The 21 cm Mörser 10 (21 cm Mrs 10) was a heavy howitzer used by Germany in World War I (although classified as a mortar (Mörser) by the German military). It replaced the obsolete 21 cm Mörser 99, which lacked a recoil system. For transport, it broke down into two loads. Some howitzers were fitted with a gun shield during the war. As it was also intended for siege use, a concrete-penetrating shell was also used. Unusually, it had two spades: a folding one halfway down the trail and a fixed one at the end of the trail. Before the 21 cm Mörser 10 was commissioned for mass production, a small test series of 21 cm Versuchmörser 06 ("test mortar") was given to the German army. Eight pieces equipped two batteries, but their range of only 7 km was found insufficient, so the range was increased for the production version. Serial number 3 of these rare pieces is now exposed at Red Cliffs, Victoria.[1] 216 were in service at the beginning of the war.[2] It was replaced by the 21 cm Mörser 16, which was also known as the langer 21 cm Mörser since it was merely a lighter 21 cm Mrs 10 with a longer barrel for extra range and other refinements. The specifications provided for this weapon by difference sources are contradictory and, thus, those given here cannot be regarded as authoritative.
| 21 cm Mörser 10 | |
|---|---|
 21 cm Mörser 10 near Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, Australia. | |
| Type | Howitzer |
| Place of origin | German Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1910 |
| Used by | German Empire |
| Wars | World War I |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Krupp |
| Designed | 1907–1910 |
| Produced | 1910 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 15,496 lb (7,029 kg) |
| Barrel length | 2.57 m (8 ft 5 in) L/12 |
| Shell | 252 pounds (114 kg) |
| Caliber | 211 mm (8.3 in) |
| Breech | horizontal sliding-wedge |
| Recoil | hydro-pneumatic |
| Carriage | box trail |
| Elevation | -6° to +70° |
| Traverse | 4° |
| Muzzle velocity | 335 m/s (1,101 ft/s) |
| Maximum firing range | 9,400 m (10,300 yd) |
Gallery edit
-
21 cm Versuchsmörser 06 -
21 cm Mörser 10, July 1915 -
A 21 cm Mörser carriage being transported. -
A 21 cm Mörser barrel being transported.
See also edit
- Isis District War Memorial in Childers, Queensland, Australia, where a surviving 21 cm Mörser 10 engraved with "Nr 406 - Fried Krupp AG, Essen - 1916" is now located, having been captured by the Australian Army in Flanders.[3][4][5]
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era edit
- BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk I – V British equivalent firing slightly lighter shell
References edit
- Hogg, Ian. Twentieth-Century Artillery. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000 ISBN 0-7607-1994-2
- Jäger, Herbert. German Artillery of World War One. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001 ISBN 1-86126-403-8
Notes edit
- ^ "§§- 21cm VersuchsMorser nr3 1906 en Australie - Canons survivants de la Grande Guerre / WW1 surviving guns". 13 January 2011.
- ^ Jäger, p. 29
- ^ Emery, Max (27 November 2014). "History behind Childers' cannon". Bundaberg News-Mail. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ "Claim 210 mm Howitzer Morser M10 c 1916 – Isis District War Memorial & Shire Council Chambers c 1926, Childers, QLD". Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ "Surviving Gun File (# 30)". Database of the WW1 surviving artillery. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
Further reading edit
- (in French) Guy François, "Le Mörser de calibre 21 cm", Tank Zone, issue 11/2010, June–July, pp. 46–53, Hachette Histoire et Collections
External links edit
