Xuan Hua 4th January 2025 19:21
Among the early Stalingrad campaign series of the First Corps, mortar squad were quite popular. In terms of calibre, widely deployed was the German GrW 34 81mm mortar of World War II. This was the most common and most popular mortar in the German army in World War II, replacing the previously unsatisfactory LeGrW36 50mm mortar.
GrW 34 81mm Mortar
However, as the war progressed, the Soviet army, pushing along the same line, launched a 120mm mortar group, which immediately made the German side felt a serious lag in firepower. Soon after, they launched the German 120cm mortar artillery group, which can be regarded as a powerful supplement to their firepower.
Speaking of which, the rudiment of mortars has a history of almost 700 years. In 1342 A.D., the Spanish army besieged the Arab city of Arikhiras. The Arabs countered with a short-horned cylinder on the pile, with the mouth of the barrel facing the outside of the city with a large elevation angle. First, the would put a pack of black gunpowder in the barrel, and then added an iron ball. After ignition, this would shoot the iron ball at the Spanish soldiers outside the city with an explosive impact. Although the real lethality is limited, its earth-shattering voice brought great fear to the Spaniards. This short-horned barrel, known as "Modefa", is said to have come from the captured weapons during Western Expedition to Mongolia, and is often considered to be the rudiment of modern mortars.
The true sense of mortars probably resulted from the Russo-Japanese War of 1904. As we all know, the world of military before and after World War I, trench warfare and machine gun barbed wire constituted the major tone of the whole war. At that time, Russia and Japan fought a turmoil war in Lushunkou, China, for the sake of exercising their power over China. The Russian army occupied the dangerous Lushunkou fortress, and the Japanese army failed to attack it repeatedly, resulting in Japanese casualties reaching 16,000. The Japanese army used the tactic of digging trenches to approach a place only dozens of metres away from the Russian army's position, hoping that the Russian artillery and machine guns could not play an effective role. Russian artillery captain Nikolayevich instead installed an old-fashioned 47-mm naval mortar gun on a wheeled mount, firing a long-tailed shell at a large angle, which fell into the Japanese trenches, causing a large number of kills and injuries. This is probably the first use of mortar in modern warfare. The advantage is that the minimum range can be very close, and the ballistics is more curved than that of grenades. It is suitable for shooting targets behind the shield, especially for close targets, which have an effect that other artillery pieces cannot reach.
The Russo-Japanese Battle of Arthur Pass
From the sense of smell of the weapons of war, all military powers became sensitised After this war, European and American countries successively developed mortars, and the production technology of mortars has become increasingly mature. By April 1917, France had concentrated 1,650 mortars on the River Eyne. At this time, mortars have become an important type of artillery alongside cannons and howitzers. The structure of the mortar has also been greatly improved, and the mobility has increased significantly. By the end of World War I, mortar shells had been changed, from super-caliber shells to same-caliber shells, and the weight of the guns had also been greatly reduced, making them weapons that could provide fire support at close range. In 1918, the British Stokes made an 81 mm mortar, laying the basic structure of a modern mortar - a whole composed of three parts: the gun body, the seat plate, and the sight. In 1927, France changed the rigid connection between the gun body and the gun carriage to the buffer connection, and made the French version of the "Stokes" - Blount 81 mm mortar, which increased its range to 2200 meters, improved the combat performance of the mortar, and made it fully equipped with the basic characteristics of modern mortars.
Blount 81mm mortar
Back to the eastern front of Germany in World War II, generally speaking, there are no 120cm calibre mortars in the German army. Their mortar weaponry composed mainly of 50cm, 81cm and 105cm. 50cm is not strong, and 105cm is an enlarged version of the GrW 34 81mm mortar. It is mainly used to fight chemical ammunition, and its performance is also poor. Then, why are there 120cm mortars in the German side? In fact, this is an all-in-one double-body PM-38 120mm mortar from the Soviet Union, Granatwerfer 42 120mm mortar.
Granatwerfer 42 120mm mortar
The Germans' feelings for Soviet equipment were very complicated. On the one hand, they had a disdainful attitude of sneering at them, while on the other hand, they would say that these are "really fragrant" in the war. From Bobosha in the hands of German officers and soldiers, to the T-34, which was repainted into battle, and even in Panther tanks, the idea of inclined armour being borrowed from the Soviet Union was applied. But this time, the Germans completely gave up when face off with the Soviet PM-38 mortar.
The 120mm calibre of the Soviet PM-38 mortar is very large among the calibre of conventional mortars. It weighs only 280 kilograms and can be towed for a short distance with a light vehicle (the Jeep tow version has been launched in the products of the First Corps). Its single shell weighs 16 kilograms, which can be easily operated by manpower. However, the corresponding range reaches 5,700 metres, and the power of the shell is comparable to that of the 122-mm howitzer. A skilled loader can reach a speed of 15 shots per minute, and the combat part contains 3 kilograms of explosives, which is enough to effectively destroy bunkers and bunkers.
