German 105mm (10,5cm) HE Projectile for leFH18

[M8owner]

Here is a little something that is inbound to me. Is this the standard HE round for the leFH18 light field howitzer? I would greatly appreciate it if someone could post the color plate from the German ammo manual showing the correct projectiles and fuses for the leFH18 ammo. Thank you.

 

[HAZORD]

That one is right on the edge of remove the rust and don't repaint, or clean up and repaint. If it was me, I would just get some rust remover and not repaint.

 

[M8owner]

Hello John,

I agree. I am getting pretty good at handling German ordnance in this condition. Rust remover works very well without hurting the remaining paint. I will also dab tiny amounts of paint onto the rusted areas. It will look 100% better when I am done. Is it ok to display the projectile sitting in the shell casing? Was the leFH18 separately loaded or did it use semi-fixed ammo?

 

[HAZORD]

I always like rounds with the projo in the case or above. I'm thinking this was a semifixed like our 105H. Even if the case is too large in diameter, you can still place a wooden spacer inside to support the base of the projectile.

 

[Nabob]

Hi,
You can pick from different manuals German, Russian or US, the paint is never the same. If I remember right there was a thread on RAL color equivalents for german ammo here.
If You plan to fix the spots only, You will look for closest match anyway.
Like the guys before said, the projo aged with some dignity. IMHO if it is 70 years old it should look 70 years old.

As for fuzes You can choose from AZ 23v, AZ 23/42, AZ 23 Pr (that one You probably have),AZ1, Dopp Z S/60s, DoppZ S/60 Fl, DoppZ S/60 Fl*, DoppZ S/60V. Not the AZ 23 Zn (the projo is in the IV th weight category). According to manual You could use AZ 2, but good luck getting one.

Bob

 

[Bellifortis]

It's semifixed. Attached is a page from a 1941 service manual. There is a lots of info in this one photo. I don't know if the resolution of the webphoto is large enough. If you can not enlarge the photo sufficiently to read everything, tell me and I send you the page in high resolution.
Bellifortis.

 

[M8owner]

Excellent, I can see all the info, Bellifortis. That is exactly what I needed.

Thank you for your pictures also, Bob. May I ask that you please explain the weight class "III" or "IV" on the high explosive projectiles? Does a "IV" mean that it is heavier than a "III" and needs a greater charge to go the same distance down range?

 

[Alpini]

Does a "IV" mean that it is heavier than a "III"

Yes, it's slightly heavier

and needs a greater charge to go the same distance down range?

No the same charge was used. But it needed different settings to aim the gun according to the firing table.

 

[Nabob]

Alpini is correct, again

Projectiles for Le FH were sorted in 5 categories:
I - 14,09 to 14,38 kg
II - 14,38 to 14,67 kg
III - 14,67 to 14,95 kg
IV - 14,95 to 15,24 kg
V - 15,24 to 15,53 kg

There was a correction in the firing tables for weight of projectile.

Bob

 

[M8owner]

Mystery solved. Thank you. I have noticed that most of the German HE shells that I have seen or have are "III". These include LIG18 HE, HEAT and KWK40/Pak40 sprg 34.

 

[Alpini]

This makes sense because class III was the desired weight in the production process. The other four classes were lighter or heavier but still acceptable. This system made the production much easier because the exact weight did not play a role during machining and filling steps. Just shells lighter than class I and heavier than class V had to be rejected at end of production (I guess this happened not often).

 

[M8owner]

One more question please gentlemen: What is the large number from 1to 95 painted on the shells? The German manual calls it "B=Kennzahl fur Sprengstoffart". I can only tell that it is some kind of code about the explosive. May I request a better translation?

Thank you.

Steve

 

[Tmine35]

There is a long list of German explosive codes from 1 to 156. No 1 is TNT packed in cardboard tube, 95 is 60% Hexogen + 40% TNT - often used in shaped charges.

 

[M8owner]

I just got it today. It has now had the rust removed, cleaned, and touched up. I did not repaint it. The Rustoleum Flat, Deep Forest Green paint pictured was almost an exact match for the original paint. Now, it is obvious that this was a separate loading round - not semi-fixed.

 

[Nabob]

Nice one , thanks for sharing.

For fixed, semi fixed and separate loading it depends on the point of wiew.
There are actualy four categiries:
Fixed - 7,5cm Pak 40 for example
Semi fixed - FK 38
Semi fixed / separate loadig - le FH 18
Separate loading - 21cm K39.
It depends on the book that You study from.

Bob

 

[M8owner]

It is hard to tell in the photo with the projectile sitting in the case, but there is a 10mm gap between the driving band and the case. This is far too loose to be semi-fixed or loaded together. The projectile and the case had to be loaded separately. The war time photo shows the loader standing ready to load just the projectile by itself - not a case and projectile complete round. I have a spacer under my projectile in the photo to get it to sit higher in the case.

 

[flak18]

Absolutely correct Steve. It was a Separate Loading round. The fact that the shells needed ramming proves this. Nice shell by the way. Matt

 

[Nabob]

I stand corrected, I was a little off as I did not realize that the US 105 was loaded as one piece. And it was the way of loading rather than assembly of the roud that counts.
Attached is a page from TM1900 with one more variant.
Bob