POTD: Simple Mortar for a Difficult Time – The Granatwerfer 16
Sam.S 10.30.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! World War I trench warfare saw European armies desperately improvise weapons to break the stalemates. One German innovation was the Granatwerfer 16 spigot mortar, devised in 1915 by an Austro-Hungarian priest turned arms designer. His portable spigot-style tube design allowed infantry to lob explosive grenades 300 meters using a blank rifle cartridge for propulsion. Though cumbersome for its two-man crew, the lightweight Granatenwerfer enabled barrages of 4-5 grenades per minute. Compared to mortars, its simplicity allowed manufacture by German toy companies with modest tooling capabilities. While limited in range, the rapid-firing Granatwerfer 16 gave Kaiser’s infantry vital close support. As a creative stopgap between hand grenades and mortars, the ingenious Granatwerfer 16 exemplified the experimental arms born from the urgent needs of the Western Front’s restrictive trench battles.
“No markings visible aside from the serial number “2557”. Information provided by consignor: This is an World War One German Model 1916 Granatwerfer or “grenade thrower”. These were the smaller German WWI “grenade thrower”. It has original paint and original aiming markings and matching number on all parts. 15,000 were produced in 1917. This is an early first year production with a serial number of 2557.”
Lot 670: “Granatwerfer 16” Pattern Spigot Mortar. (n.d.-m). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved October 29, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1034/670/%22granatwerfer-16%22-pattern-spigot-mortar.
