A brief intelligence report on the German 100-mm smoke and HE mortar captured in North Africa, from Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 24, May 6, 1943. [DISCLAIMER: The following text is taken from the U.S. War Department publication Tactical and Technical Trends. As with all wartime intelligence information, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. No attempt has been made to update or correct the text. Any views or opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the website.]

GERMAN 100-MM MORTAR a. General A 100-mm (4-in) smoke and HE mortar, throwing a 16-pound bomb 3,300 yards and used to some extent by airborne troops, has been captured in the Middle East. While the mortar is a standard smoke or chemical warfare weapon in the German Army, HE is also fired. Designed on the familiar German lines, the weapon consists of a barrel, baseplate, and bipod, with a total weight of 205 pounds, the three principal components being of approximately equal weight. It is, in fact, simply a larger and heavier version of the German 81-mm mortar. There are reported to be two projectiles, one weighing 16 pounds, the other 19 pounds. b. 19-pound Bomb No details of the construction of the 19-pound projectile are yet available. The primary propelling charge is 154 grains of nitroglycerine flake. The augmenting charges are nitroglycerine annular propellant. Augmenting charge I contains 756 grains; charge II, 1,358; and charge III, 1,574 grains. The propelling charges are made up as follows:      Charge I (kleine Ladung) primary and augmenting charge         I 427 f/s muzzle velocity      Charge II (mittlere Ladung) primary and augmenting charges         I and II 755 f/s muzzle velocity      Charge III (grosse Ladung) primary and augmenting charges         I, II and III 1,017 f/s muzzle velocity c. 16-pound Bomb From a German document come details of a 16-pound bomb for the same mortar:         Length: 17 in         Maximum diameter: 4.09 in         Thickness of walls: 1/8 - 3/10 in         Maximum range: 3,300 yds

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