Firepower 21cm GRW 69 Wefer Wurfmörser

 21cm GRW 69 Wurfmörser (Elephant)

My first post this year and nearly time to return to Europe after our three month holiday in Australia. It has been a very restful break with not much modelling at all occurring even though I had good intentions, I did manage to get a few games in though with my Aussie mates which was great.

Exciting news on the 20mm front for those who like unusual kit for their miniature armies SHQ miniatures have released a 21cm GRW 69 mortar. In 28mm I am not aware of any manufacturer... :( What is this beast you say,……

21cm GRW 69 Wefer Wurfmörser 

21cm GRW 69 Wefer Wurfmörser 

21cm GRW 69 Wefer Wurfmörser 

21cm GRW 69 Wefer Wurfmörser 

SHQ 21cm GRW69

Developed by Skoda in late 1943 originally in 22cm, it was changed to fit the 21cm round for production saving and use of the 21cm rounds already in production for the other wefers.  The idea of a breech loading mortar was not new, but a little ambitious with either a 85kg or 110kg projectile, making it a difficult man handling exercise for loading, harking back to a ww1 type round that required a platform or winch system to load. The mortar could deliver a 110kg 21cm round 5400m and a 85kg round 6400m......cleary the design had city or fixed defensive position fighting in mind as it weighed 2800kg the same as a 122mm howitzer. Elevation 40-70 degrees verticale and 60 degrees traverse using a track on which the wheels were mounted. It also had a slow rate of fire of 1-2 rounds per minute because of the cartridge weight and had to be brought back to level for the loading procedure. 

The following rounds could be fired:

- the 21 cm grenade 5004 HE demolition round
- the 21 cm grenade 5021 anti personnel with a high fragmentation 85kg
- the 21 cm grenade 5031 (cast iron) HE anti personnel and penetrating defensive positions 87kg.

By November 1944 the first 30 werfers were issued and by the end of the war 129 werfers were issued. The werfer was also planned to be mounted on the chassis of the Panzer III and on the chassis of the Hummel as close support weapons.

Like all my toys I like them to be assigned to units and I have found two units that were issued them. The 410th Volks artillery Corps who were issued 9 units in November 1944 and by December had 27 units and were used in the Ardennes offensive. SS Wefer battery 500, in March 1945, I am not 100% certain however I have read that SS Werfer group Kreischer were issued some to a training replacement group in Feb 45 on the eastern front, and issued with only 90 rounds. (all from Lexicon wehrmacht).

Images from Waffen magazine

A Russian Magazine 

I will be adding a unit to my 20mm Volksgrenadier units for the fall of the Reich scenarios, and using the Rapid Fire template and rules for nebelwerfers I think for firing and reload (every other turn). 

410th Volks Artillery Regiment Rapid Fire organisation

HQ Reg staff battery with supply, communications and administration zug

CO +7 VW car, RSO ammunition supply, horse drawn comms van, M/C combo, 

Observer +1 kubelwagen

1st battery 2 x wefers, 2 x sdkfz11 and 8 crew 

Next week we start the 30 kits in 30 days challenge come and join in the fun here!

cheers

Matt

German Flak 88mm 18/36/37/41 8.8cm cartridge, shells and storage reference

Luftwaffe Flugabwehrkanone 8.8mm shells and equipment 1939-45

As my mind turns towards painting projects for 2021, I commenced on my part finished projects project drawers on my painting station....even though last year I concentrated on completion of a number of these one drawer remained untouched, my german artillery and AA guns and crew draw it is quite full of part completed pieces and crews. With that task in mind this week I commenced painting the Luftwaffe field division, Fallschirmjager and Luftwaffe AA and artillery crews. As always I like to gather all of my research and print it out on use my Imac as a digital resource. I quickly found I had nothing really for the markings on my AA boxes and sort of remembered what rounds looked like. I then decided to add my research here as a quick reference for me so I could just open one page or document when required. some of us are mad enough to add marking to shells and boxes.....

8.8 cm projectiles

The 88mm gun ammunition was classified according to type of projectile as High-Explosive (HE) or Armor-Piercing (AP), smoke (Nebelgranate) or training practice projectile (Ubungsgranate).

