Info on German 88mm Anti Tank Shells please. I found one...

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edrob357

Active member
Yesterday up behind Utah Beach I found what appears to be a german 88mm Anti tank shell. Can anyone help me with specific dimensions etc, of the different type of anti tank shells that the Germans were using and had available to them in 1944 or point me to a website, please?

There were at least 12 88s of different types (Pak 43/41 definitly and Flak 36 and Flak 37, to the best of my knowledge) within 3 miles of where I found it behind Stutzpunkt 9 at Les Dunes de Varaville (a couple of miles North of the Landing Point).

I'll post some potos and stuff tonight.
 
Well, there is a lot of Ammunition, that was used by the 88s.

For the 88mm Pak 43:
- [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Panzergranate 39, PanzeGranate 39/43, PanzerGranate 40/43, Sprenggranate, Sprenggranate 43, Granate 39 HL, Granate 39/43 HL

For the 88mm Pak 43/41:
- [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Panzergranate 39, PanzeGranate 39/43, PanzerGranate 40/43, Sprenggranate, Sprenggranate 43

For the 88mm Flak 18, 36, 37, 37/41 and 41:
- Sprenggranatpatrone L/4,5 (Kz.) and some kind of Panzergranate



The only thing I know about specific dimensions is, that the Sprengranatpatrone for the 88mm Flak had an overall length of about 981 mm.

I'm looking forward to see the Photos, maybe there is some marking left on the shell.
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It is 62 years old, but if the cows walking all over the bunker complex where I found it haven't set off the mines etc, then I'll take my chances. There was virtually no explosive power in an armor piercing round anyway. It's just a massive big lump of case hardened tungsten steel.

It weighs just under 8 kilos, but it is too rusty to have any visible markings on it. It is about 220-225 mm (approx) long and 88-90mm in diameter. I'm inclined to think it's a panzergranate 39, but I'd need to get the specs for the shell.

Here's some photos, too. Not the best, but they'll have to do to start off with. There's a foot ruler in (some of) the pictures for scale.
 

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It's a solid shot hardened steel round with only a tiny space for the explosive filling. The Pak 43/41 fired a high velocity 88mm anti tank round weighing 7.3 kg (PanzerGranate 40/43 or Panzergranate 39, can't remember which), which is probably what mine would weigh if I cleaned all the crap off it. No?
 
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Whatever it is I would not be playing around with it.
As we are told with all UXO's, don't touch them, move the ground around them or allow your shadow to fall on them.

They may be old, but they still kill.
 
As we say in Germany: "Wer suchet der findet, wer draufhaut verschwindet!"
(Who search finds it, who strikes it disappears!) :wink::wink:
 
Indeed. No ordnance is safe until rendered safe by a professional or it explodes, after which it is perfectly safe to handle but not before.
 
O.K. it is definetly an 8,8cm Panzergranate 39 with Bodenzünder 5127.
You've found the with distance most dangerous variant of the 8,8cm PzGr.

Don't touch it! Don't move it!

The fuze has a linked up firing pin spring and is in this condition more than lethal.
The explosive charge consists of H10 (90% Hexogen and 10% Wax).
It belonges eliminated IMMEDIATELY by EOD...

88cmpzgr41u3943pf9.jpg

The first on ist the one you found, the second one is a PzGr. 41.
 
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I'm not that thick. If I find something that looks remotely dangerous or unexploded, I get it checked out by the service de deminage (bomb squad) before I move it, as I did with this (that's why I couldn't post the photos when I started this thread- because the Bomb Squad hadn't clearded it until later that day) but you have to go out in the first place with a metal detector to find the stuff. If it's an artillery nose fuze with a cm or two of shattered shell casing attached, then it's pretty safe to assume that it's already gone off, or looks like the shell that I found on the somme battlefield from WW1 (look at the attached picture of a German Gas shell), it's a pretty safe bet that it's gone off. Both these shells were sticking out the surface of the ground in a field. They sell these things to Tourists here for 10 Euros a pop. All over the place. Mortar Bombs, the lot. You just have to get them checked out and declared safe first.

Nice to have it Identified as a Panzer Grenate 39. Thanks SystemLord. They're quite rare and very sought after by collectors. You can't beat digging up your own collection, though. My bosses wife has another one of the same type of 88 anti tank shell on their mantlepiece that she found in her garden (behind Gold Beach) when she was about five.
 

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edrob357 said:
If it's an artillery nose fuze with a cm or two of shattered shell casing attached, then it's pretty safe to assume that it's already gone off, or looks like the shell that I found on the somme battlefield from WW1 (look at the attached picture of a German Gas shell), it's a pretty safe bet that it's gone off.
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It's certainly a bet, but I wouldn't say that it's a safe one....

For some strange reason (:cool:) I happen to know a thing or two about arty shells, and I can tell you that if you find a fuze with a couple cm of the shell casing left then it's certainly not safe to assume that it's gone off at all...
I've been "cleaning" arty live fire ranges many times, and I've found several live fuzes that's been knocked directly off the shells (with and without shell casing parts attached), and they did certainly still contain high explosives and where highly unstable.
So unless you're 100% certain on what you're doing (got an EOD education...) then I wouldn't touch any fuzes at all....

And the same goes for the gas shell you've found.
They can still contain some nasty stuff that's just waiting for some fresh air so they can ignite again (Like WP and certain types of gas)...

So even if it's 60-80 years old and looks like it's gone off, then it still can contain some pretty dangerous stuff, and you don't need much HE at all to blow your hands or fingers off..
 
Yeah, but we will be saving your :cens: when you need us..... so don't cry when we are not there, but when we are you need to :pray:
Click to expand...

Yeah I know... I've just gotta take the chance to have a crack at you guys :)

(Im just envious of your motorised transport... damn being an infanteer)
 
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