Panzergranate 39

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Panzergranate 39 (Pzgr. 39) - German armor-piercing shell

The Panzergranate 39 was Germany’s common armor-piercing shell used in World War II. It was made in calibers from 37 to 88 mm and fired from both tank guns (KwK) and anti-tank guns (PaK).

Design
- Type: APCBC-HE-T (armor-piercing capped ballistic cap, high-explosive filler with tracer).
- Structure: a penetrating shell body with an armor-piercing cap to improve performance against sloped armor, a ballistic cap for better aerodynamics, a high-explosive filler, and a tracer in the base fuze.
- Filler: usually phlegmatized PETN or RDX.
- Usage: designed for fixed ammunition (assembled in a cartridge case). The same shell could fit different cartridge cases, so the same projectile might be used by different guns (for example, 7.5 cm Pak 40 and 7.5 cm KwK 40 used the same projectile).

Variants
- The basic shell saw minor changes over time.
- 88 mm: Pzgr. 39-1 used improved steel.
- 75 mm: Pzgr. 39/42 used with KwK 42 and Pak 42 guns and had two driving bands.
- 8.8 cm: Pzgr. 39/43 used with KwK 43 and Pak 43 guns and had wider driving bands to cope with higher gas pressure.
- FES marking indicates sintered iron driving bands.

Technical data (75 mm Pzgr. 39 FES)
- Weight (complete with fuze): 6.8 kg
- Explosive filler: 18 g of RDX wax (90/10)
- Propellant: 2.4 kg
- Driving bands: 1
- Driving band material: sintered iron
- Shell diameter at driving band: 77.4 mm
- Shell body diameter: 74.5 mm
- Fuze: Bd.Z. 5103 (base fuze) with tracer
- Tracer weight: 107 g
- Tracer burn time: about 2 seconds

Summary
Panzergranate 39 was the standard German anti-tank shell in WWII, versatile across many calibers and guns. It combined armor penetration with a built-in tracer and a small explosive fill to maximize effectiveness against armored targets.