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3.7 cm Hartkern Projectile

Weasel

Weasel

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Hi All,
Here is a picture of i belive to be a genuine 3.7 cm Hartkern service projectile. i have been after one of these for ages having got a few practice versions already. It needs a little tlc but should come up very well after that, i will post a picture of it finished and cased up later on.
I have added a picture of a practice projectile to compare it with, the practice is the right hand picture.
Please feel free to add any more info to this.

Best regards Weasel.
 

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Well done,Weasel,a very rare beastie indeed,as with all such things I can't help wondering where it's been for the last 60 odd years.It didn't wind up going through the top deck of a T34 that's for sure!!!!
Regards Chris.
 
Hi Menno,
Just thought i may have got lucky after seeing thew attached picture on another site. The photo is not mine but i will credit it, it shows a sectioned projectile that looks identical to mine complete with penetrator.
Best regards Weasel.


Photos courtesy of Fred Butt.
 

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Waff i think Hartkern is to be translated as Hardcore, yes,
Best Weasel.
 
Weasel
Can you please post a picture of the base of both projectiles.
It is important to see the shape inside the base skirt so lots of light will be needed.

Thanks
PC
 
Hey Weasel,

I have seen these pictures before and they were heavily discussed among fellow collectors. The consensus that was reached is that they most likely show a fake as the cutaway model clearly shows the drivingband and body having been machined from one piece of metal, whereas German rounds used to employ a drivingband that was a seperate piece from the body.

As I said in my earlier post, the body of the known and documented service round is made of aluminum, the rounds in your pictures (both of your piece and Fred's) show projectiles made of steel.

greetz,

Menno.
 
Yes I remember you talking about the body of this projectile being made from an alloy, I have a 2cm one so I would be made of a simmilar material I think. That's interesting that the sectioned round in the pic may be a fake as somebody went to a lot of trouble to do that. StielGr I will post a picture of the base of these two for you when I get back to my computer, the new one has a flat base with a small hole for a tracer and the other one that is also my avatar has a central tracer pocket with a cavity around it there is a picture in another post on 3.7 Hartkern rounds by me a while ago in projectiles, it will show up in a search sorry I can't post a link from my phone. Best regards Weasel.
 
Menno
I know a lot of practice projectiles have been found at Rechlin testing ground but there must be a big variety of b projectiles.

I assume the attached picture show all b.

PC
 

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3,7cm b. Projektiles
 

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Hey Paul,

You are very right in stating that a lot of projectiles have been found.
The major problem that has arisen is telling what's what. Were these projectiles all b's or were there loads of prototypes among the ones found too ?

The three types of projectiles shown in your picture are usually considered to be b versions of HC rounds for the 3,7 cm BK (so not in PaK casings!), although only the one in the middle has been confidently identified as such (Hartkern Panzergranate L.spur b o.Zerl) as it is fully documented as such.
Besides probable use as b's (the sheer volume of these things found denying a purely experimental use) the other two projectiles may have been in development for use with a planned high volume casing for an "all new and improved" 3,7 cm BK as well.(see: Stegmllers "von flanschengeschossen und Wolframkernen").

One thing is certain, Weasels projectile is not a "standard" HC service round, that round is well documented.
It may be an experimental HC, but is more likely an steel cored b (as the few examples of this configuration, with the haube clamped on, found that may contain a real core all seem to have the concave projectile base). The cutaway almost certainly is a repro as no German rounds employed a one piece body/drivingband, a simple comparrisson shows the difference.

greetz,

Menno.
 
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projectile

Hi Weasel, I am way out of my league on this one, but I know what I like when I see it, and I see it. When I was a tad younger the word would have been "tits" or "bitchin". Anyway, nice one...Dano
 
pzgr40/42 said:
The three types of projectiles shown in your picture are usually considered to be b versions of HC rounds for the 3,7 cm BK (so not in PaK casings!),
Click to expand...

Thanks Menno for the very informative answer.

I have always assumed that the solid type of HK were only used with the BK. Strange though as apparently the arrowhead Pzgr40 wasn't that good for the Pak. The case wasn't a good fit for the chamber and there was no drive band.

Without getting far off Weasel's topic does anyone have any documents to prove the solid type HK's were used with the Pak.

PC
 
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