German military ammunition: 9 mm Parabellum, 7.92×57, 7.92×33 Kurz

A Mauser catalogue without ammunition is a rack without a reason. German small-arms of 1902–45 rest on three cartridges a collector must keep distinct: 9×19 mm Parabellum for pistols and machine pistols; 7.92×57 mm for the Gewehr 98, K98k, and the machine guns; and 7.92×33 mm Kurz for the MP 43 / Sturmgewehr 44. The full plates, loads, and identification notes live in the Ammunition section of this site. This article is the map.

9×19 mm Parabellum

Luger’s 1902 pistol cartridge, Pistolenpatrone 08 in German service. Standard ball is about 8 g jacketed round-nose. The P08, P38, and MP 38/40 all fire it. Late-war steel cases (lacquered) are ordinary. It is not 9 mm Short, not 9 mm Steyr. Headstamps carry factory, date, and delivery — photograph them. Platzpatrone 08 with a wooden bullet is a blank, not a weak ball load.

7.92×57 mm Mauser

The infantry cartridge. Military 7,9 mm uses the IS / 0.323 in bullet, not the older I-bore sporting 8×57. S-Patrone (10 g Spitz, 1905) gave way to sS (12.8 g schweres Spitzgeschoss) as the 1930s rifle and MG standard. SmK is steel-core AP; SmE is wartime iron-core ball. Brass cases yield to Stahlhülse. A 1938 K98k was regulated for sS. Israeli 7.62 rebuilds in this gallery are a later chambering.

7.92×33 mm Kurz

The intermediate round for the assault rifle. Case length 33 mm, usually steel. It will not chamber in a K98k and will not feed an MG 42. Collectors confuse pulled or crushed 7.92×57 necks with Kurz; measure. Pist. Patr. 43 is the service ball for MP 43 / StG 44. Historically this is the break from the 1898 full-power idea — parallel to the K98k, not a replacement of it in 1944–45 production.

Do not publish loading data from a headstamp. This catalogue is identification, not a recipe.

Open the Ammunition section for load tables and the three study plates.