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20MM Flak 38 - Is it safe? What happened?

Article about: Hey guys! Newbie to the forums here. Dug up this 20mm flak head somewhere in Germany, in a small river not far from a railroad. It seems like the fuse/detonator is gone and part of the shell

  1. #11
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    No worries, it's currently in a plastic container submerged in water, in a hole with a large stone on top. Thanks everyone for your information and time.

  2. #12

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    Quote by Rethox View Post
    I completely agree with you. For now I just want to know how safe it is when it's laying there on a glass plate, not moving. And in the end, I will always treat it as dangerous. I just like to have a realistic understanding of what scale of dangerous. Yesterday I handled it like a piece of rock. Now it feels like a nuke in my house with an invisible timer to it. :P

    Just to be clear, I have to run to the cinema now, will call the EOD later today.
    Forgive me but you seem to have a somewhat blase attitude to this and I am unconvinced that you fully grasp the advice you have been given here.

    You say there is no fuse or any "pins/detonators in there" but how do you know? After all you are asking for advice here and you initially thought it was an old piece of plumbing.

    Brodie gave you a diagram!

    These things have internal mechanisms to set them off not a percussion cap on the end. As stated, old explosive can be very unstable. From that read volatile and the internal parts are probably corroded and weak.

    Speaking as one who has witnessed the effects of even a small amount of explosive ordnance on the human body, believe me we are not speaking about garden fireworks here!

    You say it feels "like a nuke" in your house. Well it will not blow the house down but it might easily make mettwurst out of you.

    You now have it under water in a pit which is a good thing but if I were you I should give this slightly more priority than a trip to the cinema.

    I am knocking on a bit in years now and there is a very good reason for that. It's called using some common sense

    Take care and get rid of this thing.

    Mark
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

  3. #13

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    Just to correct the above, it was Jb that provided the diagram. Our resident 20mm guru.

    B.B.

  4. #14
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    It's in a safe place so no worries. About the schematics, they don't seem to be exactly the same. Also, a large part of the front is missing but I just dont know if the actual fuse is in the missing part (which I believe) or actually on the inside. That's why I'm just wondering. It's not a "is it safe to keep it?" question, more a curiosity thing.

  5. #15

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    It only needs to contain explosive material to be dangerous. Over time, and especially when buried in the ground, the compounds degrade and become more unstable. Eventually, they get to a point where it only takes an accidental knock or drop to set them off. When they were new, they were perfectly safe to handle as long as the fuse was not fitted. They were transported as such for that reason. Seventy-odd years is plenty of time for an explosive to destabilise, even those manufactured to a high standard of safety.

    It's better to be safe than sorry. Better to miss out on a ground-dug piece that 'might' be safe, than to spend the rest of your life blind or missing fingers.

    B.B.

  6. #16

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    Quote by BrodieBartfast View Post
    Just to correct the above, it was Jb that provided the diagram. Our resident 20mm guru.

    B.B.
    Oops! Sorry guys
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

  7. #17
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    Quote by Rethox View Post
    It's in a safe place so no worries. About the schematics, they don't seem to be exactly the same. Also, a large part of the front is missing but I just dont know if the actual fuse is in the missing part (which I believe) or actually on the inside. That's why I'm just wondering. It's not a "is it safe to keep it?" question, more a curiosity thing.
    Mate its the exact same round in the diagram from what you have presented here. I have one in my collection. It has the exact same early war copper driving band and projectile tracer plug. The detonator spike is still there given how it was at the bottom of the fuze (which is still attached to your example) And regardless of if i had posted the wrong diagram...

    Theres still is explosives inside of it!

    My deactivated example
    20MM Flak 38 - Is it safe? What happened?20MM Flak 38 - Is it safe? What happened?20MM Flak 38 - Is it safe? What happened?20MM Flak 38 - Is it safe? What happened?20MM Flak 38 - Is it safe? What happened?

  8. #18

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    Quote by Rethox View Post
    It's not a "is it safe to keep it?" question, more a curiosity thing.

    And curiosity killed the cat as the saying goes.

    You asked the question and it was answered wisely.

    The only other advice might be to put your head between your knees and kiss your a**e goodbye
    Last edited by Watchdog; 04-28-2019 at 07:56 PM. Reason: typo
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

  9. #19

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    Please do not even think of dismantling it yourself!!!

    This thread is worse than russian roulette. Be safe !

  10. #20

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    'seems like a Darwin-ism here...

    ...you can lead a horse to water....you can give it drinking lessons....you can feed it salt.....you can hold it's mouth under the water.....sometimes you're better off shooting the horse....

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