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88mm FlaK 18 stencils

M

Mannlicher

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone!

I'm searching a picture showing stencils on the bottom of the 88mm FlaK shell. Got one yesterday and the stencils are very faded - something like L__ 28.06.44. Next to the L are two letters, not "ot" :tinysmile_shy_t:, and i'd like to see a complete one as i want to restore it.

Thank you in advance.
M.
 
Managed to take a picture of the stencil. It's very faded and only visible when wet. I guess that it says "Lat", but i failed to find out what it means. And being followed by a date, i think it might have something with refilling....
Any help is much appreciated. :tinysmile_twink_t2:
 

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It is a reused case, for this the stencil on the base, but the more common place for them are on the side of the case. That stencil is very rare in that place. I would not touch it.
 
According to Waffen-Revue nr. 31 drawings all 8,8cm Flak 18 cases had such stencils on case head, telling place where the cartridge was put together, date and responsible inspector's mark. The same was also on case side below powder date stencils. On shell was stencilled similar information about filling of the shell. I don't know if shell filling was always done in a separate plant of may this stencil also be sometimes the same as on case?
 
Tmine35 said:
...telling place where the cartridge was put together, date and responsible inspector's mark....
Click to expand...

So it might be possible that "Lat" is a code for the factory where the round was assembled at "27.3.44" and the "A" triangular shape might be an inspector's mark...

Unfortunately i couldn't find the location coded "Lat" in any of the german ammunition codes lists available online.
 
Correct Mannlicher, But Lat is not one of the codes found in the book, neither any other combination of alphabets you find for this purpose. If I'm not totally wrong In Germany ammunition up to 20 mm only were loaded ready for use at cartridge factories. All bigger rounds were made in bits and pieces at different factories and those codes you can find stamped on metal parts. Then all components were sent to special laboratiories( MuntionsAnstalt = MunA ) which were several around and they loaded the rounds ready for use at front. I don't know if Lat, Wg, Wr, Ng - or whatever they are is a symbol of a Muna, or it's subplant. I think the Muna's themselves were numbered 1, 2, 3, ...
Who knows this precisely might light it up better.
 
Thank you guys... Hopefully someone will "light it up better" :tinysmile_twink_t2:. Anyway, the info gathered until now is pretty sufficient. The casing is in pretty bad shape (several dents, collapsed mouth, busted primer), but i'll try to revive it if possible.
 
"Lat" wouldn't be a manufacturer code anyway since they used all lower-case letters. It is the usual propellent filling data, which did begin with a capital letter: the the place (Ort), date and lot. The manual diagrams of various rounds commonly use 'Jg' as the Ort, my nice brass 8,8cm case has 'Ha', and I have images of a few 'Kzu'. Just looking through my collection of images, I found one Flak41 case that has a '3' and 'Nl 21.9.44. ?' on its base as well as on its side in the usual spot suggesting it's not a re-loading mark, but simply a repeated primary loading mark- or that reloading involved re-marking the side as well.
 
Tmine35 and Mannlicher alreade wrote what's the meaning of the stenciling.

"Lat" is not a code, it is rather an abbreviation, in this case for the "Heeresmunitionsanstalt Landeshut" in Schlesien (today part of Poland). That's why the first letter is uppercase. As written before, in this ammunition storage / arsenal the cartridge has been assembled and loaded.

"Nl" is the Heeresmunitionsanstalt Neuwedell
 
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Mannlicher said:
Managed to take a picture of the stencil. It's very faded and only visible when wet. I guess that it says "Lat", but i failed to find out what it means. And being followed by a date, i think it might have something with refilling....
Any help is much appreciated. :tinysmile_twink_t2:
Click to expand...

I by no means an expert on 8.8cm Flak cases but does anyone alse think the size is wrong for the base of a 8.8cm case in #2 picture? The proportion of the primer to the rest of the base looks wrong.

@ M. Have you a picture of the complete base please?

PC
 
hey, nothing against you. I just did not want to write everything again. And without your post I would have missed this thread ;-)

Btw. I have read your post again, the other places you mentioned are:

'Jg' = Heeresmunitionsanstalt Jterbog (I think it was used on most drawings as it was a very large and well known Muna)
'Ha' = Heeresmunitionsanstalt Herfa or LuftHauptmunitionsanstalt Hambhren (on Flak cases more likely the first one)
'Kzu' = Heeresmunitionsanstalt Kotzenau
 
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