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Post Info TOPIC: Sighting apparatus attached to a 7.58 cm Minenwerfer


Captain

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Sighting apparatus attached to a 7.58 cm Minenwerfer
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The sighting apparatus attached to the minenwerfer is new to me.


Minenwerfer by drakegoodman, on Flickr


Minenwerfer attachment by drakegoodman, on Flickr



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Legend

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Used in an anti-aircraft role?



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Captain

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That would be optimistic Phil, but who knows?

 

I'm leaning towards direct fire in mountainous environs.

 

P.S. Thanks for "de-spamming" this post.



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Commander in Chief

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Well .... anti-aircraft - that's not too far from possability.

A Minenwerfer shoot short, but high! Combined with a "Doppelzünder" (=time fuse) it would allow to use it for ant-aircraft purpose.

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Legend

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Anti Aircraft role seems likely, the allies used the stokes mortar for AA fire it was more of a deterent then anything else....

"During our two months of trench warfare following the battle of Messines we experimented with the Stokes for anti-aircraft defence, and found it most successful. In this branch we(at that time I was in the 4th Light Trench Mortar Battalion)were the first battery to try this exciting means of stopping Hun aircraft from flying over our trenches.

I remember the first day we tried the Stokes out in its new capacity, how excited we all were at the possibility of bringing down an enemy 'plane. We set up three guns at intervals of about 150 yards along the front: one gun with fuses cut to burst at three seconds, another at four seconds, and another at five seconds; and patiently awaited developments. It was not long before our patience was rewarded, and a big enemy plane crossed our line at a height of about 500 feet. The nearest gun opened on him with two fine bursts just above him, while simultaneously the second gun put two equally good bursts underneath. The Infantry were very interested and excited at the thought of the possibility of bringing down a 'plane, and the machine seemed to falter and fall and then right itself and made off back to the enemy lines. Other enemy planes came over that day to investigate this new method of ours in anti-aircraft defence, but were very wary, and kept at a height where our mortars could not reach them.

In effect, the result obtained was this: that our lines were very seldom crossed by low-flying enemy 'planes in this sector."

From "With the Trench Mortars in France" page 48-49

http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-Tren-t1-body-d6.html

Cheerssmile

 

 



-- Edited by Ironsides on Saturday 13th of October 2012 10:11:19 PM

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Colonel

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Hi Drakegoodman,

Is it possible that the second picture is a "mirror" sight, elevation weel is on the right side, on first picture it is on the left

DJ



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Captain

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Anti-aircraft - well blow me down! I never contemplated that option for a second. Thanks to all, marvellous stuff!

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Private

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I would suggest that he is checking he has enough elevation to clear the obstacles in front. The sight is parallel to the barrel. I have never seen it before either but it explains the bracket on the barrel which is common.



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Legend

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The original image URLs have rotted away but the images were still in Flikr - I've retrieved them and posted them in this post.

I agree that the close up image is flipped - the lMW elevation wheel was on the left side of the mortar. I've attached an image of a surviving lMW

which shows this. In the first image it looks as though the mortarman is showing how to track an aerial target - using the mortar elevation.

I wonder if the guy's left hand on the frame with the sights isn't a simple way to pull the mortar around on traverse. If memory serves the lMWs

only had a brake to stop the carriage rotating on the baseplate.

Regards,

Charlie

 



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