__NOTOC__ The 21 cm Mörser 10 (21 cm Mrs 10) was a heavy

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

used by Germany in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(although classified as a mortar (Mörser) by the German military). It replaced the obsolete

21 cm Mörser 99 The 21 cm Mörser 99 (Abbr. 21 cm Mrs 99) was a German siege mortar built by Krupp which served during World War I. The mortar utilized a new nickel-steel alloy of greater strength than other cast cannons, though it lacked a recoil mech ...

, which lacked a recoil system. For transport, it broke down into two loads. Some howitzers were fitted with a

gun shield A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery pie ...

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 Versuchmörser 06 The 21 cm Versuchmörser 06 was an experimental German howitzer which served in limited numbers during World War I. History The 21 cm Versuchmörser 06 was designed in 1899 and built by Krupp in 1903-1906. The Versuchmörser 06 was a successor t ...

("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 Red Cliffs is a town in Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia in the Sunraysia region. It is located on the Calder Freeway, Calder Highway, 16 km south of Mildura, Victoria, Mildura and 544 km north-west of Melbourne. At the , Red C ...

. 216 were in service at the beginning of the war. It was replaced by the

21 cm Mörser 16 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). History It was based ...

, 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

Cannon Barclay Square Red Cliffs Australia.jpg, 21 cm Versuchsmörser 06 Bundesarchiv Bild 104-0145, Argonnen, Haubitzenstellung.jpg, 21 cm Mörser 10, July 1915 File:Carriage_003_24220847470_o1.jpg, A 21 cm Mörser carriage being transported. File:Barrel_003_24220847470_o2.jpg, A 21 cm Mörser barrel being transported.

References

* Hogg, Ian. ''Twentieth-Century Artillery''. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000 * Jäger, Herbert. ''German Artillery of World War One''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001

Notes

External links

Video clips on YouTube

* The

Spandau Citadel The Spandau Citadel () is a fortress in Berlin, Germany, one of the best-preserved Renaissance military structures of Europe. Built from 1559–94 atop a medieval fort on an island near the meeting of the Havel and the Spree, it was design ...

Museum has a
exemplar in travel position
{{DEFAULTSORT:21 Cm Morser 10 World War I howitzers World War I artillery of Germany 210 mm artillery

Gallery

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

References

Notes

Further reading

External links