In the final years of the Twilight War, the chronic shortage of raw materials required for the production of weapons and ammunition was being felt throughout the front lines. Equipment, uniforms, and weapons were being made with whatever substitute materials that were available, or, as the Germans themselves called it, “Ersatz,” that could be used in manufacturing as part of the vain attempt to sustain the NATO war effort for another day. Even the most sacred of soldier material – ammunition – was also being made out of substitute materials, such as lacquered steel, in order to get the most out of the dwindling stockpiles of copper and zinc. This late-war lacquered steel “Ersatz” ammunition, which was supposed to increase protection from corrosion while reducing the amount of strategic materials, such as copper and zinc, required for manufacturing, was to have detrimental effects to the soldiers on the front lines.
The following is an account of such lacquered steel ammunition being used in the finals battles around Berlin, as told by Gunther Labes, a Panzer Grenadier who was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd “Müncheberg” Panzergrenadier Regiment, Panzer Division “Müncheberg.” Labes, who was assigned as an Assistant Machine Gunner (MG Schütze 2), along with other members of his company (most of whom were formed from other units or stragglers a few days earlier).
“Due to the lack of suitable raw materials, such as copper and zinc, the cartridges for our rifles and machine guns were no longer being made of brass, but of normal steel. The unprotected steel would have normally soon rusted but, the industrial geniuses of Germany had come upon the solution of dipping the cartridges in transparent lacquer to prevent rusting. One would surely be overestimating the intelligence of those responsible for this decision if one accused them of sabotage! At first the lacquer used was quite effective. As conditions continued to worsen “Eratz” lacquer was used in the production of ammunition.
The effect this measure had on fire power of our troops is almost indescribable. The assault rifles and machine guns in general issue among NATO infantry were very accurate and finally machined weapon. As a result of the lacquering of cartridges, the ejection of fired cartridges by the extractors was only seldom possible, When this occurred regularly, it was not very clever to present oneself as a target to the enemy while trying to clear the breech under cover. The rifleman therefore had to go back into cover with his unusable weapon force the empty cartridge out of the breech with his cleaning rod. Sometimes a hard bang of the stock on the bottom of the trench sufficed.
As No. 2 on the machine gun, I also had to use my ramrod on the spare gun barrels as the last cartridge regularly burned fast in the breech after a burst of fire, and consequently the barrel had to be changed after each burst and a fresh belt of ammunition fed in to prepare the next burst.
Looking back, I cannot help thinking that the musketeers of the Thirty Years War with their 17th Century weapons had a faster rate of fire on average and consequently greater firepower than we infantryman of the late 20th Century with our modern automatic weapons, but supplied with lacquered ammunition!”
An ironic twist concerning the NATO forces was that, at the time, they represented the most modern-equipped military units in the world. One can only imagine the frustration of the members of this force, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment which often left them virtually defenseless.
(I've modified this, with no intent to proffit from it) Late-War German Ammunition at the Front 1945, found at:
http://www.dererstezug.com/LateWarGermanAmmunition.htm)
05-20-2015, 01:45 PM
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