German WW2 Plane Armarment 7,92 - 88 mm and their Ammunition

It just says that the Incendiary round is suppose to replace the HEFI shell, in combination with Mineshells.
That doesn’t mean that there was actually a 13mm “Mineshell”.
It’s the same text for the 15mm and 20mm rounds.

I am not saying that there was one in service, i am just saying that it existed, as i also saw a drawing for it.

Do you have any information on the 20mm mineshell fuzes? Specifically on the delay after penetrating aircraft skin.

They used detonations charges with built in delay.

3-4 different types were developed.

  • Verzögerungssprengkapsel VC - 10cm delay (probably at 100m for MG 151/20)
  • Verzögerungssprengkapsel VD
  • Verzögerungssprengkapsel VD* - 20cm delay (probably at 100m) (Insufficent delay past 600m)
  • Verzögerungssprengkapsel VF (Not sure for what type of shell)
  • Verzögerungssprengkapsel VC 70 - 75cm delay (± 25cm depending on the range)
Spoiler


Delay changes based on the shells velocity, obviously.

Problem is that 20mm Mineshells lose a ton of velocity at range.
At 100m they are going around 680m/s while at 600m it’s only ~310m/s and just 235m/s at 1000m.

The VC 70 is used for 20mm, 30mm and 50mm Mineshells.
So the delay would depend on the shells velocity.

High velocity 30mm and 50mm probably have a ~100cm delay at 100m and just 50cm at 1000m and beyond, while 20mm and low velocity 30mm probably only have a delay of 75-50cm at 100m and maybe 25cm at 1000m.

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But also if the Duplexcapsel alone is used, its “without” delay?

Yes, the regular detonator (duplex) will cause the round to explode almost immediatly after impact.

Hard to say how quickly. The are all striker based, so after impact the striker gets depressed, hitting the detonator.

I think in general this results in around 2-4cm of travel before the shell explodes.

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Thanks, that’s exactly what I wanted to find out. Had someone tell me mineshells didn’t have a delayed fuse and I wanted to throw them into the sun.

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it depends. I think Mineshells didn’t have a delay charge until 1941/42.

If loaded for ground targets then the Mineshell also would use the regular point detonation fuze without self-destruct mechanism and wouldn’t have the delay charge.

But in general they relied on the delay to maximise blast damage to air frames.

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I actually forgot, that i have apage about the 55mm Mk214B (using the same 55x450mmB ammo as the Gerät 58)

And it seems there really was an AP round, with 830m/s.

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Added the 7,92 x 94 mm Mg 141 it was at least mounted on the Do 17 Z-2 of the 1/Kg 2 (Pictures of the plane with gun in the main Post.)
If anyone knows more planes that it was mounted on please post them here.

I wish they added aircraft with the MG 213C revolver gun, even as event.

I couldn’t find Brandgranate 44 listed anywhere (around 15g HA41 filler with hydrokinetic fuse for busting fuel tanks open).

Also, while 0,36g is listed as incendiary filler i documents for MG131 API, the calculated volume of the cavity suggests it was more like 0,7-0,9g of filler, according to “accurate enough” model of the shell my brother made in CAD. 0,36g would be less than 8mm AP-I, and the cavity was clearly bigger. But I understand you have to follow the sources first, even though they oftentimes contain some errors.

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Imma add it, overall yes i first followed sources at had to fill it up, and over time finding more sources and info i update it.

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Edited and added. Any more information is wellcome.

It’s definitely more than 0.36g since even the 7.92mm API and IAI contain 0.5g and 0.375g WP respectively, and the cavity of the 13mm round is almost as big as an entire 7.92mm API bullet.

I think 0.83g is the most plausible figure.

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I know I’ve seen the 15g filler number somewhere. But can’t find it. In US document about incendiary ammo effectiveness there’s only brief mention of AZ9501 being a promising design. I’ve also seen information on some unfinished combined hydrodynamic/impact fuze design and that’s all.

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Didn’t even know late model is exists for Mk 108.

Which aircraft was it mounted on?

Beyond some test aircraft it did not see service.

Mostly they used it for Me 262s or Fw 190Ds?