21 cm Mörser 16

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The 21 cm Mörser 16 (21 cm Mrs 16), or 21 cm Lange Mörser M 16/L14.5, was a heavy howitzer used by Germany in World War I and World War II (although classified as a mortar (Mörser) by the German military).[1]

21 cm Mörser 16
TypeHowitzer
Place of originGerman Empire
Service history
In service1916–50
Used byGerman Empire
Sweden
Nazi Germany
Finland
WarsWorld War I, World War II
Production history
DesignerKrupp
Designed1915
ManufacturerKrupp
Produced1916–1918
Specifications
Mass6,680 kg (14,730 lb)
Barrel length2.67 m (8 ft 9 in) L/14.5

Shellseparate-loading, cased charge
Caliber211 mm (8.3 in)
Breechhorizontal sliding-wedge
RecoilHydro-pneumatic
CarriageBox trail
Elevation-6° to +70°
Traverse
Rate of fire1–2 rpm
Muzzle velocity393 m/s (1,290 ft/s)
Maximum firing range11,100 m (12,100 yd)
FillingTNT

History

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It was based on the earlier 21 cm Mörser 10 but had a longer barrel, a gun shield and other refinements. Originally, it broke down into two loads for transport but the Germans rebuilt surviving guns during the 1930s with rubber-rimmed steel wheels to allow for motor traction in one piece with a limber under the trail and generally removed the gun shield.

Combat service

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In German service, it used two shells, the 21 cm Gr 18 (HE) that weighed 113 kg (249 lb) and the 21 cm Gr 18 Be concrete-piercing shell of 121.4 kg (268 lb) with a filler of 11.61 kg (25.6 lb) of TNT.

They remained in first-line use with the Germans until replaced by the 21 cm Mörser 18 by about 1940. Afterwards, they were used for training, although some equipped units in secondary theaters.

Sweden bought a dozen weapons in 1918 from the Germans and they remained in service until 1950. Finland bought four of these from Sweden during the Winter War, although they did not participate in the war because the Finns lacked vehicles strong enough to tow their great weight to the front. This had been rectified before the Continuation War and the Finns equipped the 10th Separate Super-Heavy Artillery Battery with them for the duration of the war. The Swedes had their own concrete-piercing shells, called 210 tkrv 51/65-ps R-/33 by the Finnish army, weighing 120.75 kg (266.2 lb), which had dispersion problems as the Finns found out. The weapons were put into reserve after the war and remained there until the late 1960s before being discarded.

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See also

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Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

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References

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  1. ^ Engelmann, Joachim (1991). German heavy mortars. West Chester, PA: Schiffer. ISBN 088740-322-0.

Further reading

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  • Terry Gander; Peter Chamberlain (1979). Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of all Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces, 1939–1945. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-15090-3.
  • Engelmann, Joachim (1991). German heavy mortars. West Chester, PA: Schiffer. ISBN 088740-322-0.
  • Hogg, Ian (2000). Twentieth-century Artillery. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 0-7607-1994-2.
  • Jäger, Herbert (2001). German Artillery of World War One. Marlborough: Crowood Press. ISBN 1-86126-403-8.
  • Scheibert, Horst; Engelmann, Joachim (1974). Deutsche Artillerie 1934–1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz [German Artillery 1934–1945 Documentation in Text, Sketches and Pictures Equipment, Structure, Training, Leadership, Deployment] (in German). Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke. OCLC 256799792.
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