22.5 cm Minenwerfer M 15
Encyclopedia
The 22.5 cm Minenwerfer M 15 was a heavy mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....

 used by Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

 in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. It was developed by Böhler
Böhler
Böhler, is an Austrian steel producer for special steel. Its multinational presence includes locations around the world, including the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa....

 as an alternative to the German Ehrhardt
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defence company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß. The company has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces...

 25 cm schwere Minenwerfer
25 cm schwere Minenwerfer
The 25 cm schwerer Minenwerfer was a heavy trench mortar used by Germany in World War I. It was developed for use by engineer troops after the Siege of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905 illustrated the usefulness of this class of weapon in destroying bunkers and fortifications...

 which Böhler was having problems building under license. It was a muzzle-loading, smooth-bore mortar that had no recoil system whatsoever. The entire mortar had to be levered around to aim at new targets. It was not particularly accurate and bombs often fell over in flight and landed on their sides which caused a lot of duds in soft ground. It fired high-explosive and gas shells. For transport two wheels from the Gebirgsgechütz M 99 were used.

The M 17 version of this weapon had an elevation screw with a double thread and reinforced trunnion
Trunnion
A trunnion is a cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting and/or pivoting point. In a cannon, the trunnions are two projections cast just forward of the centre of mass of the cannon and fixed to a two-wheeled movable gun carriage...

bearings. It's unclear how the M 16 differed from the earlier model.

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