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Headstamp for 7.92mm
- Thread starter archmoco
- Start date
peashooter
BOCN Supporter
Ok…..all German 7.92 calibre cartridges carry four stamps. As you look at the picture, at 12 o’clock is the manufacturers code. At 3 o’clock is a code with a combination of a roman numeral (I to XXII) for the steel mill supplying the basic case-metal, a lower-case letter for the plating agency and an arabic numeral (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 or 17) for the steel-analysis, which all identifies a copper-plated steel case. In some cases you may see (as below) a code such as St or
St+ or S*. St or St+ indicates a steel case, either plated or lacquered. * or S* indicates a brass case. At 6 o’clock is a batch number and at 9 o’clock is the year of manufacture represented by the last 2 digits of the year. Of interest is the fact that the Germans changed their manufacturer code system. Between 1937 and 1941 they used the P codes (Patronenfabrik Nummer). Between 1940 and 1945 (there was some overlap between the change of coding) they switched to a letter code and ditched the ‘P’ number. This means all ‘P’ coded cartridges are made prior to 1941, and all letter code cartridges are made from 1940.
Hope this helps to start the ball rolling I will look more into your head stamp and get back to you
Cheers
Richard
St+ or S*. St or St+ indicates a steel case, either plated or lacquered. * or S* indicates a brass case. At 6 o’clock is a batch number and at 9 o’clock is the year of manufacture represented by the last 2 digits of the year. Of interest is the fact that the Germans changed their manufacturer code system. Between 1937 and 1941 they used the P codes (Patronenfabrik Nummer). Between 1940 and 1945 (there was some overlap between the change of coding) they switched to a letter code and ditched the ‘P’ number. This means all ‘P’ coded cartridges are made prior to 1941, and all letter code cartridges are made from 1940.
Hope this helps to start the ball rolling I will look more into your head stamp and get back to you
Cheers
Richard
peashooter
BOCN Supporter
[FONT="]Right here goes
P25 - Metallwarenfabrik Treuenbritzen GmbH, Wek Sebaldushof (hla)
40 - year of manf 1940
66 - Batch number
VII - steel mill code - Bochumer Verein fur Gubstahlfabrikation A.G. Bochum (bxe)[/FONT]
[FONT="]a[/FONT][FONT="] - Plating firm - Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke A.G., Zweigniederlassung Basse & Selve, Altena/Westfalen[/FONT]
[FONT="]1 – steel analysis number - C : 0,15 - 0,22 % / Mn : 0,4 % / Si : 0,12 % / P : 0,03 % / S : 0,03 %
[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cheers[/FONT]
[FONT="]Richard [/FONT]
P25 - Metallwarenfabrik Treuenbritzen GmbH, Wek Sebaldushof (hla)
40 - year of manf 1940
66 - Batch number
VII - steel mill code - Bochumer Verein fur Gubstahlfabrikation A.G. Bochum (bxe)[/FONT]
[FONT="]a[/FONT][FONT="] - Plating firm - Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke A.G., Zweigniederlassung Basse & Selve, Altena/Westfalen[/FONT]
[FONT="]1 – steel analysis number - C : 0,15 - 0,22 % / Mn : 0,4 % / Si : 0,12 % / P : 0,03 % / S : 0,03 %
[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cheers[/FONT]
[FONT="]Richard [/FONT]
Guys thank you very much
TonyE
HONOURED MEMBER RIP
7.92 German
All very well, but that case is lacquered, not copper washed. It is one of the transitional ones which was lacquered but still carried the steel/plating code.
A couple more points to add to Peashooter's notes. "St" and St+" are only used on lacquered cases. The "ST+" indicates a modified case and if there is a dash in the headstamp it means there is only one fire hole, but it is still a Berdan cap.
I believe the transitional cases are only found in 1940.
Regards
TonyE
All very well, but that case is lacquered, not copper washed. It is one of the transitional ones which was lacquered but still carried the steel/plating code.
A couple more points to add to Peashooter's notes. "St" and St+" are only used on lacquered cases. The "ST+" indicates a modified case and if there is a dash in the headstamp it means there is only one fire hole, but it is still a Berdan cap.
I believe the transitional cases are only found in 1940.
Regards
TonyE
Tony/ peashooter, I thing we need some clearance about German 7,92 mm ammo during WW2.
St and St+ are also used on CWS cases. The Mat. Code was always (until the end of the war) used internally. For example a box label from 6000 empty cases from 1942, steel plant IX Npfchenwerk ga and steel analysis j1, shipped an other loading factory.
CWS cases are also known from 1942, 1943 and 1945.
The St+ means a modified case. It shows the case mouth has the thickness as a brass case. They could use the same tooling for the loading machine.
One of the first known lacquered steel cases is the 38th lot of 1939. I can show you lot 47.
B.T.W. there are 89 lots known of 1939.
An example for transitional cases as picture
The last lot of 1940 and fist of 1941, both lacquered, 2,3,4 CWS with Mat code, 5 CWS with St, 6,7 with St lacquered steel case. Unfortunately I dont have the 6th lot in my collection.
The P code was also used later. The label is a little funny because the lot was made by P Polte in 1942, from cartridges reworked by aux also Polte, but the code used after 1940.
I hope it was not too much for one answer.
Dutch
St and St+ are also used on CWS cases. The Mat. Code was always (until the end of the war) used internally. For example a box label from 6000 empty cases from 1942, steel plant IX Npfchenwerk ga and steel analysis j1, shipped an other loading factory.
CWS cases are also known from 1942, 1943 and 1945.
The St+ means a modified case. It shows the case mouth has the thickness as a brass case. They could use the same tooling for the loading machine.
One of the first known lacquered steel cases is the 38th lot of 1939. I can show you lot 47.
B.T.W. there are 89 lots known of 1939.
An example for transitional cases as picture
The last lot of 1940 and fist of 1941, both lacquered, 2,3,4 CWS with Mat code, 5 CWS with St, 6,7 with St lacquered steel case. Unfortunately I dont have the 6th lot in my collection.
The P code was also used later. The label is a little funny because the lot was made by P Polte in 1942, from cartridges reworked by aux also Polte, but the code used after 1940.
I hope it was not too much for one answer.
Dutch
