30.5 cm M.11 mortar
| 30.5 cm M.11 mortar | |
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | 30.5 cm M.11 mortar |
| Manufacturer country: | Austria-Hungary |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Škoda , Plzeň |
| Development year: | 1906 to 1911 |
| Production time: | 1911 to 1918 |
| Number of pieces: | 79 |
| Team: | 15 to 17 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Pipe length: | 3.05 m |
| Caliber : |
30.5 cm |
| Caliber length : | L / 10 |
| Cadence : | 0.3 rounds / min |
| Elevation range: | + 40 ° to +70 degrees |
| Side straightening area: | 120 ° |
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The 30.5 cm M.11 mortar (also called Škoda 305 mm howitzer ) with the types M.11 , M.11 / 16 and M.16 was a gun of the fortress artillery of the Austro-Hungarian army . It was used by the Czechoslovak (as 30.5 cm mozdir vz. 16 ) and Yugoslav armies in the interwar period and by the German armed forces during the Second World War .
history
background
The lessons of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 (in particular the siege of Port Arthur ) gave the Austro-Hungarian War Ministry occasion to reconsider the situation with its own siege guns.
It was believed that the previously used 24 cm M.98 mortar or M.98 / 07 with a caliber of 24 cm were no longer sufficient compared to modern tank forts. The projectile weight of 133 kg used here with a maximum firing range of 6.5 kilometers no longer met the siege artillery requirements.
As the name suggests, the 1911 model was introduced to the heavy artillery of the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1911. At the beginning of the war in 1914, Austria-Hungary gave the German army four guns, including the crews. These took part in the battles for the fortresses of Antwerp , Liège and Maubeuge . They were then used on the Eastern Front to bombard Russian fortifications. On the Alpine and Eastern Fronts, the guns were mainly used in the battles for Galicia and a lighter variant in the battles in South Tyrol against the Italian tank forts.
implementation
For this reason, in 1906 the Škoda Works in Pilsen were commissioned to develop a new gun. A caliber of 30.5 cm and high mobility both on the road and on the rails were required. In 1908 the first draft was presented by Škoda and in 1909 the first prototype was ready for testing. After some improvements, the gun could be shot in at the Felixdorf artillery firing range in 1911 . At the same time, a transport system was presented that was considered to be extremely advanced for the time and fully met the required criteria. The gun train was already motorized and was transported in three partial loads (pipe wagon, bed wagon and carriage wagon). An M 12 or M 12/16 truck towing vehicle was used for each transport vehicle . The average cruising speed in good road conditions was 6 km / h. For transport, the base plate was moved with four simple steel spoke wheels. To fire, the wheels were removed so that the base plate rested on the ground and had a stable stand. A hydropneumatic tube return system cushioned the massive recoil when fired. Elevation and side alignment were carried out using hand cranks.
Introduction of troops
On December 6, 1911, the Reich Minister of War, General Moritz Ritter von Auffenberg , demanded the introduction of the device into the troops in view of the constant reinforcement of Italian fortifications on the southern border of the Reich. Since there were no funds in the budget, this request was rejected by the Ministry of Finance. Without having consulted anyone and without permission, von Auffenberg nevertheless ordered 24 pieces of the guns, including the necessary equipment and basic ammunition, without authorization . As a result of this act, he fell out of favor in Vienna. The controversy that continued for years and the personal attacks initially drove him out of his post as Minister of War , and after the Battle of Komarów in 1914 (which ended victorious for Austria-Hungary) he was also deposed as commander of the 4th Army . The criminal trial ended in an acquittal for lack of evidence; in a subsequent officers' court proceedings, however, it was found that he had "violated the honor of his profession". Although the gun had turned out to be a stroke of luck for the Austro-Hungarian army, von Auffenberg did not rehabilitate it.
Nevertheless, the mortars were put into service as the M 11 siege mortar with the heavy artillery ( called fortress artillery in Austria-Hungary ). In 1912/13, the guns were already being used at the Felixdorf firing range for firing attempts at fortifications. The knowledge gained here then flowed into the construction of the Austrian barriers on the border with Italy (the Gschwent , Sebastiano , Sommo , Serrada , Carriola and Valmorbia works ).
Analogous to the German 42 cm Krupphaubitze Dicke Berta , this gun was named Schlanke Emma . The lighter variant used in the mountains was called Gretel in soldiers' jargon.
variants
- Mortar M 11/16
The experience gained during the war made it possible to improve the mortar by making the gun lighter by modifying the bedding, thereby improving maneuverability. This version was given the designation sample 11/16 .
- Mortar M 16
The limited lateral straightening range of the M 11/16 mortar meant that Škoda began to make extensive improvements to the previous model. The version designated as M 16 received a central pivot mount that could be swiveled through 360 ° , the total weight was reduced and assembly and dismantling were made much easier by simplifying the mechanics. The newly designed M 17 motor vehicle was used as the towing vehicle. The chief designer of the Austro-Daimler works, Ferdinand Porsche, was responsible for the construction of this model . By the end of the war, 14 of these devices had been made.
