Granatwerfer 36

Infobox Weapon
name= Granatenwerfer 36


caption=A leGrW 36 on display at Festung Hohensalzburg
origin=Germany
type= Mortar
is_ranged=yes
is_bladed=
is_explosive=
is_artillery=yes
is_vehicle=
service= 1936 – 1945
used_by=flagcountry|Nazi Germany
flag|Bulgaria
flag|Slovakia
wars= Second World War
designer= Rheinmetall
design_date=1934
manufacturer=
production_date=1936-1945
number=
variants=
weight= 14 kg (31 lb)
length=
part_length=465 mm (18 in)
crew=2
cartridge= 0.9 kg (2 lb) TNT filled
caliber= 50 mm (1.97 in)
action=
rate= 15-25 rpm
velocity= 75 m/s (246 ft/s)
range= 50 m (54.7 yd) min
510 m (557.7 yd) max
max_range= 520 m (568.7 yd)
feed=
sights= Telescopic, later none
breech=
recoil=
carriage=
elevation=42° to 90°
traverse=33° 45'
blade_type=
hilt_type=
head_type=
haft_type=
diameter=
filling=
filling_weight=
detonation=
yield=

The 5cm leichter Granatenwerfer 36 (5 cm leGrW 36) was a light mortar used by Germany during World War II. Development started in 1934 by Rheinmetall-Borsig AG and it was adopted for service in 1936. Its intended role was to engage pockets of resistance that were beyond hand grenade throwing range. Until 1938 it used a complicated telescopic sight. By 1941 the Granatwerfer 36 was seen as too complex for its intended role. It fired too light a bomb and had too short a range. Production was terminated in 1941. It was gradually withdrawn from front line service by 1942, but available mortars remained in use until 1945 with second-line and garrison units until the end of hostilities in 1945. As supplies of the Granatwerfer 36 dwindled during 1944-1945, the Germans often relied on captured French and Russian 50 mm mortars, and in most cases, preferring the captured Russian mortars over the standard German issue. Still, the 50 mm continued to be popular for the remainder of the war, simply by the fact that it was easily transported by two men, and it provided the Infantry with a hitting power and range capability greater than any other weapon readily available at the squad or section level.

External links

* [http://www.mortarsinminiature.com/Ger5cm36.htm German 5cm Leichte Granatwerfer 36]
* [http://www.reenactor.net/units/gjr98/5f_mortars-weps.html Die Waffen Ecke]
* [http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ltmortar/index.html Lone Sentry:50-mm Light Mortar, German]

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