YouTube Minenwerfer

[yperman]

Possibly the worst ever YouTube video on the Great War Bombs away Bruce fires WW1 minenwerfer  but it does show a minenwerfer and they do seem to fire it. 

 

I  am curious as to a) how they got it past customs and b) fired it lawfully in the UK

[MikB]

They might've fired something, but whatever arrived in that field and exploded didn't look like a 110 lb high capacity HE shell. Looked like a few pounds of explosive buried under some scrap wood to me.

[Chasemuseum]

Definitely not a 50kg HE shell.

 

For a start, the wheels are only for transport and must be removed for firing, they would not withstand the recoil, they would simply collapse.

 

Secondly when Crompton fires the mortar, the barrel tube does not recoil in the cradle. Either the tube is corroded solid into the cradle (most likely) or there was so little energy from the discharge that it could not move the tube against the recuperator.

 

As for condition, rust holes are visible through the base plate of the mortar in the scene in France.

Cheers

RT

[MikB]

4 hours ago, Chasemuseum said:

Definitely not a 50kg HE shell.

...

Secondly when Crompton fires the mortar, the barrel tube does not recoil in the cradle. Either the tube is corroded solid into the cradle (most likely) or there was so little energy from the discharge that it could not move the tube against the recuperator.

 

...

Cheers

RT

 

Agreed. There's a little recoil, as if it fired summat weighing a pound or two, but as you say it went straight back into the carriage without shifting in the cradle. A full-weight projectile at 600-odd FPS on such a casual emplacement would've most likely toppled it base-over-apex.

 

Pretty much a rubbish demo IMO.