The German 91.3 mm Minenwerfer Lanz

The lanz can be seen at the most left hand side, next to the French officers

The German 91.3 mm Minenwerfer Lanz was put into production in 1915 and fired rounds, called the 'glatte Granatmine H.L.'.

Inside the projectile is a tin plate container which is crimped over the screwed in ogive and is stabilized by a thick felt pad at the base. This container was filled with 360g of Askallt, an explosive mixture made with 12.5% of tolite, 4.5% of nitroglycerin and 3% of sawdust.

The projectile was detonated by a special impact fuse, with no delay (see picture). When the projectile was fired an inertia cap compresses a spring which unhooks its retainer. Upon deceleration the spring ejects the cap and the block becomes free and being spring loaded is ejected also. At least two variations of this fuse are known.

Lanz fuse

There is also a bomb variation, using a delay and containing approximately 375g of explosive. The quick match, which passes through an axial channel, is set alight when the bomb is fired. A very scarce variation is externally fragmented. There was also a very rare primitive model, also using a quick match, which was loaded in reverse. This was known for its extremely poor balistics.

The range of the Lanz Minenwerfer varied between 75 and 450 meters, depending on the type of projectile used.

It was manufactured in Mannheim by Heinrich Lanz. The barrel was made of sheet steel for the 91.3 mm caliber and was mounted of a folding sled, fixed onto a wooden plate with iren reinforcements. The sight was simple, of the pendulum-plus-quadrant mode and the bolt is holed to accept a percussion ignitor catridge. It had an internal cavity as a powder chamber and two finned extensions which allowed a 90° axial rotation to lock it.

A striker is mounted in a rifle bolt-like system and teh gun is cord fired. The projectiles being muzzle loaded. There was also a special ignitor allowing firing with 20 and 35g of black powder.

Another type of Lanz projectile

Reference

Bulletin 364-2 from C. Kowai

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