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- German 5cm Leichte
Granatwerfer 36 - |
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World War II |
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The
Kit: |
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This 1/35 scale subject came as stowage with the Tamiya
Protze,
6-wheeled cargo truck, and is also molded in styrene plastic.
It is an old 1970's kit and not very
good as compared to today's standards. |
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The
Details: |
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I
added some 15 parts, mostly bolt heads which were
punched out with a punch set. I also added the
trigger guard just below the carrying handle. Also
added were sling pivots for strapping this weapon
over the shoulder, and these were made from formed
up wire. I also drilled out the tube's barrel. |
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The
Extras: |
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The Kar 98 Rifle is from a Tamiya German Weapons set, and to this
a sling was added along with the required mounting hardware. The sling was made
from a thin strip of drafting tape and the 'hardware' being made from thin wire
and styrene plastic. The ammo box is an ADV resin cast product. |
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Base and
Groundwork: |
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The base is cut from pine and
is 3-1/2 inches in diameter, stained and sealed. The groundwork is Sculptamold
and to this was added stones and static grass. The
partial stone foundation is an Armand Bayardi product and is
beautiful one-piece resin casting. The bushes are
dried-flowers and various forest litter was added. |
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Painting, Weathering and Finishing: |
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Acrylic paints
and flat coat
were used throughout. Artist oils thinned with an odorless brush cleaner and thinner were used for the washes. |
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General Mortar Info: |
| Development started in 1934 and was adopted for service in 1936. By
1943, the LeGrW 36 was determined to be too complex for the intended role and
fired a too light of a bomb to inflict enough damage on target, so production
was terminated. Gradually withdrawn from front-line service, the leGrW 36
continued in use with second-line and garrison units until the end of
hostilities in 1945. |
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Designed for high angle fire only (not less than 42º), it is muzzle loaded and
trigger fired. The weapon's major drawbacks in service were its inadequate
range and limited effectiveness of it's ammunition. Interesting note is that a
total of 555,959 GrW 36 rounds were expanded during the French Campaign of 1940,
and at that time, a German Infantry Division had eighty-four 5 cm mortars
assigned. It's intended role was to engage pockets of resistance that were
beyond hand grenade throwing range. |
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As supplies of the Granatwerfer 36 dwindled during 1944-1945, the Germans often
relied on captured French and Russian 50 mm mortars, and in most cases,
preferring the captured Russian mortars over the standard German issue. The
Russian Model 38.40 and 38.41, 50mm Mortars and ammunition were far superior to
the GrW 36 in having a range of up to 800 meters. The 50mm continued to be
popular for the remainder of the war, simply by the fact that it was easily
transported by two men, and it provided the Infantry with a hitting power and range
capability greater than any other weapon readily available at the squad or
section level. |
