Thermite Shells

"Report on new armour piercing shells used by the German army

1. The use of so called "thermite" armour piercing shells by the German army has not yet been confirmed.
   German press made a mention of an alleged patent for an incendiary thermite shell, but such a shell should be made with an Elektron alloy hull, which is completely unsuitable for armour penetrating shells. The objective of this message was disinformation.
2. The presence of subcaliber armour piercing shot (similar to those made by the French Komissan factory) was discovered during combat.
   The shot consists of a body, a tungsten core, and a ballistic cap. The cap can be made from either plastic or from a light metal.
   Captured documents show that when an armour piercing shot with a cap made from a light metal (Elektron) hits a target, a flash of light can be seen.
   This message was not checked or verified.

Assistant Chief of the 1st Department, 2nd Directorate, Military Engineer 3rd Class, Krutik

_ April 1942

Via Andrei Ulanov.