Handbook of Enemy Ammunition, Part 5; German 2 cm Cartridges

HANDBOOK OF ENEMY AMMUNITION

PAMPHLET No. 5

GERMAN SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION, GREANDES AND
DEMOLITION CHARGES

MAUSER TYPES

Cases, Caps and Electric Primers

The steel case is necked and of the rimless type. The interior and exterior are treated with lacquer or plated. The case is about the same length as the Oerlikon type but has a larger cavity and differs in shape. The usual cap chamber with anvil and two fire chan-nels is formed in the base. The cap annulus is normally black, but cases fitted with elec-tric primers have been found to have red or green colouring.

The cap is of brass and contains a 1.56 grain charge of composition which is varnished on the surface and covered by a metal foil. The foil disc is turned up at the edges and adheres to the wall of the cap. The upper surface of the foil is treated with nitrocellulose lacquer tinted green, the composition consists of potassium chlorate, antimony sulphide, calcium silicide and tetrazene.

Natrue and Fuze	Projectile markings		Projectile Weights		Propellant N.C. Flakes	Trace Colour	Cartridge Wt.	Fig. No.
	Body	Bands	Filling	Total	Propellant N.C. Flakes		Cartridge Wt.
	Body	Bands	Filling	grains	grains		grains
H.E. A.Z. 1502	Yellow	Black below fuze	262 grains P.E.T.N./Wax	1385	308	––	2671	––
H.E. (S.D.) Z.Z. 1505	Yellow	Black below fuze	262 grains P.E.T.N./Wax	1333	310	––	2700	––
H.E./I./T. (S.D.) A.Z. 1594	Yellow	0.2 inch blue 0.4 inches above driving band or 0.25 inch blue below fuze	55 grains P.E.T.N./Wax 6 grains incen-diary pellet	1742	281	Pale green	3080	21
A.P. Shot	Black	None	72 grains inert plastic (or liquid)	1784	283	––	3190	22
A.P./H.E.	Black	0.7 inch yellow 0.2 inch above driving band	78 grains P.E.T.N./Wax	1794	291	––	3126	24
A.P./I.	Black	0.2 inch Blue 0.7 inches from nose	52 grains phosphorus	1802	290	––	3140	25
H.E./I. (S.D.) Z.Z. 1505 with delay	Yellow	Black below fuze	271 grains	1420	N.C. Flake 301 grains	––	2772	––

Electric primer have been found in H.E./I. (S.D.) and H.E./I./T. (S.D.) cartridges. In these instances the annuli at the base of the cases were red and green respectively. The cap chamber is enlarged to take the primer which is secured by stabbing at three points. The primer, as shown in Fig. 23, consists of a brass cylindrical body containing a brass contact plug which is separated from the body by an insulating cup and has an ex-posed projecting piece at the base. A fuze head consisting of two contact strips, sepa-rated by a strip of insulating material, and connected at one end by a bridge wire em-bedded in a blob of ignition composition, is positioned within the insulating cup with one strip in contact with the plug and the other in contact with a brass contact washer fit-ted above the cup. The washer is in contact with the body and is provided with a pro-jecting piece which bears on the upper contact strip of the fuze head. A brass collar, forming a surround to the magazine filling, retains the contact washer and supports a thin brass closing disc over which the body is turned.

The path of the current is through the contact plug to the lower contact strip of the fuze head, through the wire bridge to the upper contact strip and thence by the contact washer to the body of the primer. The heating of the bridge wire ignites the fuze head composition and results in the firing of the magazine filling.

Fig. 23

GERMAN ELECTRIC PRIMER FOR 2 CM
MAUSER CARTRIDGES

Propellant Charges

The propellant consists of irregular tubular grains of graphited nitrocellulose powder. The approximate dimensions of the grains, in inches, are: length 0.059, external diameter 0.035, internal diameter 0.005. The composition consists basically of approximately 95 per cent of nitrocellulose (nitrogen content approximately 13 per cent) stabilized with diphenylamine and contains ethyl centralite and potassium sulphate.