Granatenwerfer 16
| Granatwerfer 16 | |
|---|---|
 A Granatwerfer 16 at the Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung, Koblenz, Germany | |
| Type | Infantry mortar Grenade launcher |
| Place of origin | German Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1916-18 |
| Used by | German Empire |
| Wars | World War I |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Stock & Co in Berlin Bing Brothers in Nürnberg Maschinenfabrik Alfred Wolff in Berlin. |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | Launcher: 24 kg (53 lb) Baseplate: 16 kg (35 lb) |
| Shell | 1.8 kg (3 lb 15 oz) with 400 g (14 oz) of explosives. |
| Caliber | 6 cm (2.4 in) |
| Recoil | None |
| Elevation | +14° to +85° |
| Traverse | 80° L/R |
| Rate of fire | 4-5 rpm |
| Effective firing range | 460 m (500 yd) |
The Granatenwerfer 16 or Gr.W.16 (Grenade Thrower 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.
Background
The majority of military planners before the First World War were wedded to the concept of fighting an offensive war of rapid maneuver which before mechanization meant a focus on cavalry and light horse artillery firing shrapnel shells at formations of troops in the open. The problem facing the combatants was that their light field guns were designed for direct fire and only had limited angles of elevation and weren't capable of providing the high-angle indirect fire needed to deal with enemy troops in dug-in positions.[1]
The simple expedient was to elevate the guns by having them fire from pits but the size and weight of the guns were excessive and pack animals couldn't move the guns in the trenches or across the shell-pocked quagmire of no man's land. What the theorists hadn't foreseen was that land mines, trenches, barbed wire, and machine guns would rob them of mobility and as the Western Front stagnated into trench warfare the light field guns that the combatants went to war with began to show their limitations.[1]
Often defenders would wait out a preparatory artillery bombardment in reinforced dugouts and once the bombardment had lifted they would man their trenches and machine-gun nests in anticipation of an enemy attack across no man's land. Barbed wire was often used to channel attackers away from vulnerable areas of the defender's trenches and funnel attackers into predefined kill zones where overlapping fields of machine-gun fire could be brought to bear. The machine-gun nests could be constructed of sandbags, timber, corrugated metal, and concrete with overhead protection. For infantry advancing across no man's land, all they may see is a small horizontal opening at waist level, with just the top of the gun shield showing. Rows of barbed wire could also be used to delay attackers allowing the defenders time to man their trenches and to hold attackers at a safe distance to call in defensive artillery fire. Attacking infantry would have to close on these positions while under fire and destroy them with rifle fire, grenades, and flamethrowers.[2]
The problem for the attacker was they lacked light, portable, simple, and inexpensive firepower that could be brought with them to overcome enemy machine gun nests by low-angle direct fire and partially exposed troops in trenches by high-angle indirect fire. Early on the combatants experimented with crossbows, catapults, and slingshots to propel hand grenades with limited success. Eventually, most settled on hand grenades, rifle grenades, and trench mortars. However, there was still a niche between grenades and trench mortars which the Granatenwerfer 16 filled.[3]
Design
The Granatenwerfer 16 was a type of spigot mortar. Rather than being a muzzle loaded weapon like a Stokes or Brandt mortar where the projectiles slide down a tube until it hits a firing pin to launch the projectile, the Granatenwerfer had a short hollow metal spigot that was attached to a base that was adjustable for traverse and elevation. The Granatenwerfer 16 had a two-man crew consisting of a gunner and a loader. The projectile was similar in size and construction to a hand grenade with a hollow center tube and tail fins that slid over the spigot. To fire, the gunner would adjust the angle of the spigot for the desired range and direction, cock the firing mechanism, then rotate the safety lever to the “safe” position. The loader would then insert a contact fuse into the nose of the grenade, slide the grenade onto the spigot, remove the fuse safety pin, and the gunner would fire it by pulling on a lanyard that detonated a 7.92 mm blank cartridge in the base of the grenade. Because of the recoil, it was recommended that the Granatenwerfer 16 be operated from the left, so that the gunner could see the notches on the inclinomter/elevating mechanism. A well drilled crew could fire 4-5 rounds per minute or up to 250-300 rounds per hour.
The Granatenwerfer 16 was light enough to be carried across no man's land while other weapons like the 147 kg (324 lb) 7.58 cm Minenwerfer or the 483 kg (1,065 lb) 17 cm mittlerer Minenwerfer were sometimes too heavy to be transported easily across soft or rough ground. The Granatenwerfer 16 could be broken down into two parts with the launcher weighing 24 kg (53 lb) and the baseplate weighing 16 kg (35 lb). The Granatenwerfer 16 was an inexpensive and easy to produce weapon with few moving parts. Nothing required precise machining which meant it could be produced by companies with simple forging technology that were accustomed to loose tolerances. Each manufacturer built slightly different weapons which are visually similar with only small differences but were still compatible with the same ammunition.
The Granatenwerfer 16 could fire a variety of different types of grenades like high-explosive and flares but the most common type was high-explosive fragmentation that weighed 1.8 kg (3 lb 15 oz) with 400 g (14 oz) of explosives to a maximum range of 460 m (500 yd). Compared to 450–680 g (1–1.5 lb) to a range of 160–183 m (175–200 yd) for a rifle grenade. They could be used in either a low-angle direct fire role which was used to fire at things like sentry posts, and machine gun nests. When used as a direct fire weapon the grenade could fill a 5 m (5.5 yd) and 50 m (55 yd) long area with metal fragments. Or when used for high-angle indirect fire the grenade could fill a 30 m (33 yd) area with fragments. However, the grenades were more accurate when used for indirect fire.
An advantage of the Granatenwerfer 16 was that it was quiet compared to other weapons. The French nicknamed the grenades "Pigeons" or "Turtledoves" because they made a whirring sound while flying through the air. Often not being heard until they were directly overhead leaving little time to take cover. The light weight of the grenades, low velocity and sensitive crush fuses also meant that the grenades didn't sink too deeply on soft ground enhancing the effectiveness of their fragments. In 1917 a new bouncing grenade was developed which held a small powder charge in the head and when the grenade hit, the charge would ignite, propelling the grenade 1 m (3 ft 3 in) into the air and then explode increasing its blast radius. There also was also a propaganda grenade that could deliver leaflets upon detonation.
The Granatenwerfer 16 was normally placed in either the first or second line of trenches. The most efficient number of Granatenwerfers was four per company section of the front. They were normally dispersed at 18 m (20 yd) intervals so no more than two could be destroyed by a single round of enemy counter-battery fire and because a battery commander had a hard time controlling more than four using voice commands and hand signals.
See also
Gallery
.jpg)
References
- ^ a b Hogg, Ian (2000). Twentieth-century Artillery. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 0-7607-1994-2. OCLC 44779672.
- ^ Reviel, Netz (2004). Barbed Wire: An Ecology of Modernity. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. pp. 108–127. ISBN 0-8195-6719-1. OCLC 728243601.
- ^ Batchelor, J. H. (1979). Land Power. New York: Exeter Books. pp. 33–34. ISBN 0-89673-010-7. OCLC 5718938.