14 cm Minenwerfer M 15

September 2014 14 cm Minenwerfer M 15 Bergisel-0032.JPG 300 M 16 model at the Tiroler Kaiserjägermuseum, Innsbruck, Austria Austria-Hungary Medium trench mortar yes 1915–1918 Austria-Hungary World War I Skoda 1914–1915 Skoda 1915–1918 M 16 220 kg lb 16 kg lb 140 mm (5.5 in) 860 m yd 0° The 14 cm Minenwerfer M 15 was a medium mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. It was developed by Škoda Works as an alternative to a German design from Rheinische Metallwarenfabrik/Ehrhardt14cm Minenwerfer M15 / M16 https://www.passioncompassion1418.com/Canons/Eng_AfficheCanonGET.php?IdCanonAffiche=1116 2024-08-27 www.passioncompassion1418.com for which ammunition could not be procured. It was a rigid-recoil, rifled, muzzle-loading weapon that had to be levered around to aim at new targets. It was lifted onto a two-wheel cart for transport. An improved version, the 14 cm M16 MW, added a central barrel ring and cutouts on the side of the carriage. Rotation within the barrel was improved, greatly increasing accuracy. It weighed an extra 20 kg lb, but had a maximum range of 1080 m yd. Its transport cart was also improved. The first batch of 100 mortars was ordered in May 1915 and a second batch in spring 1916, but deliveries were slow; only 88 of the second batch could be sent to the front by May 1916. A third batch of 300 was ordered in November 1916, but production was such that only 30 had been delivered by the spring of 1917. References Bibliography Ortner, M. Christian. The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology, Organization, and Tactics. Vienna, Verlag Militaria, 2007 978-3-902526-13-7 Category:Mortars of Austria-Hungary Category:140 mm artillery