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8 cm Granatwerfer 34

WWII German infantry mortar

Field	Value
name	8 cm Granatwerfer 34
image	Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-577-1917-08, Monte Cassino, Fallschirmjäger mit Granatwerfer.jpg
caption	A mortar in action during the Battle of Monte Cassino
origin	Nazi Germany
type	Mortar
is_ranged	yes
is_artillery	yes
service	1937–1952
wars	World War II
designer	Rheinmetall
design_date	1932–1934
unit_cost	810 Reichsmark
production_date	1934–1945
number	75,255
variants	8 cm GrW 34/1
weight	62 kg (136.6 lbs)
steel barrel
57 kg (125.6 lbs)
alloy barrel
part_length	1.14 m
cartridge	3.5 kg
caliber	81.4 mm (3.20 in)
rate	15-25 rpm
velocity	174 m/s (571 ft/s)
range	400-1200 m
max_range	2.4 km
elevation	45° to 90°
traverse	10° to 23°

steel barrel 57 kg (125.6 lbs) alloy barrel

The 8 cm Granatwerfer 34 (8 cm GrW. 34) was the standard German infantry mortar throughout World War II. It was noted for its accuracy and rapid rate of fire.

History

A four-man crew of Waffen-SS soldiers firing on Yugoslavian partisans, December 1943.

The weapon was of conventional design and broke down into three loads (smooth bore barrel, bipod, baseplate) for transport. A panoramic sight was mounted on the traversing mechanism yoke for fine adjustments. A line on the tube could be used for rough laying.{{cite book

The 8 cm GrW 34/1 was an adaptation for use in self-propelled mountings. A lightened version with a shorter barrel was put into production as the kurzer 8 cm Granatwerfer 42.

The mortar employed conventional 8 cm 3.5 kg shells (high explosive or smoke) with percussion fuzes. The range could be extended by fitting up to three additional powder charges between the shell tailfins.

A total of 74,336,000 rounds of ammunition were produced for the Granatwerfer 34 from September 1939 to March 1945.

Users

Nazi Germany
East Germany
Bulgaria
Yugoslav Partisans

Ammunition

List of available ammunition for the Granatwerfer 34.

Name	Caliber	Explosive
mass	Target effect	Other information
Wurfgranate 34
(Mortar grenade 34)	80,7 mm	533 g	Blast and shrapnel effect
Wurfgranate 34 Blauring
(Mortar grenade 34 bluering)	530 g	Blast, shrapnel and chemical effect	Chemical agent: Adamsite
Wurfgranate 34 Ex
(Mortar grenade 34 dummy)	0 g	None (training ammunition)	Ammunition used for learning general handling
Wurfgranate 34 Nb
(Mortar grenade 34 smoke)	500 g	Smoke effect	Effect load: Sulfur trioxide in pumice stone
Wurfgranate 34 Üb
(Mortar grenade 34 training)	57 g	Minimal blast effect	Training ammunition
Wurfgranate 34 Weißring
(Mortar grenade 34 whitering)	550 g	Blast, shrapnel and chemical effect	Chemical agent: Phenacyl chloride
Wurfgranate 38
(Mortar grenade 38)	400 g	Blast and shrapnel effect
Wurfgranate 38 Deut
(Mortar grenade 38)	200 g		Ejection charge
Wurfgranate 38 umg
(Mortar grenade 38 rebuild)	550 g	Blast and shrapnel effect
Wurfgranate 39
(Mortar grenade 39)	400 g	Blast and shrapnel effect
Wurfgranate 40
(Mortar grenade 40)	80,9 mm	2000 g	Blast and shrapnel effect
Wurfgranate 40 Üb
(Mortar grenade 40 training)	0 g	None	Training ammunition

Notes

References

Citations

Main sources

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

References

[http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Waffen/granatwerfer.htm] {{in lang. de
. (May 25, 1943). ["German Infantry Weapons"](https://archive.org/stream/GermanInfantryWeapons#page/n113/mode/2up). *United States War Department*.
Chamberlain and Gander 1975, p. 7
. (May 25, 1943). ["German Infantry Weapons"](https://archive.org/details/GermanInfantryWeapons). *United States War Department*.
Vukšić, Velimir. (July 2003). "Tito's Partisans 1941–45". Osprey Publishing.
Database of the [http://www.sprengschule-dresden.de/ Dresdner Sprengschule GmbH]

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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