The Škoda Works delivered a total of 72 30.5 cm mortars.
Technical specifications
| M 11 or M 11/16 | M 16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Transport: | Pipe, bed and carriage wagons with an M 12 artillery tractor | M 17 |
| Carriage: | Frame mount | Center pivot mount |
| Construction time normal floor: | 6–8 hours | 6–8 hours |
| Construction time rock floor: | 24-72 hours | 24-72 hours |
| Caliber over the fields: | 30.5 cm | 30.5 cm |
| Caliber in the trains: | 30.85 cm | 30.85 cm |
| Muzzle velocity: | 450 m / s | 450 m / s |
| Impact speed: | approx. 339 m / s | approx. 339 m / s |
| Firing range max .: | 12.3 km | 12.3 km |
| Weight of the gun in firing position: | 26.3 t or 24.9 t | 23.1 t |
| Side straightening area: | 3 ° | 360 ° |
| Elevation range: | + 40 ° to + 75 ° | + 40 ° to + 75 ° |
| Rate of fire: | 1 shot in 3–4 minutes | 1 shot in 3–4 minutes |
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Types of ammunition
Normal grenade made of nickel steel against hard targets
- Weight 385 kg including 40 kg Trotyl powder
- with or without delay referred to as M 11/9 or M 11/13 .
So-called. Troop grenade made of carbon steel against less severe targets
Weight 385 kg including 40 kg Trotyl powder
Light troop grenade against soft targets
- Impact detonator without delay
- Weight 287 kg
- Type M 15/9
Garnet shrapnel against soft targets
- Impact detonator without delay
- Weight 300 kg including 38 kg trotyl powder
- Impact or distance fuses (garnet shrapnel double fuse M 15)
Propellant charge
M 11 and M 11/16
Smokeless ring powder M 97 in 1st to 4th charge + 5th charge when using the light troop grenade - if necessary.
M 16
1st to 7th charge + 8th charge
The cargo bags were packed in a brass case, which, depending on the use, was the M 11 or M 16 with an M 98/11, M 11/16 or M 18 ignition screw.
Further use after the First World War
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the weapons that could still be used were divided among the successor states. An unknown number of the guns were taken over by the Czechoslovak and Yugoslav armies, respectively.
After the remaining Czech Republic was broken up by the German Wehrmacht in March 1939 and Yugoslavia was occupied in April 1941, a total of six guns were captured . The former Yugoslav devices were sold under the designation 30.5 cm mortar 638 (j) (j for Yugoslavian) and the formerly Czech under the designation 30.5 cm mortar (t) in the Wehrmacht.
In 1940 at least one of the M 16 models was used by the German Wehrmacht to bombard a fort on the Maginot Line ( western campaign in June 1940); two of them were used in the siege of Sevastopol in 1941 and several in the siege of Leningrad .
Museum reception
Two full 30.5 cm mortars (samples 11 and 16) are in the Army Museum in Bucharest , and another in the Army Museum in Belgrade . A 30.5-cm mortar, carriage with carriage and inserted pipe, is in front of the Rovereto War Museum .
A complete 30.5 cm mortar formed the focal point of the "Mortar Hall" set up in 1934 in the Vienna Museum of Military History . Since it was fully usable, the mortar was withdrawn from the Wehrmacht during the Second World War, despite an objection from the museum management at the time. Subsequently, the mortar was lost or destroyed during or after the siege of Sevastopol and has been missing since then. Today, a contemporary model (1:10) of the mortar can be viewed in place of the original.
An armored dome from the belt of fortifications around Antwerp is also in the Army History Museum. During the siege of Antwerp, she received a direct hit with a 30.5 cm shell. The armored dome is also accessible from below; so the visitor can see that the tip of the grenade is still in the armored dome.
Others
The mortar became so popular because of the war successes it achieved that pictures of it adorned the sheet music on which, for example, the Skoda March by Hans Rezek or the Freiherr von Skoda March by Julius Hafner were printed. In 1915, a wooden replica of the mortar based on the model of the Wehrmann im Eisen in Mödling was set up in order to raise donations.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Johann Christoph Allmayer-Beck : The Army History Museum Vienna. The museum and its representative rooms. Salzburg 1981, p. 27.
- ↑ Ilona Gälzer: Councilor of the guns in the Wiener Zeitung of 22/23. November 2014 p. 37 ( online )
literature
- M. Christian Ortner : The 30.5 cm mortar. Austria-Hungary's famous siege gun , Verlag Edition Winkler-Hermaden, Vienna 2017, ISBN 978-3-9504274-7-9
- Teaching material and service regulations about the 30.5 cm siege mortar of the Austro-Hungarian Army in the war archive in Vienna
- Erwin Anton Grestenberger: Imperial and Royal fortifications in Tyrol and Carinthia 1860–1918. Verlag Österreich ua, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-7046-1558-7 .
- Ian Hogg : 20th Century Artillery. Gondromverlag, Bindlach 2005, ISBN 3-8112-1878-6 .
- Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Weapons 1939–1945: Hand weapons, artillery, captured weapons, special weapons. Special edition, Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-613-02481-2 .
