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3.7cm Flak

M

merlin_industries

Well-Known Member
A few 3.7cm flak and pak rounds arrived recently. They look good at a distance but on closer inspection the projectiles just don't seem to be right.
Can anyone offer an opinion on these ?
Thanks

1) No markings on fuze

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2) No marks on fuze

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The Flak round has a replica fuze, but apart from that looks ok, if not a little worse for wear.

The fuze in the Pak round looks very much like a WW2 US 40mm Bofors L60 fuze body or a copy of one. The projectile looks ok but may have a fair amount of filler in it as the profile is slightly off.

Best regards Weasel.
 
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Attached is a picture of a 3.7cm PAK HE projectile with original paint, my understanding is that these projectiles are unusual in using the silver body with a yellow ring. All the PAK HE projectiles I have are the same colour scheme, fitted with what I think is the correct fuze, AZ39.
 

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The 3.7cm Sprgr 18 umg. which you have pictured Vasco was based on a modified 3.7cm Flak HE projectile. The design involved removing the lower drive band and smoothing out the ridges.

In time the 3.7cm Sprgr 40 was developed for the 3.7cm Pak which is coloured all silver.

BTW Merlin I believe the very early pre-war 3.7cm Flak HE projectiles were coloured green which was later changed to yellow.

PC
 
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I am tempted to clean off the paint on the pak and see what information is stamped on the body. The fuze is definitely wrong. I think it may be glued in. The curvature does not match the ogive on the projectile.
 
StielGr said:
The 3.7cm Sprgr 18 umg. which you have pictured Vasco was based on a modified 3.7cm Flak HE projectile. The design involved removing the lower drive band and smoothing out the ridges.

PC
Click to expand...

Only the original "18 Umg" had turned down lower driving bands and these are visible when the proj is pulled as a color coppered band remains on the projectile body. The one shown is produced already without the lower band, this is the latter and much more common version.

I just found that I had the image uploaded from a posting in another forum as the discussion is returning on a regular basis:
37mm-.jpg
 
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The one with the self made fuze dummy (lower image) looks like a "M" projectile for the Flak as the Pak HE proj. - the "Sprenggranate 40" looked somewhat different.
If we get to see the proj. base it will be easy to tell.
 
As suspected, it is the "M" projectile (that on the left) for tha AA gun Flak 18 as it was used in aircrafts as BK 3,7 cm.
This does not belong to the Pak case.
 
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