8,0cm Zug-Flak Cartridge Casing
A rare example of an 8,0cm cartridge casing for the Krupp 8,0cm Zug-Flak (Zug: Zugmaschinen = tractor. Flak: Flugabwehrkanone = aircraft defence cannon).

To illustrate the size, the cartridge casing is photographed with an original example of a Model 1917 "droop-bill" Stahlhelm.

8,0cm Zug-Flak L/45 Cartridge Casing Data:
  • Height - 560mm (22.04 inches)
  • Actual Calibre - 80mm (3.14 inches)
  • Base Diameter - 100mm (3.93 inches)
  • Weight - 2.6 kg (5.6 lbs.)
  • Manufacturer - Fritz Neumeyer
  • Date - April 1918
A close-up of the head stamping on the base with the manufacturer's stamp and date. Marked: FN (Fritz Neumeyer cartridge factory) manufactured "APRIL 1918" (April 1918). "33" is the lot number of that batch of cases which were made during 1918. Hb27 is the control/inspection mark of the manufacturer Fritz Neumeyer. Note that the primer has been struck, so this cartridge casing was fired.
 
8 cm Granatpatrone mit Doppelzünder Projectile 3D rendering and information provided by Pascal Casanova
  • Height - 258mm without fuze (10.15 inches)
  • Weight - 7,8 kg (17.19 lbs.)
  • Exploder : kl. Zdlg. C/98 (picric acid in cylindrical tinned brass case)
  • Bursting charge : 70g of Tolite (TNT) and 275g of Fp 60/40 (Amatol) in 2 separate cardboard cases
  • Fuze : Zeitzünder S/29 for Flak
  • Paint - The projectile was painted field-gray with large painted numerals, the batch, the month in roman numeral and the year
  • Number produced - 374,493
 
 
8,0cm Zug-Flak L/45

From: "Das Gerät der leichten Feldartillerie IV.Teil: Flugabwehrwaffen" by Alfred Muther. Courtesy Dr. Hannes Täger
In 1916 the firms of Krupp and Ehrhardt (Rheinmetall) were given contracts to develop mobile heavy anti-aircraft cannons for use by the army. Both firms fielded prototypes in the spring of 1917 based upon the highly successful Marine 8,8cm SK L/45. Only Krupp fielded a 8,0cm Flak. The Krupp 8,0cm Zug-Flak L/45 was pedestal mounted on a 4-wheeled trailer and was towed by tractors and therefore designated Zug-Flak (Zug: Zugmaschinen = tractor).

The publication "Die technische Entwicklung der Flakwaffe bis zum Endes des Weltkrieges" states that the Krupp an 8,0cm and 8,8cm towed Flak cannons were basically identical in construction and differed only slightly in dimensions. This makes positive identification very difficult.
 

From: "Das Gerät der leichten Feldartillerie IV.Teil: Flugabwehrwaffen" by Alfred Muther. Courtesy Dr. Hannes Täger
A common misconception is that the 8,0cm Zug-Flak had solid steel wheels and that the 8,8cm K-Flak had steel wheels with large holes. However, the publication "La FLak" by Bernard Delsert shows 8,0cm Zug-Flak with both patterns of steel wheels. Therefore the kind of wheel is not an indicator of whether a towed Flak is an 8,0cm or an 8,8cm. This seems to indicate that the towed platforms for both Flak cannons of 8.0cm and 8.8cm had solid wheels at first and later wheels with holes to reduce the weight.
A M1915 Flak shoulder strap for Mannschaften (Other Ranks).