The 21 cm Mörser 16 (21 cm Mrs 16), or 21 cm Lange Mörser M 16/L14.5, was a heavy
howitzer
A howitzer () is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an Artillery, artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a Mortar (weapon), mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and de ...
used by Germany in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
(although classified as a
mortar (Mörser) by the German military).
History
It was based on the earlier
21 cm Mörser 10 but had a longer
barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
, 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
A machine gun is a fully automatic, ri ...
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 Limber may refer to:
* Limber, a song off the album ''Aneurythm'' by the American hard rock band Living Syndication.
* Limber, a Puerto Rican frozen ice pop made in different flavors, supposedly named after aviator Charles Lindbergh.
* Limber in l ...
under the trail and generally removed the gun shield.
Combat service
In German service, it used two shells, the 21 cm Gr 18 (
HE) that weighed and the 21 cm Gr 18 Be concrete-piercing shell of with a filler of of
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reage ...
.
They remained in first-line use with the Germans until replaced by the
21 cm Mörser 18
The 21 cm Mörser 18 (21 cm Mrs 18), or 21 cm Mörser M 18/L31,
was a German heavy howitzer used in the Second World War by Independent artillery battalions and batteries. A number were also used by coastal artillery units.
Desi ...
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
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
, 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
The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrie ...
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 , 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.
Gallery
File:21cmMorser16HamMarch1918.jpeg, Moving into action, Ham, March 1918.
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.
See also
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era
*
220 mm TR mle 1915/1916
The Mortier de 220 mm Tir Rapide modèle 1915/1916 Schneider or 220 mm TR mle 1915/1916 was a French howitzer designed and produced during the First World War. A number were still on hand during the Second World War and served in Belg ...
– French equivalent
*
BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk VI – VIII – British equivalent firing slightly lighter shell
References
Further reading
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External links
Video clips on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:21 cm Morser 16
World War I howitzers
World War II artillery of Germany
World War I artillery of Germany
210 mm artillery