| 9 cm Minenwerfer M 14 | |
| Origin: | Austria-Hungary |
| Type: | Light trench mortar |
| Is Artillery: | yes |
| Service: | 1914–1918 |
| Used By: | Austria-Hungary |
| Wars: | World War I |
| Designer: | TMK |
| Design Date: | 1914 |
| Production Date: | 1914–17? |
| Variants: | M 14/16 |
| Weight: | 72kg (159lb) |
| Crew: | 3 |
| Cartridge: | 2kg (04lb) |
| Caliber: | 90 mm |
| Range: | 199m (653feet) (M 14) |
| Max Range: | 345m (1,132feet) (M 14/16) |
| Breech: | interrupted-screw or cylinder lock |
The 9 cm Minenwerfer M 14 (trench mortar) was a light mortar used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. Originally named the '1-kg Minenwerfer',[1] it was designed by the Army's own Technisches und Administratives Militär-Komitee (TMK) in an effort to quickly satisfy the demand from the front for a light mortar.
It had a number of issues with its ammunition, namely the black powder used as a propellant, which gave off copious smoke clouds on firing that revealed the tube's location and the mortar bomb fuses had a high rate of failure. The breech-loading mortar tube was mounted on a framework that didn't allow for any traverse, which meant that it was impossible to engage different targets without relaying the mortar. In turn the frame was mounted a rectangular firing platform.
The M 14/16 was a modernization of the M 14. It had a circular platform to provide a 360 degree traverse and weighed only 65kg (143lb). A later model allowed the mounting to be collapsed for ease of transport. A new M 16 mortar bomb that used the German Poppenberg fuze system generally cured the dud problem, but it still used black powder as its propellant. This was a severe tactical disadvantage and it was decided to purchase replacement mortars from the German firm of Heinrich Lanz from 1917.[2]
Russia developed captured mortars into the 9 cm Mortar Type GR.[3]
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