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Forums - Research / WW2 |
This WW2 forum is intended for asking and discussing reference or historical related issues pertaining to WW2 (1939-1945) subjects. |
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| Messages | 14979 |
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| Subject: | Re: Field applied Zimmerit??? |  |
| Date: | Jan 20, 2006 |
| From: | Gerald Owens | |
I also would tend to believe that nearly all Zimmerit was factory applied, even the sloppy stuff. Consider the application process: a skim coat is smeared over the primer and is textured in a rough pattern of little squares using the edge of the trowel. The entire surface then had to be hardened with an alcohol torch to burn off the benzene thinner (otherwise, Zimmerit took eight days to dry). The following day a second coat was applied, and the final finish pattern was pressed or combed into the putty, either using the edge of the trowel in a "breaking wave" pattern or using a sheet metal comb or stamp. Then the whole vehicle had to be cooked again with the alcohol lamp (in some factories, the second coat was skipped--many Panther Ausf. A and early Jagdpanthers apparently only have the first coat). Finally, the whole vehicle had to be painted.
Can you imagine even a rear area maintenance unit bothering with all that under wartime conditions, when they were under huge pressure to repair disabled and battle-damaged vehicles and get them back to the front? And consider, was Zimmerit just a solution in search of a problem? It would seem the biggest users of magnetic mines on the Eastern Front were the Germans themselves, as they were standard issue for engineer units. My references indicate that Russian hollow-charge antitank grenades were designed to be thrown, not applied by hand (similar to the German Wurfmine). Was Russian use of magnetic mines actually documented or was the whole Zimmerit program just a precaution? In any event, Zimmerit was not missed after its use was banned in September, 1944. Gotta wonder if the Zimmer Paint Company might have gotten the contract in the first place because they spread some money around the right Party officials... |
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 | Field applied Zimmerit??? - Glenn Bartolotti - Jan 13, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Field applied Zimmerit??? - Robert Lockie - Jan 14, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Field applied Zimmerit??? - Roy Chow - Jan 14, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Field applied Zimmerit??? - Robert Anderson - Jan 14, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Thanks Robert - Glenn Bartolotti - Jan 15, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Robert here's a pic [IMG] - Glenn Bartolotti - Jan 15, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Robert here's a pic - Robert Anderson - Jan 15, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Field applied Zimmerit??? - Gerald Owens - Jan 20, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Field applied Zimmerit??? - Christopher C. Tew - Jan 20, 2006 |
| . . . Great thoughts guys! - Glenn Bartolotti - Jan 20, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Field applied Zimmerit??? - Christopher C.Tew - Jan 11, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: Field applied Zimmerit??? - Steven Byrne - Jan 11, 2007 |
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