| Yes, the Germans did have a real shortage of brass and made alot of cartridge and shell casings out of substitute materials, commonly steel. Rifle rounds often had gilt metal jacket material due to a general shortage of copper. Aluminum was sometimes substituted for larger shell casings also.
Don't know about the sticking problem but, a steel on steel casing to gun breech would probably have caused some problems in service. If a laquer or other finish was on a steel casing then it would have likely been possible for this to cause problems too. |