75mm shell case info

[Jean-Loup]

Hi
Yesterday I was given a 75 mm german shell case from 1942. It was in a house used by the Luftwaffe during the war. It is very long(maybe 70 cm) , so I supose its anti-aircraft/anti-tank. Could someone tell me a bit of basic info about the canons this was for and what different rounds could be fired, the number of guys that serviced the canon, etc.
Thanks JL

[Matt L]

Hi Jean-Loup,

If you'd care to post a picture of the base markings or just a list of what is stamped there, I'd be happy to tell you what I can about the case/weapon. At 70cm, if the case is straight (no neck), it's likely for the 7,5cm PaK40.

Matt

[Jean-Loup]

On the primer is written: 1942 C/12nAST ??06 W
Around the sides is written:euk38 avt 43 6340ST 75mm(?)
The question marks are for where ist rusty. The shell case is almost exactely 70 cm hight.

JL

[Jean-Loup]

Oh yes, I forgot, the shell has no neck. If its 75mm PAK, could that also be used as Flak, like the 88mm?
JL

[Jean-Loup]

By the way, I see nothing on the bottom of the shell case that would seem to indicate it was fired. (a mark like on fired bullets...) Is this normal? Would it be possible for a case like this to be non fired?
JL

[Matt L]

Hi Jean-Loup,

What you have there is definitely the case from a 7,5cm PaK40 round- the markings are/mean as follows:

Primer: C/12nASt is the percussion type of primer used by ammunition from 5cm up and is the type for Flak and PaK; the 'St' indicates it's a steel type (as opposed to brass). The rest would be lot number, manufacture year and maker code.

Case base: avt43 is probably the case manufacturer- 'Silva Metallwerke GmbH, Genthin' (made in 1943); the 38 would be the lot number; euk would be the manufacturer code for the company that loaded the round- 'Gutehoffnungshuette Oberhausen AG Versuchanstalt, Oberhausen/Rh.'; 6340St is the case code for the Pak40 case (St means steel, again as opposed to brass); and 75mm is actually '7,5cm Pak40' although it's possibly too lightly stamped for you to see.

If the round was fired, there would only be a small (4-5mm dia.) dent in the center of the primer- if it is rusted, you may not be able to see it. It certainly is possible for it to be unfired, however someone would have had to disassemble the round, remove the propellent and simply keep the case.

Your case is definitely for the PaK40 ONLY. There was no Flak version of this weapon like there was the 8,8cm Flak18/KwK36. In fact, there was no German 7,5cm antiaircraft gun. If the location was used by the Luftwaffe, they probably either had an Army Panzerjaeger unit stationed there too, or simply had their own Panzerjaeger Kompanie- Luftwaffe field units certainly would have used the PaK40. It's VERY unlikely the PaK was actually used inside the house, but there would have been nothing much keeping the occupants from picking up an expended case after the Germans left.

Here's a little information on the 7,5cm PaK40:

Crew: 5 (commander, gunner, and 3 loaders)

Ammunition: Pzgr39 (standard APCBC), Pzgr40 (tungsten core), Sprgr34 (high explosive) and Hl Gr. (hollow charge HEAT)

Pzgr39
muzzle velocity 792m/s
penetration: 148mm at 100m, 90 degrees
132mm at 500m
116mm at 1000m
102mm at 1500m
Pzgr40
muzzle velocity 990m/s
penetration: 175mm at 100m, 90 degrees
154mm at 500m
133mm at 1000m
115mm at 1500m

(this data will likely vary slightly depending on the source, but is more-or-less accurate)

Here's a link with a really nice picture of a PaK 40:

http://www.sonnet.com/usr/aaron/Schrynen.html

Matt

[Jean-Loup]

Hi Matt.
Thanks for the detailed answere. Of course the only marking that would have made sense to me: 7.5cm PAK, is the only unreadable one. This round was not fired, there is not the smallest dent on the primer.
The house was occupied by a the luft, but there was not fighting in it, or around it for that matter. Maybe the round was picked up and brought into the house latter, and has nothing to do with the luft. The guy who owns the house also found a "paire of big bent binoculars that were probably to find distances that were painted in yellow". He didnt think that would interest me, and sold them for 50$/Euro... Ouch!
Thanks again.
JL

[Matt L]

Hi JL,

You're quite welcome- I'm glad I could help

He sold a Scherenfehrnrohr for 50 EUR?! Oh man... that hurts... Well, someone out there is VERY happy...

Matt

[merdock]

Hi Matt,
The Germans did have a experimental 75mm anti aircraft gun before the war it looked just like a 88 but was considerd not good enough ,i do have a picture somewere.
Merdock