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Shooting a WWII German 50mm Light Mortar (L.Gr.W.36) (Ad-free) (Patreon)

Published:
2024-11-09 12:00:06
Imported:
2026-06
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The standard German light mortar in World War Two was the model 1936 5cm Leichter Granatwerfer. It was a very precise (Germanic, one might say) machine, and a bubble lever for careful aiming, and it threw a roughly 2 pound projectile out to a maximum range of 550 meters. Today I have the chance to do some shooting with one, using original (demilled) projectiles and 1939-dated propellant charges. Should be fun!

You can see my full video on the history and use of this mortar here: https://youtu.be/XnQkLt3VJF8

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Shooting a WWII German 50mm Light Mortar (L.Gr.W.36) (Ad-free)

All the best firearms history channels streaming to all major devices: weaponsandwar.tv The standard German light mortar in World War Two was the model 1936 5cm Leichter Granatwerfer. It was a very precise (Germanic, one might say) machine, and a bubble lever for careful aiming, and it threw a roughly 2 pound projectile out to a maximum range of 550 meters. Today I have the chance to do some shooting with one, using original (demilled) projectiles and 1939-dated propellant charges. Should be fun! You can see my full video on the history and use of this mortar here: https://youtu.be/XnQkLt3VJF8 https://utreon.com/c/forgottenweapons/ http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons http://www.floatplane.com/channel/ForgottenWeapons Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! http://shop.forgottenweapons.com

Comments

Guido Schriewer

such a germen case indeed as they wrote oben (top) on the damn case. well that is a level of trust in the workforce, isn't it. good idea in general but as SOMEONE has to hump a lot of rather heavy ammo, plus the ammo consumption with a mg 34/42 kind of rpm..., LIGHT infantry?! who ever named such LIGHT. like a jap knee mortar just way more overcomplicated german. well it sounds great...

Guido Schriewer

should have bought karls kuebelwagen for this one.

Daniel Standridge

Would the added weight of an explosive lessen the hang time and travel of the range of each round?

Kelly Hamm

I have often thought the same thing - three club challenge - a light mortar, a pitching wedge, and a putter!

Glenn Miller

Amazing video. Appreciate the owner allowing us to share in the fun of mortaring. I agree golf courses should be converted!

ForgottenWeapons
>>154811937

Yes, but probably not by very much. The weight of the explosive compound is a small fraction of the steel casing.

Minion

I think this would be legal to own and fire in pars of Australia. And we have so many golf courses.... That was hilarious. Ta muchly.

Martin Morehouse

Those propelling charges look about like 20 gauge shotgun shells. Blackpowder or smokeless filler in those?

Bruce Brodnax

Ian, please ask your friend w/ the mortar ammo to take a small sample [say 5 or so] to sacrifice for disassembly and analysis. The hull looks to be about 28ga? in diameter at a guess; btw finding the proper hull to use and the charge size of whatever was the standard powder IG Farben [or whatever the heir powder supplier was at the time] used [probably similar to DuPont 4895 as a 1st approximation] he should be able to continue using his mortar long after the original ammo has run out [or been sold to salivating collectors...hint, hint.]

Bruce Brodnax

I heartily concur that golf courses should be upgraded to fields for use w/ small mortars, AR can launcher uppers and clout shooting for archers. It is the *RIGHT* thing to do!

SinisterNerd

That thing looks like fun. Maybe I missed this, I was going to ask a silly question but I think I saw my answer when I rewatched the video. There are vents that go backwards in that mortar shell just above the propelling charge aren't there? I could understand how it would get upward/forward velocity if the propelling charge stayed behind like a rifle grenade. But since the charge stays in it, it has to redirect the gas backwards.

Retired No Bad Days

So what does the US Army have for a small mortar and how does it compare to this mortar?

Ian F

Fun video. One question... wouldn't it have been better to level the base before aiming? It seems like aiming and then adjusting the level would affect the aim.

TJ

Cool video! Rare to see civilians shooting mortars. However couple points, you should have used some sort of aiming point closer to the gun to have more precise impact corrections. This aiming aid can be as simple as stick in the ground where you point the sight and make fire corrections. If you use your target as reference point to make corrections it can lead too course corrections(like seen in the video). Closer aiming point also allows you to shoot behing covers as you don´t need to see the target to make corrections.

Hans Hull
>>154893349

The US Army has the M224 60mm mortar for the light infantry. I have only watched other people use it so can't really judge. But it shows how the concept is still going strong.

Hans Hull

Great video Ian! And thank you to the owner for sharing and letting us see one of these in action.