The Skoda 100 mm Model 1916 was a mountain howitzer used by Austria-Hungary during World War I, developed from the 10 cm M. 14 Feldhaubitze. The Turks used a 105 mm variant, the M.16(T). The Wehrmacht redesignated this as the 10 cm GebH 16 or 16(ö). Guns acquired from Italy, after 1943, were known as 10 cm GebH 316(i); those acquired from Czechoslovakia were 10 cm GebH 16(t). The Italians referred to weapons gained either through capture or reparations as the Obice da 100/17 modello 16. The gun could be broken into three sections, intended for towing by two animal carts. The gun crew was protected by a gun shield. The Italians used lighter shells than the Czechs, which accounts for the greater range and muzzle velocity of their guns.
A mortar today is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded cannon, consisting of a smooth-bore metal tube fixed to a base plate with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition. Historically mortars were heavy siege artillery. Mortars launch explosive shells in high-arching ballistic trajectories.
The Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar designed by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE that was issued to the British and U.S. armies, as well as the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps, during the latter half of the First World War. The 3-inch trench mortar is a smooth-bore, muzzle-loading weapon for high angles of fire. Although it is called a 3-inch mortar, its bore is actually 3.2 inches or 81 mm.
The 2 inch medium trench mortar, also known as the 2-inch howitzer, and nicknamed the "toffee apple" or "plum pudding" mortar, was a British smooth bore muzzle loading (SBML) medium trench mortar in use in World War I from mid-1915 to mid-1917. The designation "2-inch" refers to the mortar barrel, into which only the 22 in (560 mm) bomb shaft but not the bomb itself was inserted; the spherical bomb itself was actually 9 in (230 mm) in diameter and weighed 42 lb (19 kg), hence this weapon is more comparable to a standard mortar of approximately 5–6 in (130–150 mm) bore.
The ML 9.45 inch heavy trench mortar, nicknamed the "Flying Pig", was a large calibre mortar of World War I and the standard British heavy mortar from the autumn of 1916. It was a modification of an original French design, the Mortier de 240 mm developed by Batignolles Company of Paris and introduced in 1915. Britain manufactured the modified version under licence.
The 240 mm trench mortar, or Mortier de 240 mm, was a large calibre mortar of World War I. An original French design, it was developed by Batignolles Company of Paris and introduced in 1915.
The Mortier de 58 mm type 2 or Mortier de 58 mm T N°2, also known as the Crapouillot or "little toad" from its appearance, was the standard French medium trench mortar of World War I.
The Mortier de 150 mm T Modèle 1917 Fabry was the standard French heavy trench mortar of World War I. It remained in service through 1940, with some 1,159 available during the Phony War. The tube was supported by two recoil-recuperators in a flask-rocker assembly that was mounted on a platform with six fixed spades. The finned mortar "bomb" was loaded from the muzzle, but the propellant was loaded from the breech and ignited by a percussion ignition system.
The 22.5 cm Minenwerfer M 15 was a heavy mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. It was developed by Böhler as an alternative to the German Ehrhardt 25 cm schwere Minenwerfer which Böhler was having problems building under license. It was a muzzle-loading, smooth-bore mortar that had no recoil system whatsoever. The entire mortar had to be levered around to aim at new targets. It was not particularly accurate and bombs often fell over in flight and landed on their sides so they used time instead of contact fuzes. It fired high-explosive and gas shells. For transport two wheels from the Gebirgsgechütz M 99 were used.
The 26 cm Minenwerfer M 17 was a heavy trench mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. It was developed by Skoda as an alternative to copying captured Italian 240 mm Trench Mortars. Skoda presented two versions, one with a rigid barrel, and the other with a recoil system. The former was chosen as it was simpler to produce. It was a muzzle-loading, rifled mortar that had to be levered around to aim at new targets. It disassembled into four pieces for transport.
