l Gr W 36 50 mm Light Mortar

The German 50 mm I GR W 36 light mortar was developed in 1936 for the German Army. It is a compact, muzzle loading mortar, easily broken down into two loads for transportation. The mortar features a short seamless barrel threaded at its base to the breech ring which contains the firing mechanism. The mortar barrel is constructed from ordnance steel. The firing mechanism features a manually operated trigger fixed to the rear half of the breech ring. Two large holes in the rear of the ring serve as trunnions by which the mortar is fastened to the cradle and about which the mortar is elevated. The forward end of the tube is connected to the base plate by means of two brackets and the elevating mechanism. There are two elevating mechanisms, one course and one fine. The range scale, calibrated in metres from 0 to 525 is screwed on the left side of the breech ring. There is a traversing mechanism allows a total traverse of 30 degree, 15 right and left respectively. The base plate is constructed of sheet metal and is reinforced by ribs welded to the bottom side. There are two ribs at the front and rear of the base plate which serve as anchoring spades. The mortar has a matt black finish.

The mortar came to Australia via Australia House in the United Kingdom. It was transported to Australia on the SS Wairangi. No other details are known.