German 5cm M19 Turret Mortar ammunition box found at a flea market in Lisieux Normandy. Would have been used in one of the locations in the area – Saint Nazaire submarine base / north of Utah beach / Oye-Plage / Wn Lo25 west of Lorient.
The box is in super condition with original card lining inside lid and fantastic label. Card could be pinned back flat into place but will leave for next owner to decide.
This automatic 5 cm mortar could fire a maximum of 120 bombs a minute and was electrically operated with manual backup. The firing rate of 120 bombs/minute was seldom used as it caused much stress and wear on the construction. It was loaded with clips of six bombs by two crew members. Several other crew members prepared the clips. One gunner aimed and fired the weapon.
It is unknown how many units were built, but it is estimated that the number could hardly have been much more than 150. Some mounted in the West Wall (Westwall) in Germany were removed and positioned on the Atlantic Wall.
The idea was that the M19 mortar would be used in conjunction with machine guns, especially those mounted in armoured domes. The mortar was to fire into "dead zone" or "blind zone" areas that were out of range and direct sighting for the machine guns, such as low spots in the terrain and the far sides of hills and ridges. In this way enemy soldiers seeking cover from direct fire would be flushed out into the open, so that the machine guns could engage them. The 5 cm projectiles possessed small amount of high-explosive filler and generated only a small number of fragments. It required a significant number of rounds to have effect on troops in prone positions and seeking cover.
German 5cm M19 Turret Mortar ammunition box found at a flea market in Lisieux Normandy. Would have been used in one of the locations in the area – Saint Nazaire submarine base / north of Utah beach / Oye-Plage / Wn Lo25 west of Lorient.
The box is in super condition with original card lining inside lid and fantastic label. Card could be pinned back flat into place but will leave for next owner to decide.
This automatic 5 cm mortar could fire a maximum of 120 bombs a minute and was electrically operated with manual backup. The firing rate of 120 bombs/minute was seldom used as it caused much stress and wear on the construction. It was loaded with clips of six bombs by two crew members. Several other crew members prepared the clips. One gunner aimed and fired the weapon.
It is unknown how many units were built, but it is estimated that the number could hardly have been much more than 150. Some mounted in the West Wall (Westwall) in Germany were removed and positioned on the Atlantic Wall.
The idea was that the M19 mortar would be used in conjunction with machine guns, especially those mounted in armoured domes. The mortar was to fire into "dead zone" or "blind zone" areas that were out of range and direct sighting for the machine guns, such as low spots in the terrain and the far sides of hills and ridges. In this way enemy soldiers seeking cover from direct fire would be flushed out into the open, so that the machine guns could engage them. The 5 cm projectiles possessed small amount of high-explosive filler and generated only a small number of fragments. It required a significant number of rounds to have effect on troops in prone positions and seeking cover.
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