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 Germany
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24cm schwerer FlügelMinenWerfer Albrecht |
 Trench artillery
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Contributor :
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Location :
Belgium
Sars la Bruyère
Coordinates :
Lat : 50.37590 / Long : 3.88020
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General comments on this surviving gun :
This FlügelMinenwerfer is still not positively identified. It looks sure this is a German weapon (as stated by the local tradition, and by two old German pictures of the same model), but no corresponding documentation has been found.
Differences are huge with the s.Fl.M.W. Albrecht, and important with both the s.Fl.M.W. IKO or even the British 9.45 in 'Flying Pig' or the French 240 mm LT.
The strengthened carriage and the seemingly elongated barrel could be a clue these mortars are survivors of the 1918 German developments that succeeded improving the range to 3500 m, but this is still to be proven.
Identical items in the same location :
2
Items covered by this file :
2
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One of the two mortars, see the lateral guides and the strengthened carriage, more robust than the one of the s.Fl.M.W. IKO, but lighter than the one of the s.Fl.M.W. Albrecht
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Front view on the elevation system screw, eaten by corrosion
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Rear view, with the two mortars facing each other. Breech with a bevel shape, markings 'Nr 155 / 10.62' for one mortar, and 'Nr 157 / ...' for the other
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Historic and technical information
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Denomination :
24cm sFlMW Albrecht
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Origin :
(
Albrecht)
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Historic context :
While the Ingenieur Komittee ('IKO') designed at the end of 1916 and ordered the manufacture of a smoothbore mortar firing heavy fin tail projectiles as an answer to the French and British 240 mm mortars, another design was conducted in parallel and appeared on the front in early 1917 as the '24cm schwerer FlügelMinenwerfer Albrecht' ('s.Fl.M.W. Albrecht'), bearing the same name as the 25 cm Albrecht mortar that succeeded to the Erde Mörser.
Although answering the same need than the IKO equivalent weapon, this mortar was clearly more sophisticated, and and performabces somehow better in range (2 km instead of 1.5 km for the same impressive 100 kg projectile).
The tube was an assembly of a cast iron lower barrel (including a propulsive charge room, a threaded hole for the primer) with a removable (for transport) upper barrel that was screwed on it. The carriage was more robust, particularly with a directionnal aiming system allowing a 360 degrees range and a strong elevation aiming system screw. The whole assembly was attached to a massive wooden platform similar to the one used for the IKO mortar.
Because of the lack of reference documents, the exact characteristics of this weapon are unknown. The origin of the 'Albrecht' name is also unclear. However, it is clear that 700 available mortars (total number for both Albrecht and IKO types) in January 1918 were used with the same bombs and in equivalent tactical conditions
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Technical data :
- Complete description : 24cm smoothbore heavy trench mortar Albrecht
- Design year : 1917
- Calibre : 240.00 mm
- Weight in firing position : 1600 kg
- Weight for transportation : Unknown
- Tube length in calibres : 0.00 unknown
- Grooves : 0 smooth bore
- Projectile weight : 100 kg
- Initial speed :
- Fire rate :
- Range : 2000 m
- Elevation range : unknown
- Direction range : 360 degrees total range
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Sources
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German Artillery of World War One Herbert Jager Crowood 2001
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Die deutschen Minen- und Granatwerfer im Ersten Weltkrieg 1914-1918 Dr Tillmann Reibert epubli GmbH 2014
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Das Ehrenbuch der Deutschen Pioniere Major Paul Heinrici Verlag Tradition, Berlin 1931
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German Trench Mortars and Infantry Mortars 1914-1945 Wolfgang Fleischer Schiffer Military / Aviation History 1996
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