WW1 artisan early war mortar projo find

[dano1917]

This is a very interesting and rare mortar projectile indeed. the only problem is identification of country of origin as they were used by the French, British and Germans. Sizes varied but this particular projectile is 24 inches long by 5 inches in diameter. They were fired from early war artisan mortars which were no more than a muzzle loading tube set in a wood block with iron straps to hold the barrel in place and fired with a black powder charge. These were in high use in 1915 about the same time as the petard type grenades (in fact to call this a petard mortar projectile would not be out of the question). These projectiles were filled with explosives and scraps of iron. An extremely rare and important piece of WW1 ordnance. I strongly suspect this to be German but cannot prove that fact.

 

[kz11gr]

Hi Dano

I think two sizes exist (this one and a shorter).

two possibilities :

hand thrown bombs , against wire
or primitive mortar, the wood rod servind as the french "58" or the british "toffee"

regards

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[Collector56]

know of any more information about these interesting projectiles?
any internet sites dealing with these?
love to know more about them, particularly German use

 

[MINENAZ16]

French improved early mortar projos : http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/97991-WW-I-flare-smoke-candle?highlight=french+mortar

 

[Collector56]

Thank you MINENAZ16, that link just about explains everything.
the Lexpev site had these listed as possibly a german stick grenade used for disabling armoured vehicles of the time.
thanks for clearing that up.