| tuscaloosa | 27 Dec 2013 3:12 p.m. PST |
Appreciate any help – I'm translating the memoirs of a Baden infantryman who served in the trenches during the Somme battle. At one point he talks about an enemy "Stahlmine" with a powerful explosive charge and a tail, that comes wobbling over the lines to explode in their trenches. I vaguely recall from the Minifig 15mm WW1 line, that there was a weapon like a mortar, but which launched like fireworks with a tail, from a stand. Can anyone advise what the English name for these is? Also, at another point he talks about the fireworks effect of enemy launching munitions from an "organ". Now, we all know about Stalin's Organ as the nickname for multiple rocket launchers, but this memoir was written in 1930. Any ideas what weapon he is referring to here? Appreciate any tips. |
| monk2002uk | 27 Dec 2013 3:27 p.m. PST |
'Stahl' refers to steel. '-mine' is related to the projective fired by Minenwerfer. Large Minenwerfer projectiles arched through the air with the ignited fuse clearly visible as a trail of sparks. I suspect the writer was referring to the British Livens projectile, fired from a Livens mortar. These were first used on the Somme to fire flaming oil. Later they were fired in large batteries, with the projectiles filled with phosgene. You can see a battery of Livens projectors being loaded here:
Robert |
| tuscaloosa | 27 Dec 2013 4:05 p.m. PST |
Livens projector is a good tip for the "organ", thanks. For the Stahlminen, the question is what were the enemy (in this case, British) weapons he could be referring to? |
| John Armatys | 27 Dec 2013 4:23 p.m. PST |
Could it be the toffee apple bomb?
link |
| tuscaloosa | 27 Dec 2013 4:41 p.m. PST |
That looks very likely indeed. My appreciation to you both, thank you. |
| monk2002uk | 28 Dec 2013 3:07 a.m. PST |
tuscaloosa, what was the German word for 'tail' in the original? Robert |
| tuscaloosa | 28 Dec 2013 6:41 a.m. PST |
Wippschwanz; making a comparison to the motion of tadpoles swimming. But I was wrong, the first reference wasn't to Stahlmine, but Stielmine, which makes it clear that it's a projection on the shell itself. If it were a German weapon, I would say a trench mortar, but it's British. |
| monk2002uk | 28 Dec 2013 7:13 a.m. PST |
Stielmine could refer to the toffee apple projectile, literally 'stick bomb' in English ('bomb' being the term that I have seen most often used in trench mortar war diaries for the projectiles). The reference to Wippschwanz is interesting though. It is the German name for wagtail, which is a lovely little bird. The action of the tail is seen here in this video: YouTube link This could be way that the toffee apple stick behaved in flight. Robert |
| tuscaloosa | 28 Dec 2013 9:16 a.m. PST |
I believe that's it as well; thank you, John and Robert. |
| Patrice | 29 Dec 2013 7:36 a.m. PST |
As the French "crapouillot"? link |
| tuscaloosa | 29 Dec 2013 9:08 p.m. PST |
I can guess already what the American doughboys nicknamed that one. |
