cm-PaK 42
7.5-cm-PjK 42 		L / 70 PzGr. 39/42 138 mm 124 mm 111 mm 99 mm 89 mm
PzGr. 40/42 194 mm 174 mm 149 mm 127 mm 106 mm
8.8 cm KwK 36
8.8 cm FlaK 36 		L / 56 PzGr. 39 120 mm 110 mm 100 mm 91 mm 84 mm
PzGr. 40 171 mm 156 mm 138 mm 123 mm 110 mm
Gran. 39 St. 90 mm 90 mm 90 mm 90 mm 90 mm
100% 1 100% 1 99% 1 91% 1 89% 1
8.8 cm KwK 43
8.8 cm PjK 43
8.8 cm PaK 43 		L / 71 PzGr. 39/43 203 mm 185 mm 165 mm 148 mm 132 mm
PzGr. 40/43 237 mm 217 mm 193 mm 171 mm 153 mm
Gran. 39/3 St. 90 mm 90 mm 90 mm 90 mm 90 mm
12.8 cm PaK 44 L / 55 PzGr. 39 187 mm 166 mm 143 mm 127 mm 117 mm
PzGr. 40/43 193 mm 178 mm 167 mm 157 mm 148 mm
12.8 cm KwK 44
12.8 cm PjK 44 		PzGr. 39 223 mm 212 mm 200 mm 189 mm 178 mm
PzGr. 40/43 - 166 mm 143 mm - 117 mm
Explanations
  • Probability value (1–100) % 1 : penetration depth achieved experimentally, target area 2.5 m × 2.9 m
  • Average penetration force against homogeneous, rolled armored steel plates at an angle of impact of 30 ° to the vertical of the armored vehicle.

Technical specifications

7.5 cm PzGr. 39 FES:

  • Weight, complete with igniter: 6.8 kg
  • Explosive filler: 18 g RDX and wax (90/10)
  • Number of guide bands: 1
  • Material of the guide band: sintered iron
  • Diameter on the guide band: 77.4 mm
  • Shell diameter: 74.5 mm
  • Detonator: Bd.Z. 5103
  • Detonator type: bottom igniter
  • Detonator weight with tracer set: 107 g
  • Burning time tracer: 2 s
  • Grenade cartridge:
    • 75 × 495 mm R ( R = rim cartridge)
    • 75 × 640 mm r
    • 75 × 714 mm rows

Picture gallery

  • Grenade cartridges for the 7.5 cm PaK 40 , partly in transport containers

  • Grenade cartridge (K.Gr.rot.Pz.) for the 7.5 cm KwK 40

  • Grenade cartridge 75 × 495 mm R (FES (sintered iron) )

literature

  • Walter E. Wagenknecht: The production of tank projectiles , In: Deutsches Waffen Journal, No. 5-6, 1977.
  • D 460/1 + bullet ring binder, Volume I, July 1939.
  • D 460/10 + ring binder for explosive charges, Volume I, October 26, 1942.
  • L.Dv. 4402/8 Ammunition of the 8.8 cm Flak 41 (ammunition of the flak artillery part 8) May 1943.
  • D 435/1, manual, ammunition for German guns and launchers, December 28, 1940.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d German Ordnance. (PDF, 14MB) Departments of the Army and the Air Force, March 1953, pp. 347, 410–448 , accessed on May 21, 2014 (English).