Accession Number | RELAWM01880.004 |
---|---|
Collection type | Technology |
Object type | Munition |
Maker |
Allgemeine Elektrizitats Gesellschaft |
Place made | Germany |
Date made | 1917 |
Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
7.7 cm Feld Kanone Shell case
Description
Steel shell case, designed to be fired from a German FK 16 or FK 96/n/a light field artillery piece. Headstamped: AEG 1917 1217 Length 229mm
History / Summary
Shortages of copper led the German nation towards the use of shell cases manufactured from steel, in substitution for the more normal practice of manufacture from brass. Given the readiness of such material to corrosion, this must have presented enormous difficulaties in keeping munitions clean and useable. The lower ductility of the steel must also have presented problems in achieving shell case obturation within the gun barrel. The survival of such shell cases is extremely uncommon.