8 cm Granatwerfer 34

8cm Granatwerfer 34
A GrW 34 at the Festung Hohensalzburg
Type	Mortar
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
Used by	Nazi Germany Bulgaria
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1922–1933
Produced	1934–1945
Variants	8 cm GrW 34/1
Specifications
Mass	62 kg (136.6 lbs) steel barrel 57 kg (125.6 lbs) alloy barrel
Barrel length	1,143 mm (45 in)
Shell	3.5 kg (7 lb 11 oz)
Caliber	81.4 mm (3.20 in)
Elevation	45° to 90°
Traverse	10° to 23°
Rate of fire	15-25 rpm
Muzzle velocity	174 m/s (571 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	2,400 m (2,624 yds)

The 8 cm Granatwerfer 34 (8 cm GrW 34) was the standard German heavy mortar throughout World War II. It gained a reputation for extreme accuracy and rapid rate of fire, although much of the credit should go to the training of the crews.

The design of the weapon was conventional and it broke down into three loads (barrel, bipod, baseplate) for transport. The barrel was smooth bore. Attached to its bipod were a traversing handwheel, and a cross-leveling handwheel below the elevating mechanism. A panoramic sight was mounted on the traversing mechanism yoke for fine adjustments. A line on the tube could be used for rough laying.

The 8 cm GrW 34/1 was an adaptation for use in self-propelled mountings. A lightened version with a shorter barrel was put into production as the kurzer 8 cm Granatwerfer 42.

The mortar employed conventional 8 cm 3.5 kg high explosive or smoke shells with percussion fuzes. The range could be extended by fitting up to three additional powder charges between the shell tailfins.

External links

• German: Mortars & Infantry Guns
• German Infantry Mortars
• WW II German Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons (Archived 2009-10-23)

References

• Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3