The High-Explosive shell (Fp. Füllpulver) and the Sprenggranate (Panzersprenggranate (Pz. Spr. Gr.) contained a large charge of high explosive with one of the following types of fuzes:

1. 8.8 cm. Sprgr. Patr. L/4.5 (kz.) m. Zt. Z. S/30 (8.8 cm. fixed H.E. shell, with spring-wound mechanical time fuze) 30 seconds.
2. 8.8 cm. Sprgr. Patr. L/4.5 (kz.) m. Zt. Z. S/30 Fg1 (8.8 cm. fixed H.E. shell, with inertia-operated mechanical time fuze) 30 seconds
3. 8.8 cm. Sprgr. Patr. L/4.5 (kz.) m. A.Z. 23/28 (8.8 cm. fixed H.E. shell, with percussion fuze) Percussion fuze, superquick or delay (0.11 second) action
4. 8.8 cm. Pzgr. Patr. m. Bd. Z. (8.8 cm. fixed A.P.C. shell, with base-detonating fuze) no delay. The Armor-Piercing projectile (Panzergranate, Pzgr.) was provided with an armor-piercing cap (Haube) to aid in the penetration of armor plates. It contained a small explosive charge and a base detonating fuze with a tracer element in its base.

Markings HE projectile
14 is the bursting charge number
Jg1942E is the Place, Day, Month, year of fusing with work mark.
IV is the weight class.
Stg is the type of steel used for the shell.
FES is the type of bimetallic driving band.
Sprgr A.Z. type of fuze.

8.8 cm Pzgr. Patr. 39 Kw.K 36

The Amour Piercing round
1 Distinctive mark only used for 8.8cm Pzgr. 39.
Fa1043 is the manufacturing place, day, month, year.
92 is the number indicating the bursting charge numbers.
7rdf 5.43 is the place, day, month, year of shell filling.
2.89 kg is the weight of propellent powder.
lg1 441 identify the type of propellent powder and the place of fabrication.
Fa is the Armory or Arsenal where cartridge was made.

The Armor Piercing shell was used in Flak guns as well as in the PzKw VI Ausf. E Tiger tank. The ballistic cap is made in two pieces, originally black from early 1943 the noses of 8.8cm – 12.8cm AP shells were painted white to help loading them in the dark. 

Cartridge case

The cartridge case were brass, there are markings on the side wall of the cartridge in black unless noted.

MARKINGS ON SIDE OF CARTRIDGE CASE

German Marking - English Equivalent
2700 k.g -2,700 kilograms
Digl. R.P 8 (495-5, 4/2.75) - Diglycol powder, number, grain size
Tgl 41 P - manufacturer, date, delivery number
L14, 5, 41K manufacture date workers mark
P.T plus 25 (in red paint) - powder temperature plus 25

The principle marking for identification on the base of the cartridge case is the number "6347," which appears on all the cartridge cases of the German 88-mm complete rounds. It will be noted that the primer design marking is "C/12nA St." The caliber and model of the gun may also appear on the base, for example, "8.8 cm. Flak. 18."

Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht 88mm packing and storage boxes

Generally German 88-mm rounds are packed in two ways, first was in individual sealed steel containers particularly for use in the early part of the war, the tropics or on U-boats, more common as the war continued as the use of a wicker basket which three rounds fitted into. They were shipped with one complete round, they are painted a slate gray color.

The steel container is hermetically sealed by a rubber gasket under a removable steel cover. 

An example of grey U-boat container sold at auction in 2019, Note the wo tags are pasted on the cover.

I have a photograph of one above in dunkelgelb from the Bayeux museum. Not known if this is original.

Container Tags 

These tags were pasted on the container and on tags on the wicker baskets;

 One tag of black paper is printed with white ink as follows:
"8.8 cm. Pzgr. Patr.
Bd. Z. f. 8.8 cm. Pzgr."

The other tag of white paper is printed in red as follows:
"Fur Tropen!
Normale Pulvertemperatur
+25°C."

Wicker Container. 

The wicker-type container contained three rounds. A metal cover is held in place by a leather strap. The base is also of metal. Round rubber stops at the bottom of the container protect the fuzes against jarring. The rest of the container is of wood and wicker construction. The wicker carriers were then placed in larger wooden boxes for transport, these crates contained three wicker baskets. I have found no markings for these boxes yet.

Boxes

I have seen boxes also in use around some positions, but found no marking references for them for anti-aircraft ammunition, there are lots of references for anti tank rounds though. The boxes can be grey, or natural wood and can carry a single round or three rounds like the wicker case.

The single pak 43 box 

References

German 88-mm Anti aircraft gun material US war department document 

German Artillery of WW2 Ian Hogg

German 88, the most famous gun of the second world war Terry Gander

88mm Flak 18/36/37/41 and pak 43 1936-45 John Norris

My private photo collection 

I hope you find this useful for your modelling efforts.

cheers

Matt