14 cm Minenwerfer M 15

14 cm Minenwerfer M 15

M 16 model at the Tiroler Kaiserjägermuseum, Innsbruck, Austria
Type Medium trench mortar
Place of origin Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service 1915–1918
Used by Austria-Hungary
Wars World War I
Production history
Designer Skoda
Designed 1914-5
Manufacturer Skoda
Produced 1915-8
Variants M 16
Specifications
Weight 220 kilograms (490 lb)

Shell 16 kilograms (35 lb)
Caliber 140 mm (5.5 in)
Traverse
Maximum firing range 860 metres (940 yd)

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 M 16 version added a central barrel ring and cutouts on the side of the carriage. Rotation within the barrel was improved, greatly increasing accuracy. It weighed an extra 20 kilograms (44 lb), but had a maximum range of 1,080 metres (1,180 yd). Its transport cart was also improved.

The first batch of 100 mortars was ordered in May 1915 and a second batch in spring 1916, but deliveries were slow; only 88 of the second batch could be sent to the front by May 1916. A third batch of 300 was ordered in November 1916, but production was such that only 30 had been delivered by the spring of 1917.

References

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