The 14 cm Minenwerfer M 15 was a medium mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. It was developed by Škoda Works as an alternative to a German design from Rheinische Metallwarenfabrik/Ehrhardt for which ammunition could not be procured. It was a rigid-recoil, rifled, muzzle-loading weapon that had to be levered around to aim at new targets. It was lifted onto a two-wheel cart for transport.
The 12 cm Luftminenwerfer M 16 was a medium mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. It was developed by Austria Metal Works in Brno from their earlier, rejected, 8 cm project. It was a rigid-recoil, smooth-bore, breech-loading design that had to be levered around to aim at new targets. It was very simple in that the shell closed the top of the chamber and was retained by a "gripper" until the air pressure was deemed sufficient and the gripper was manually released, which fired the weapon. An additional barrel could be fitted to extend the range. A cylinder of compressed air was good for eleven shots.
The 20 cm Luftminenwerfer M 16 was a heavy mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. It was developed by Austria Metal Works in Brno from their earlier 12 cm Luftminenwerfer M 16. It was a rigid-recoil, smoothbore, breech-loading design that had to be levered around to aim at new targets. It was very simple in that the shell closed the top of the chamber and was retained by a "gripper" until the air pressure was deemed sufficient and the gripper was manually released, which fired the weapon. The barrel was fixed at 45° elevation and range was adjusted by varying the air pressure, but an additional barrel could be fitted to extend the range. A single cylinder of compressed air was only good for four to six shots. It was loaded onto a two-wheel cart for transport.
The 9 cm Minenwerfer M 14 was a light mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. Originally named the '1-kg Minenwerfer', it was designed by the Army's own Technisches und Administratives Militär-Komitee (TMK) in an effort to quickly satisfy the demand from the front for a light mortar.
The 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16 was a super-heavy siege howitzer used by Austria-Hungary during World War I.
The 12 cm Minenwerfer M 15 was a medium mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. It was designed by the Army's own Technisches und Administratives Militär-Komitee (TMK) as an enlarged 9 cm Minenwerfer M 14 in 1915. The War Ministry decided to order 50 from the TMK, but the latter preferred only to produce 10 and switch the remaining 40 to the 14 cm Minenwerfer M 15, but no response was made by the Ministry. The TMZ placed an order for the 10 mortars from Teudloff & Dittrich in Vienna at the end of 1915. A follow on order for another hundred was canceled in February 1916.
The 8 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 was a light mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. Troops fighting on the Italian Front wanted a mortar that did not make as much noise or produce as much smoke as the 9 cm Minenwerfer M 14, so the 58th Infantry Division created the this weapon in 1915 in unit workshops with later production moved to Vereinigte Elektrische Maschinen AG in Budapest. These simple mortars used the breakable screw method to retain the bomb in place until the air pressure (approximately 270 standard atmospheres in the chamber was strong enough to break the screw. Grooves of different depths could be used to vary the range. Approximately 16 1.5kg rounds could be fired from a single compressed air tank. With the entire assembly weighing only 30kg, the entire mortar could be carried in a sack for easy transport. In addition to the 8 cm mortar, a 15 cm mortar was created, the 15 cm Luftminenwerfer M. 16. Though created at the same time as the 8 cm in 1915, it was given the designation M.16 to avoid confusion with the 15 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 M. E. Both mortars are often appendixed with Roka-Halasz.
The kleineGranatenwerfer 16 or Gr.W.16(Small Grenade Launcher Model 1916) in English, was an infantry mortar used by the Central Powers during the First World War. It was designed by a Hungarian priest named Father Vécer and was first used by the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1915. In Austro-Hungarian service, they received the nickname "Priesterwerfers". In 1916 Germany began producing a modified version under license for the Imperial German Army.
The 24 cm schwere FlügelMinenWerfer Albrecht, or 24 cm sFIMW 17 Albrecht, was a heavy mortar used by the Imperial German Army during the First World War.
The Mortier de tranchee de circonstance Cellerier or Cellerier Mortar was an early French light infantry mortar of World War I. The name roughly translates to (Cellerier Improvised Trench Mortar) in English.
