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1940 German Pz Mk III Tank / KwK Short 50mm Compete AP Round - Early / Tropical?

M8owner

Well-Known Member
I found this in my own town of College Station, TX. I am going to guess the red ink and large +25C on the case means this is a tropical round for the Africa Corps. It still has its red markings on the projectile. All components are dated 1940.
 

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  • KwK 50mm Short Tropical Case Bottom.jpg
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  • KwK 50mm Short Tropical Case.jpg
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Hi M8 owner, plesase measure the complete length of the projectile. When it's 162mm from the tip of the nose to the flat base you found an absolute rare piece, litteraly the one in a thousend, and it will be one of the trophy pieces of your collection.
Regards, DJH
 
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Very nice cartridge! Especially the AP shell without the cap is hard to find. It also has the early type driving band. In the image on the left side of the shell the old type and on the right the new type.

PT + 25 ° C (PT = Pulver Temperatur) warns that the propelling charge is meant for hot climates. For this round the charge was reduced by 10 grams. When fired in European climate the rounds were falling short.
 

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The projectile measures 162mm tall.
 

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Here it is all together. I had to work the neck to get the projectile to seat. Those double crimps on unfired German steel cases are always an issue when trying to seat projectiles for display.
 

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Pz III crew loading short 50mm AP rounds in Russia.jpgI found an image on the web of a Pz III crew bombing up their tank with short, round nosed AP projectiles in Russia.
 
...and a picture how it looks after it was fired into a concrete wall. Nice to see how the rotation of the shell continued when it entered the wall. The brittle FES driving band broke into pieces upon Impact.
 

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Unbelievable find Steve. Where do you get all that good Karma? Do you still own your own soul?
I believe this photo shows loading a mix of capped and uncapped rounds...
PZIII Reload.jpg
 
Much of the ordnance from the Fred Ropkey Museum of Armor in Crawfordville, IN made its way down here after the museum closed. I was the first one to go through the ordnance items when they arrived in Texas, and I saw that little treasure way in the back of a bin full of items. I had to dig a lot of stuff out of the way to get to it, and there were several tons of items stacked above it. I was not certain it was a good idea to reach for it, but I am happy that I did. I came way with $2000 worth of goodies. If you want a blank fire case for the US 75mm pack howitzer or a US 155 mm late model projectile, contact Brent Mullins, he has a lot to sell.

And, my soul was condemned long ago. My wife makes sure everyday for me is just another day in Hell.
 
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Would I be right in thinking that an uncapped 5cm PzGr.39 that measures about 153mm is an ordinary one that has lost it's cap rather than an early uncapped one?
 
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