The ''12 cm Granatwerfer'' 42 (literally, "grenade thrower Model 42"; official designation: 12 cm GrW 42) was a
mortar used by Germany during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Development
Developed in 1942, the 12 cm (about 4.7 in) GrW 42 was an attempt to give German infantry units a
close support weapon with greater performance than the
mortars
Mortar may refer to:
* Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon
* Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together
* Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind
* Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...
used in general service at the time. This weapon was very similar to the
M1938 mortar
The 120-PM-38 or M1938 was a 120 mm Soviet mortar that was used in large numbers by the Red Army during World War II. Although a conventional design its combination of light weight, mobility, heavy firepower and range saw its features widely copi ...
used by
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
forces on the
Eastern Front which in turn was an improved version of the French 120 mm Brandt Mle 1935 mortar. The 120 mm Brandt m35 was used in limited quantities during the
Battle of France and exported to the USSR and other nations before the country's capitulation in 1940. The Soviet
PM 38 120 mm mortar, were captured in large quantities during the war in the East and pressed into service by the Germans and other Axis nations before the introduction of similar nationally produced 12 cm mortar designs. In German use, the captured Soviet mortar was given the designation 12 cm ''Granatwerfer'' 378 (r).
Description
The GrW 42 was basically the usual three part construction made up of a circular base plate like the previous Soviet design, the tube itself and the supporting bi-pod. Because of the greater weight of the weapon (280 kilograms or 620 pounds) a two-wheeled axle was utilized, enabling the mortar to be towed into action. The axle could then be quickly removed before firing. A total of 5,373,000 rounds of ammunition were produced for the weapon.
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References
{{WWIIGermanInfWeapons
World War II infantry mortars of Germany
120mm mortars
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1943