Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1916 Batignolles

The Mortier de 150 mm T Modèle 1916 Batignolles was a French heavy trench mortar of World War I.

Mortier de 150 mm T Modèle 1916 Batignolles
Type	Heavy trench mortar
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1916 - 1918
Used by	France
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designed	1915
Manufacturer	Société de Construction des Batignolles
Produced	1916-1917
No. built	400
Specifications
Mass	510 kg
Barrel length	1800 mm
Diameter	150 mm
Shell	75 mm shell primed bush cut to 200 mm
Calibre	150 mm
Carriage	wheeled carriage
Elevation	10° - 75°
Traverse	16°
Rate of fire	3 rpm
Muzzle velocity	140 m/s
Maximum firing range	2,120 m

Service

Designed in 1915, it entered service in May 1916. 400 were manufactured by the Société de Construction des Batignolles, out of an order of 600 reduced to 400 in 1917. Replaced by the Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry, 264 remained in service in November 1918. Most were scrapped after the end of the war.

Specifications

Mle 1916 mortars in Caix, Somme, 1916.

The mortar was placed on a wheeled carriage to increase its mobility. A single horse or mule could be used to tow the carriage.

The propellant charge was made from a canon de 75 mm shell primed bush cut to 200 mm and was loaded into the breech, while the finned bomb was loaded through the muzzle.

Fired from its wheeled carriage, it prooved to be fairly inaccurate. Its accuracy was improved by the use of a wooden platform for firing and by replacing the original bomb by the Fabry mortar Mle 1917 bomb.