9 cm Minenwerfer M 14

9 cm Minenwerfer M 14

Type	Light trench mortar
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service	1914-1918
Used by	Austria-Hungary
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	TMK
Designed	1914
Produced	1914-17?
Variants	M 14/16
Specifications
Weight	72 kilograms (159 lb)
Crew	3

Shell	2 kilograms (4.4 lb)
Caliber	90 mm
Breech	interrupted-screw or cylinder lock
Effective firing range	199 metres (218 yd) (M 14)
Maximum firing range	345 metres (377 yd) (M 14/16)

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 65 kilograms (143 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

Austro-Hungarian artillery of World War I

Infantry and mountain	7 cm Gebirgsgeschütz M 99 7.5 cm Gebirgsgeschütz 15 10 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 99 10 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 8 10 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 16

Mortars	8 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 9 cm Minenwerfer M 14 9 cm Minenwerfer M 17 10.5 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 12 cm Minenwerfer M 15 12 cm Luftminenwerfer M 16 14 cm Minenwerfer M 15 15 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 M. E. 20 cm Luftminenwerfer M 16 22.5 cm Minenwerfer M 15 26 cm Minenwerfer M 17

Field, medium and heavy	8 cm FK M 99 8 cm FK M. 5 8 cm FK M. 17 8 cm FK M 18 9 cm FK M 75/96 10 cm FH M 99 10 cm Feldhaubitze M. 14 10.4 cm Feldkanone M. 15 15 cm sFH M 94 15 cm sFH M 14 15 cm sFH M.15 15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16

Superheavy and siege	12 cm Kanone M 80 15 cm Mörser M 80 15 cm Kanone M 80 18 cm kurze Kanone M 80 21 cm Mörser M. 16/18 24 cm Mörser M 98 24 cm Kanone M. 16 30.5 cm Mörser M. 11 30.5 cm Mörser M. 16 35 cm Marinekanone L/45 M. 16 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16 42 cm Haubitze M. 14/16

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