German Minenwerfer (Mine launchers)
The siege of Port Arthur in Russian-Japanese War (1904-05) showed that the fire of heavy guns alone was not sufficient to take a modern fortification, since not all obstacle could be cleared by them. It also took close-quarter weapons capable of dropping a heavy explosive charge exactly onto a target a few hundred metres away. This was true expecially for barbed wire obstacles, which the artillery found troublesome to clear. On that basis the Engineer Committe of German Army in 1907-12 planned and built three kind of mine launchers: heavy, middle and light.
The main features of these weapons were:
- lower muzzle velocity compared to field or heavy artillery;
- scarce range of fire;
- not high weight ;
- shell with powerfull explosive charge.
Indeed the effect of the shell of a 25cm Minenwerfer was equal to that of a mortar of 28cm or 30cm, which weighed more than ten times.
At the beginnig of the war German Army had 44 25cm and 116 17cm Minenwerfer. The 7.7cm Minenwerfer was tested before the war started, but was assigned to the units only at the end of the year. Like the 42cm heavy mortars, they were kept in secret. They showed their potentiality during the siege of Liege, Namur and Maubeuge and proved to be very useful also in trench warfare. Other Army had no mine launcers in 1914 and France had to press into service a range of ancient mortars dating to the beginning of 19th century, until more modern weapons were built.
Germany gave to Bulgarian Army only a little number of heavy and medium Minenwerfer and ASIK no 38cm ssMW (sehr schwere = very heavy) and no 24cm Fluegel Minenwerfer were sent to Bulgarian Army.
The siege of Port Arthur in Russian-Japanese War (1904-05) showed that the fire of heavy guns alone was not sufficient to take a modern fortification, since not all obstacle could be cleared by them. It also took close-quarter weapons capable of dropping a heavy explosive charge exactly onto a target a few hundred metres away. This was true expecially for barbed wire obstacles, which the artillery found troublesome to clear. On that basis the Engineer Committe of German Army in 1907-12 planned and built three kind of mine launchers: heavy, middle and light.
The main features of these weapons were:
- lower muzzle velocity compared to field or heavy artillery;
- scarce range of fire;
- not high weight ;
- shell with powerfull explosive charge.
Indeed the effect of the shell of a 25cm Minenwerfer was equal to that of a mortar of 28cm or 30cm, which weighed more than ten times.
At the beginnig of the war German Army had 44 25cm and 116 17cm Minenwerfer. The 7.7cm Minenwerfer was tested before the war started, but was assigned to the units only at the end of the year. Like the 42cm heavy mortars, they were kept in secret. They showed their potentiality during the siege of Liege, Namur and Maubeuge and proved to be very useful also in trench warfare. Other Army had no mine launcers in 1914 and France had to press into service a range of ancient mortars dating to the beginning of 19th century, until more modern weapons were built.
Germany gave to Bulgarian Army only a little number of heavy and medium Minenwerfer and ASIK no 38cm ssMW (sehr schwere = very heavy) and no 24cm Fluegel Minenwerfer were sent to Bulgarian Army.
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