14 cm Minenwerfer M 15

14 cm Minenwerfer M 15
M 16 model at the Tiroler Kaiserjägermuseum, Innsbruck, Austria
Type	Medium trench mortar
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service	1915-1918
Used by	Austria-Hungary
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Skoda
Designed	1914-5
Manufacturer	Skoda
Produced	1915-8
Variants	M 16
Specifications
Mass	220 kilograms (490 lb)
Shell	16 kilograms (35 lb)
Caliber	140 mm (5.5 in)
Traverse	0°
Maximum firing range	860 metres (940 yd)

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/Ehrhardt 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.

The M 16 version 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 kilograms (44 lb), but had a maximum range of 1,080 metres (1,180 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

• Ortner, M. Christian. The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology, Organization, and Tactics. Vienna, Verlag Militaria, 2007 ISBN 978-3-902526-13-7