Mortaio da 260/9 Modello 16 | |
---|---|
Type |
Heavy mortar Siege gun |
Place of origin | France |
Service history | |
In service | 1916-1945 |
Used by |
Kingdom of Italy Spain |
Wars |
First World War Spanish Civil War Second World War |
Production history | |
Designer | Schneider |
Designed | 1910 |
Manufacturer |
Ansaldo Vickers-Terni |
Variants | Mortaio da 260/9 S |
Specifications | |
Mass | Travel: 12.56 t (12.36 long tons) Combat: 11.83 t (11.64 long tons) Barrel only: 4.17 t (4.10 long tons) |
Length | 5.6 m (18 ft 4 in) |
Barrel length | 2.73 m (8 ft 11 in) L/9 |
Width | 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) [1] |
Shell | Cased separate-loading |
Shell weight | 215–223 kg (474–492 lb) |
Caliber | 260 mm (10 in) |
Breech | Interrupted screw |
Recoil | Hydro-pneumatic |
Carriage | Box trail |
Elevation | +20° to +65° |
Traverse | 12° [1] |
Rate of fire | Sustained: 1 round every 12 minutes Maximum: 2 rounds every 4 minutes |
Muzzle velocity | 350 m/s (1,100 ft/s) |
Effective firing range | 9.1 km (6 mi) [1] |
The Mortaio da 260/9 Modello 16 - was an Italian Heavy mortar and Siege Gun designed by the French Schneider Company and produced under license in Italy by Ansaldo and Vickers-Terni for the Italian Army. It was used by the Italian Army during both the First World War and Second World War.
After the independence and unification of Italy, the Italians were not self-sufficient in arms design and production. Foreign firms such as Armstrong, Krupp, Schneider, and Vickers all provided arms and helped establish local production of their designs under license.
Although the majority of combatants had heavy field artillery prior to the outbreak of the First World War, none had adequate numbers of heavy guns in service, nor had they foreseen the growing importance of heavy artillery once the Italian Front stagnated and trench warfare set in. Fortresses, armories, coastal fortifications, and museums were scoured for heavy artillery and sent to the front. Suitable field and rail carriages were built for these guns in an effort to give their forces the heavy field artillery needed to overcome trenches and hardened concrete fortifications. [2]
A mortar battery is composed of: