21 cm Mörser 10
| 21 cm Mörser 10 | |
|---|---|
|
21 cm Mörser 10 near Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, Australia. | |
| Type | Howitzer |
| Place of origin | German Empire |
| Service history | |
| Used by | German Empire |
| Wars | World War I |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Krupp |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 15,496 lb (7,029 kg) |
| Barrel length | 2.57 m (8 ft 5 in) L/12 |
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| |
| 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) |
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 Versuchsmörser 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.
Gallery
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21cm Versuchsmörser 06
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21 cm Mörser 10, July 1915
See also
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era
- BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk I – V British equivalent firing slightly lighter shell
References
- 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
Further reading
- (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
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 21 cm Mörser 10. |
- Video clips on YouTube
- List and pictures of WW1 surviving 21cm morsers 10
- Obús Krupp 210 mm 10/16 La Gran Guerra 1914-1918
- The Spandau Citadel Museum has an exemplar in travel position
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