A neat little bird...

[MarkMcM]

Hello All,

Just thought I'd share my latest 'find'. A neat little Brandt grenade with a respectable amount of original paint still remaining.

Mark ~

[militariaone]

Nice piece Mark, thank you for posting.

Regards,

Lance

[MarkMcM]

Thanks, Lance. It's an interesting concept - basically a potato cannon with an attitude problem. Can see how compressed air might have been a real pain in the @ss in the trenches, though.

[militariaone]

I’d be interested to know, when firing a pneumatic mortar would it be significantly quieter than using an explosively charged equivalent? I assume there would still be a pop/report/air rushing sound upon the shell exciting the tube, but would it be markedly quieter? If so, that would add to its lethality, as the pneumatic’s target would have a reduced chance of hearing the weapon’s firing and correspondingly less time to seek cover before the shell arrived.

Just wondering,

Lance

[David B]

I would suspect that general noise of the battlefield would be enough to mask any noise a smaller device like a grenade thrower would make. Can't conceive a situation where there would

be total quiet at the front.

[MarkMcM]

I'd be interested in actual performance records, or at least any contemporary anecdotes on these launchers and their efficacy in the field.