PM-38 120mm mortar
The Soviet PM-38 derives from the French 120mm Brandt Mle 1935. The difference is that it adopts a round bottom plate, a modified control system, a simplified sight and a spring shock absorber. PM means "polkovoy minomyot", that is, the mortar used in regimental service. This weapon was designed by the B.I.Shavyrin Design Bureau and put into use in February 1939 (No. 52-M-843Sh). It is allowed to use a trigger rope or a traditional thimble firing device. Usually, the operator only needs to put the projectile into the launcher through the mut. When the shell falls, it hits the ignition needle at the bottom and ignites the loading propellant. The shell will be fired at an initial speed of about 270 metres per second. In addition, its working cycle is also quite powerful, and the life of the barrel is 3,000 shots.
PM-38 120mm mortar composition
In 1941, the German army captured a large number of PM-38 from the surprise Soviets in the attack. The front-line officers and soldiers appreciated this kind of mortar, and even gave the seized weapons a number Granatwerfer 378 (r). Although Kharkiv was occupied, the Germans obtained all the factory technical documents of this improved mortar PM-38. As a highly copied product of PM-38, from January 1943, the German Waffenwerke Brünn factory in Brno began mass production of Granatwerfer 42. In the 28 months from January 1943 to April 1945, the Germans produced a total of 8,461 120mm mortars Gr.W. 42, and 5,373,000 shells were produced for it at the same time.
The Germans used Granatwerfer 42 as a regiment-level support weapon, firing 120mmWgr.42 fragment mortar shells for anti-personnel personnel, with a tail unit with fins. The main body of the mortar shell is made of low-carbon steel, and the interior is equipped with T.N.T. Blast loading, the wall thickness is 14mm, and there is a threaded buse hole at the head. The German's high imitation copy is so complete, such that whether it is PM-38 or Gr.W. 42, they can all fire 120-mm mortar shells produced by either party can be used on either party's barrels. So, there is almost no shortage of ammunition in the war. The only difference is only at the shell's landing point on what kind of military uniform the target is wearing.
Of course, as an advantage, the difference between the two weapons also exists. Gr.W. 42 used more powerful launchers and reduced 100 grams of mortar shells, and the maximum range was increased to 6,050 metres. 12 centimetres Wgr. The initial speed of 42 shells is 283 m/s, while the initial speed of Soviet PM-38 is 273 m/s, and the maximum elevation angle is increased to 84°.
The firing postures of 50mm, 81mm and 120mm can be distinguished by a very appropriate one-squatting, two-standing and three-lifting. For 120mm shells with a reduction of 100 grams, this weight reduction may only be a gain on paper.
In other aspects, there is a difference between the two in terms of the sight and the transverse mechanism, and the other is that the copy is completely 100% different.
