15 cm Mörser M1881

May 2021 15 cm Festungs und Belagerungs Mörser M1881 Positions Mörser.JPG 300 A Swiss 15 cm mortar at the Standort Musée Militaire Vaudois, Switzerland. German Empire Heavy mortar yes yes yes 1880-? Kingdom of ItalyOttoman EmpireSwitzerland Italo-Turkish WarBalkan WarsWorld War I Krupp 1880 Krupp 1880-1900 7.5 cm, 8.7 cm, 10.6 cm,12 cm, 21 cm, 24 cm Barrel: 360 kg lb onCarriage: 370 kg lb on 985 mm ftin on L/6.4 Separate loading charges and 31.5 kg lb on projectile 149.7 mm in on 200 m/s ft/s on 3.5 km mi onTurkish fortress guns data https://www.bulgarianartillery.it/Bulgarian%20Artillery%201/Testi/T_Turkish%20fortress%20guns_data.htm 2021-04-23 www.bulgarianartillery.it Horizontal sliding block None +15° to +60° 120° The 15 cm Festungs und Belagerungs Mörser M1881 or (15 cm Fortress and Siege Mortar M1881 in English) was a heavy mortar designed by Krupp that armed several European countries before and during World War I. Background During the second half of the 1800s, several military conflicts changed the balance of power in Europe and set off an arms race leading up to World War I. A company that profited from this arms race was the Friedrich Krupp Company of Essen Germany and several European countries were armed with Krupp artillery. Some customers like Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Russia imported and built Krupp designs under license while others like the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria lacking industrial capacity imported Krupp weapons.Jäger Herbert German artillery of World War One 2001 Crowood Press 1-86126-403-8 Marlborough 96–104 50842313 Design The majority of military planners before World War I were wedded to the concept of fighting an offensive war of rapid maneuver that before mechanization meant a focus on cavalry and light horse artillery firing shrapnel shells at formations of troops in the open. This focus on quick firing light horse artillery meant that the use of mortars declined before World War I. However, Krupp continued to produce a range of siege mortars including 7.5 cm, 8.7 cm, 10.6 cm, 12 cm, 15 cm, 21 cm, and 24 cm mortars for their customers.Hogg Ian https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760719947 Twentieth-century Artillery Barnes & Noble Books 2000 0-7607-1994-2 New York 44779672 registration The 15 cm M1881 was a heavy mortar that was designed to provide high-angle indirect fire for siege operations. It could be used to either attack or defend fortified areas. In defense, the mortar was used to provide high-angle fire to destroy enemy communications, supply, and attack trenches dug by an attacker during siege operations or it could be used by an attacker to destroy gun turrets, casemates, pillboxes, supply dumps, and command posts. The 15 cm M1881 was a breech-loaded rifled mortar with an early form of horizontal sliding block breech that used separate loading propellant charges and projectiles. There were two types of mount one was a static fortress mount that had a round metal base that bolted to a concrete slab or a mobile siege mount that bolted to a rectangular wooden platform. The upper part of both mounts was a wedge-shaped cradle constructed of riveted metal plates that held a trunnioned barrel. The U-shaped cradle allowed for high angles of elevation and was adjusted by a hand wheel on the side of the cradle that connected to a crescent-shaped elevation mechanism. Traverse was adjusted by a wooden pole that fit into a hole in the rear of the base and was levered into position. For transport, a pair of wheels were attached to an axle on the carriage and the rear was attached to a caisson with a seat for the crew. Or a set of poles could be attached to the base and towed by the crew. Users The 15 cm M1881 was used during the Balkan Wars and World War I by the Ottoman Empire. A number armed Ottoman forts in the Balkans and a few were captured during the Balkan Wars.Turkey_fortifications https://www.bulgarianartillery.it/Bulgarian%20Artillery%201/Testi/T_Turkish%20fortifications.htm 2021-04-24 www.bulgarianartillery.it It is unknown if Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, or Montenegro continued to use the mortars they captured? It may have also seen action during the Italo-Turkish War of the same period. The 15 cm M1881 was also used by the Swiss and the Italians used them during World War I.Romania_guns https://www.bulgarianartillery.it/Bulgarian%20Artillery%201/Testi/T_Romanian%20guns.htm 2021-04-24 www.bulgarianartillery.it Gallery References External links Category:World War I mortars of Italy Category:150 mm artillery