M19 Maschinengranatwerfer

The M-19_Maschinengranatwerfer is a German 50 mm mortar, which were used during World War II. The motar was developed in 1934 with the purpose of defending permanent military bases. Having a maximum firing capacity of 120 rounds per minute it could fire at a maximum range of 750 metres. It is a very heavy and complicated weapon system, with its barrel and base alone weighing 220 kg. This automatic 5 cm mortar could fire a maximum of 120 grenades a minute, and was electrically operated, with manual backup. The 120 grenades/minute was seldom used, as it caused much stress, wear and tear on the construction. It was loaded with clips of 6 grenades by two crew, the clips were prepared by several other crewmembers. One gunner aimed and fired the weapon. Range was 50–750 metres. Few M19 were produced.

It is unknown how many units were built, but it is estimated, that the number hardly could have been much more than 100.

The idea was that the M19 mortar would be used in conjunction with machine guns, especially those mounted in armoured domes. The mortar was to fire into areas that were out of range for the machine guns, such as low spots in the terrain and the far sides of hills. In this way enemy hiding soldiers would be chased out into the open, so that the machine guns could hit them.