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The 7.58 cm Minenwerfer a.A. (''alter Art'' or "old model"), also 7.58 cm Leichter Minenwerfer (7.58 cm leMW, sometimes also LMW; "light mine launcher"), was a German
The
7.58 cm leMW on Landships
"Notes on the New German Light Trench Mortar 7.6 cm". THE FIELD ARTILLERY JOURNAL. VOLUME VIII NUMBER 3 JULY SEPTEMBER 1918. THE UNITED STATES FIELD ARTILLERY ASSOCIATION WASHINGTON, D. C.
{{DEFAULTSORT:7.58 cm Minenwerfer 1909 establishments in Germany World War I infantry mortars of Germany 76 mm artillery Rheinmetall
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
mortar.
History
The Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
of 1905 had shown the value of mortars against modern fieldworks and fortifications and the Germans were in the process of fielding a whole series of mortars before the beginning of World War I. Their term for them was ''Minenwerfer'', literally mine-thrower; they were initially assigned to engineer units in their siege warfare role. By the Winter of 1916-17, they were transferred to infantry units where the leMW's light weight permitted them to accompany the foot-soldiers in the advance.
In common with Rheinmetall's other ''Minenwerfer
''Minenwerfer'' ("mine launcher" or "mine thrower") is the German name for a class of short range mine shell launching mortars used extensively during the First World War by the Imperial German Army. The weapons were intended to be used by engine ...
'' designs, the leMW was a rifled muzzle-loader
A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) des ...
that had hydraulic cylinders on each side of the tube to absorb the recoil forces and spring recuperators to return the tube to the firing position. It had a rectangular firing platform with limited traverse and elevation. Wheels could be added to ease transportation or it could be carried by at least six men. In 1916, a new model, designated as the n.A. or ''neuer Art'' ("new version"), was fielded that included a circular firing platform, giving a turntable effect, which permitted a full 360 degree traverse. It also had a longer barrel and could be used for direct fire between 0° and 27° elevation if the new 90 kg (200 lb) trail was fitted to absorb the recoil forces. In this mode it was pressed into service as an anti-tank
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...
gun.
See also
* ''Minenwerfer
''Minenwerfer'' ("mine launcher" or "mine thrower") is the German name for a class of short range mine shell launching mortars used extensively during the First World War by the Imperial German Army. The weapons were intended to be used by engine ...
''
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era
* Stokes mortar : approximate British equivalentReferences
* Jäger, Herbert. ''German Artillery of World War One''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001External links
7.58 cm leMW on Landships
"Notes on the New German Light Trench Mortar 7.6 cm". THE FIELD ARTILLERY JOURNAL. VOLUME VIII NUMBER 3 JULY SEPTEMBER 1918. THE UNITED STATES FIELD ARTILLERY ASSOCIATION WASHINGTON, D. C.
{{DEFAULTSORT:7.58 cm Minenwerfer 1909 establishments in Germany World War I infantry mortars of Germany 76 mm artillery Rheinmetall