Data on the Gr.W. 42 120mm mortar
GrW. 42 120mm mortar is deeply loved by the front line.
Attached are the product pictures of the GrW. 42 120mm mortar gun group as produced by Xuan Hua.
鍹华模型 2025年01月04日 19:21
在第一军团早期的斯大林格勒战役系列产品里，有一款迫击炮小队颇受欢迎。从口径来看，应该是属于二战德军GrW 34型81毫米迫击炮。这是在二战德军中最常见也是最受欢迎的迫击炮，用以取代之前不如人意的LeGrW36 50毫米迫击炮。
GrW 34型81毫米迫击炮
但后期作为同一题材的苏军方面推出了120cm迫击炮组，一下子就让德国方面严重火力不足。好在如今鍹華推出了德军120cm迫击炮炮组，算是给元首方面的火力提供了有力的补充。
说起来，迫击炮的雏形差不多有700年的历史了。公元1342年西班牙军队围攻阿拉伯人的阿里赫基拉斯城，阿拉伯人在城垛上支起短角筒，筒口以大仰角朝向城外。先在筒子里放入一包黑火药，再加一个铁球，点火后用爆炸冲击将铁球射向城外的西班牙士兵。虽然真实的杀伤力有限，但其惊天动地的声势给西班牙人带来极大的恐惧。这种被称为“摩得发”的短角筒据说是来自缴获的西征蒙古，通常被认为是现代迫击炮的雏形。
而真正意义上的迫击炮，则来自于1904年的日俄战争。众所周知，一战前后的世界军事，沟堑战和机枪铁丝网构成了整个战争的基调。当时俄国与日本为了在华势力，两家在中国旅顺口打了个翻天覆地。俄军占据着险要的旅顺口要塞，日军屡攻不下，日军“军神”乃木希典的猪突肉弹，让日军伤亡达到了1.6万，于是日军改用挖筑堑壕的战术逼近到距俄军阵地只有几十米的地方，让俄军的火炮和机枪无法发挥有效作用。俄国炮兵大尉尼古拉耶维奇试着将一种老式的47毫米海军臼炮装在带有轮子的炮架上，大仰角发射一种长尾形炮弹，掉落到日军战壕造成大量杀伤。这就是第一门现代战争中的迫击炮，优势就在于最小射程可以很近，弹道比榴弹更弯曲，适于对遮蔽物后面的目标进行射击，尤其对于近距离目标，具有其它火炮无法企及的效果。
日俄旅顺口之战
对于战争利器的嗅觉，各军事强国都是如此灵敏。此战之后，欧美各国相继研制和发展迫击炮，迫击炮的生产技术也日益成熟。到了1917年4月一战中，法国在爱恩河就集中了1650门迫击炮。这时的迫击炮已一跃成为和加农炮、榴弹炮相并列的重要炮种。迫击炮的结构也有很大改进，机动性大为提高。到了一战后期，迫击炮弹已由超口径弹改为同口径弹，炮的重量也大幅度减轻，成为能在近距离进行火力支援的武器。1918年，英国人斯托克斯制成81毫米迫击炮，奠定了现代迫击炮的基本架构——炮身、座钣、瞄准具三大部分组成的整体。1927年，法国将此炮的炮身与炮架的刚性连接改为缓冲器连接，制成了法国版“斯托克斯”——布朗特81毫米迫击炮，使其射程增至2200米，提高了迫击炮的战斗性能，使它完全具备了现代迫击炮的基本特征。
布朗特81毫米迫击炮
说回二战德国的东部战线。一般来说，德军序列里并没有120cm口径的迫击炮，其组成为50cm、81cm和105cm三种，50cm的不给力，105cm的就是GrW 34型81毫米迫击炮的放大版，主要用来打化学弹药，表现也是乏善可陈。那为什么德军的题材里会有120cm的迫击炮呢？其实这是来自于苏联的PM-38 120毫米迫击炮的一体双身，Granatwerfer 42 120mm迫击炮。
Granatwerfer 42 120mm迫击炮
德国人对于苏联装备的感情是很复杂的，一方面有着嗤之以鼻的不屑态度，另一方面又会在战事中表示“真香”。从德军官兵手中的波波沙，到被重新涂上铁十字投入战斗的T-34，甚至在豹式坦克中都应用到了借鉴自苏联的倾斜装甲。但这次对于苏联的PM-38迫击炮，德国人彻底放下了面子。
苏联PM-38迫击炮的120毫米口径在常规迫击炮的口径中算是非常大了，它全重仅重280千克，可以用轻型载具短途拖曳（第一军团的产品中推出过吉普拖曳版）。其单发炮弹重16公斤，人力可以简单操作。但对应的是射程达到了5,700米，炮弹威力和122毫米榴弹炮相当。熟练的射手可以达到每分钟15发的射速，战斗部包含3公斤炸药，足以有效摧毁掩体和碉堡。
PM-38 120毫米 迫击炮
苏联人的PM-38参考了法国120毫米勃兰特Mle 1935，区别是采用了圆形底板、修改了控制系统、简化的瞄准具和弹簧减震器。“PM”表示“polkovoy minomyot”，即用于团服役的迫击炮，这种武器由B.I.Shavyrin设计局设计并于1939年2月投入使用（编号52-M-843Sh）。允许用扳机绳或传统的顶针击发装置，通常操作员只需通过炮口将弹丸放入发射管即可。炮弹在落下时冲击底部的点火针并点燃装药推进剂，炮弹会以约270米每秒的初速度被发射。此外其工作周期也相当的给力，炮管的寿命为3000发。
PM-38 120毫米 迫击炮组成
1941年德军在进攻中从猝不及防的苏联人手中缴获了大量的PM-38，前线官兵对该种迫击炮赞赏有加，甚至给到了这批缴获武器一个编号Granatwerfer 378 (r)。虽着哈尔科夫被占领，德国人获得了这种改进的迫击炮PM-38的所有工厂技术文件。作为PM-38的高仿产品，从1943年1月开始，德国在布尔诺的Waffenwerke Brünn工厂开始批量生产Granatwerfer 42。从1943年1月到1945年4月的28个月间，德国人一共生产了8461门120毫米迫击炮 Gr.W. 42，同时为其生产了5,373,000发炮弹。
德军将Granatwerfer 42用于团级支援武器，发射
120mmWgr.42杀伤人员破片迫击炮弹，带有带鳍的尾部单元，迫击炮弹的主体由低碳钢制成，内部装有T.N.T.爆破装药，壁厚14毫米，头部有螺纹引信孔。鸡贼的是德国人的高仿是如此完整，无论PM-38还是Gr.W. 42，它们都可以从对方的炮筒中发射对方生产的120毫米迫击炮弹，所以在战事中几乎不存在缺乏弹药的状况，所不同的就是其落点是穿着哪一种军装的目标而已。
当然，作为后发优势，两者的区别也是存在的。Gr.W. 42使用了更强大的发射药和重量减轻了100克的炮弹，最大射程增加到6050米。12 cm Wgr. 42 炮弹的初始速度为283 m/s，而苏联 PM-38 的初始速度为273 m/s，同时最大仰角增至84°。
50mm、81mm和120mm的发射姿态可以用非常贴切的一蹲二站三举来区分，对于减少了100克的120mm炮弹，这点减重可能就只是纸面上的增益罢了。
其他方面，两者在瞄准具和横移机构上有所差别，其他就是完全百分百的拷贝不走样了。
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