The weapon shown is Lance Grenades de 50mm Modรจle 37 features Piece weight 3.7kg (8lbs) bomb weight 0.4kg .09lb Muzzle velocity 70m/s range 70m to 460m Steve
Type 10 Grenade Discharger Introduced Year : 1921 Caliber : 50 mm Barrel Length : 240 mm Length : 525 mm Weight : 2.6 kg Range : 175 m Production Qty : 7,000 The armies in Europe developed the grenade discharger attached to the rifle. However, Japanese Army developed the independant grenade discharger. Type 10 was enouth light for infantry to carry, and its range is superior to the rifle grenade discharger. A right illustration shows the usage of the grenade discharger. Keeping the discharger at 45 degrees of elevation, remove a safty pin of the grenade and insert the grenade into the discharger. By pulling a trigger, the grenade is launched. Though the Japanese grenade discharger is known as "Knee Motar", it never stands on knee. The shooting range can be adjusted by the ring around the bottom of the barrel which changes the size of a hole through which the bursting gas leaks. Though called a "Grenade Discharger" It was basically a mortar. http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/grenade.htm#89GD
are these tiny mortars combat effective? They were phased out of German platoons after the early war stage (1 50mm mortar per platoon)
This team are firing the lightweight 50 mm mortar, in which the bipod was deleted, accounting for the serious look on the face of the gunner as he braces the tube for firing. The small size of the bomb is clearly evident A 2 inch mortar team of 159th Infantry Brigade, 11th Armoured Division, demonstrating the typical manner in which the weapon was deployed A 5 cm grenade launcher crew, almost certainly on the firing range. The weapon is poised at a particularly steep angle, indicating a short range shot http://www.bayonetstrength.150m.com/Weapons/Mortarsandguns/Mortars%20&%20Infantry%20Guns.htm
Although the Germans did not retain their 50mm mortar. The British used the wartime 2inch mortars until the 1990s when it was replaced with a new design, but they don't seem to very evident recently. The British 2inch was lightwreight -airborne one more so, the infantry version weighting about 4.5kg and fired a 1kg bomb where as the German weapon weighed 14kg and had a 1kg shell. The most important use of 2inch mortars in UK service was illumination.
