Cartridge collection

[ksg]

After moving a while ago, I just started to reorganise my cartridge collection. Will post some pictures from it from time to time. Here is a few to start with.

Kjell

Just a mess!!

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Edited September 13, 2006 by ksg

[ksg]

David and Goliath. 2,7 mm Colibri and .50 Auto.

The one in the middle is a 9 mm Luger.

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The German WWII B.-patrone in kal. 7,92 / 8mm Mauser. It's in fact a small fire starting grenade, must bee one of the most advanced rifle / MG bullets ever made.

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Edited October 10, 2006 by ksg

[Chris Boonzaier]

Indeed complicated!! Is it an explosive round?

[ksg]

Hi

Sorry for late reply, have been out of town for a week.

The round is both explosive and incendiary. The green capsule is the explosive, behind it you can see the striking pin and the safety sleeve ( when you shake the round you can hear the pin rattling inside the capsule) . This is again enclosed in a bigger capsule.The tip contains white phosphor. The explosion is quit big for such a small charge and it's enhanced by the phosphor ignition. The explosion flash is 30-40 cm across and the white cloud of phosphor smoke 1-1,5 m across. Burning phosphor can be found in a radius of a meter from the impact point.

The round was developed 1937-38 as a spotter round. It's German designation was B.-Patrone / Beobarter Patrone = Spotter round. In clear weather the smoke cloud should be visible up to 2000 m. However it was soon recognised as a powerful round against aircraft's. It don't need more resistance than 1 mm aluminium to explode.

Towards the end of the war it was also used as a sniper round on the Eastern front. The round must have been both expensive and time consuming to make. As far as I know only 3-4 factories produced it and only in factories which made other specialised rounds. Will get back to some of them when I get time. I'm not sure if this was made to the end of the war or not. The latest I got, and have seen, is 1944 dated.

I have included some variations and packages.

All cartridges had a black ring around the primer, this means incendiary round.

1. The silver tip was the earliest marking, I suppose it was difficult to under certain conditions.

2. It was the replaced by the 2/3 black bullet.

3. This is a B.-Patrone-tp. Tp is short for "auch f?r Tropen" = also for tropical use. This have a paint seal around the cartridge mouth.

4. The same but in a steel case.

5. This is a B.-Patrone-tp-v. V is short for Verbessert = enhanced and have a green ring around the bullet. Meaning it have a more powerful gunpowder and is not to be used in a rifle.These were mostly used by The Luftwaffe in MG's. The bottom cartrige in the last picture.

I have never shot this in a MG but several times in a Mauser rifle and it is a lot of fun.

Kjell

Edited October 6, 2006 by ksg

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