9 cm Minenwerfer M 14

Infobox Weapon
name=9 cm Minenwerfer M 14


caption=
origin=Austria-Hungary
type=light trench mortar
is_ranged=
is_bladed=
is_explosive=
is_artillery=yes
is_vehicle=
is_UK=
service=1914-1918
used_by=flag|Austria-Hungary
wars=World War I
designer=TMK
design_date=1914
manufacturer=
production_date=1914-17?
number=
variants=M 14/16
weight=convert|72|kg|lb
length=
part_length=
width=
height=
crew=3
cartridge=convert|2|kg|lb
caliber=90 mm
action=
rate=
velocity=
range=convert|199|m|yd (M 14)
max_range=convert|345|m|yd (M 14/16)
feed=
sights=
breech=interrupted-screw or cylinder lock
recoil=
carriage=
elevation=
traverse=
blade_type=
hilt_type=
sheath_type=
head_type=
haft_type=
diameter=
filling=
filling_weight=
detonation=
yield=
armour=
primary_armament=
secondary_armament=
engine=
engine_power=
pw_ratio=
suspension=
vehicle_range=
speed=The 9 cm Minenwerfer M 14 (Trench mortar) was a light mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. It was designed by the Army's own Technisches und Administratives Militär-Komitee (TMK) in an effort to quickly satisfy the demand from the front for a light mortar. It had a number of issues with its ammunition, namely the black powder used as a propellant gave off copious smoke clouds on firing that revealed the tube's location and the mortar bomb fuzes had a high rate of failure. The breech-loading mortar tube was mounted on a framework that didn't allow for any traverse, which meant that it was impossible to engage different targets without relaying the mortar. In turn the frame was mounted a rectangular firing platform.

The M 14/16 had a circular platform to provide traverse and weighed only convert|65|kg|lb. A later model allowed the mounting to be collapsed for ease of transport. A new M 16 mortar bomb that used the German Poppenberg fuze system generally cured the dud problem, but it still used black powder as its propellant. This was a severe tactical disadvantage and it was decided to purchase replacement mortars from the German firm of Heinrich Lanz from 1917.

References

* Ortner, M. Christian. "The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology, Organization, and Tactics". Vienna, Verlag Militaria, 2007 ISBN 978-3-902526-13-7