Historic context :

At the start of 1917, the Austro_Hungarian Army Technical Commission launched a call for tender for a 'domestic' trench mortar able to replace the ageing 9cm MW M14 and M14/16, as well as the 9cm MW Lanz bought to the German ally.

On October 11th 1917, the prototype proposed by the Hungarian Gun Factory (Diosgyor) was declared the winner of a test campaign that also examined prototypes of Skoda, Böhler and Austria. The '9 cm MW M17' had seduced the commission particularly thanks to its system allowing a lorward tilt of the barrel for te breech loading process without modifying the vertical aiming, as well as its wide horizontal aiming angle range (90 degrees each side). However, it had no recoil recuperating system, and its stability was only obtained trough the grooved bore barrel and the steel platform.

Unhopefully, Diosgyor quickly showed itself unable to meet the production rates requested in the contract, that planned a 2730 units manufacturing at about 300 to 500 per month. This industrial weakness was also amplified by the prime materials crisis that was hitting the country harder and harder. This was perhaps the reason why Skoda was asked to participate to the program, this fact being proved by the 'Skoda' markings on some nowadays surviving examples, and perhaps at the origin of the confusion of some sources that attribute to this company the paternity of the weapon.

The first delivery of 9cm MW M17 mortars took place only in January &ç&_, with no more than 10 weapons. The total number of such items manufactured before the war end is unknown (some sources cite 410 mortars manufactured by Skoda), but it has never been enough to replace the whole inventory of the old 9cm M14/16.

Technical data :

• Complete description : 9cm trench mortar M 1917
• Design year : 1917
• Calibre : 91.20 mm
• Weight in firing position : 132 kg
• Weight for transportation : 3 separate loads
• Tube length in calibres : 8.90
• Grooves : 0 unknown (rifled bore)
• Projectile weight : 6.2 kg
• Initial speed :
• Fire rate : 10 to 15 rounds / min
• Range : 300 to 1200 m
• Elevation range : 45 to 75 degrees
• Direction range : 180 degrees range