Granatwerfer 34 8CM Mortar

[Satcong101]

[Bjørn]

Wow! Thanks for the nice comments, and kind replies folks .

I'll post some pictures of my mortar in the near future.

I found a bipod and sight in the meantime and I'm having
everything painted in tan.

I'll keep you guys updated!

I'm really looking foreward to your updates, Floris. please post pictures of your progress with the restoration as well.

Hi,
The mortar restorations are really good! I note the MG 34 in the tripod mount as part of Bjorn and Rogers' display and this reminded me of something that I would like to know - Is the Sight Block on the MG 34 Lafette made to the same dimensions as the Sight Block on the GrW 34 8cm mortar? In other words is the dovetail the same size? There are reproduction MG34 Sight Blocks available from the Kriegsende website in the USA. These are described as 'early war' and are made from aluminium.

The elevation screw that had to be remade because the original was beyond salvage (badly corroded and bent) makes me wonder if bent elevation screw bars were a common problem on GrW 34 bipods. I have seen several that are slightly bent. I wonder if this problem was commonly the case during normal use?

Draoich

Hi Draoich, and thanks for your kind comment.
Regarding the sight block on the lafette 34 and of the 8cm mortar, and if these are interchangeable. - I have not thought of this, and Frankly I don't know. Unfortinently this is a part that I am looking for to complete my Lafette 34. As you can see from my picture, it is missing from my lafette.







I'm hoping to find original parts to rebuild the sight block with.

Regarding the damage seen on the threaded elevation axles/screws, - This is not a common damage from nomal use/firing of mortar shells in the field. These axles are very rigid and really hard to bend. The german mortars even has a genious recoil brake with three powerful springs built in right under the barrelclamp on the "head" of the bipod, to prevent any damage to the elevation and traverse mechanism.
But once this elevation axle is bent, the mortar is rendered useless, as the nut in the elevation gear is very long and is a precision tool. any damaged threads or bent axle will ruin the elevation function, and it will be impossible to adjust the mortar into a target.
The reason why so many groundfinds, and perhaps even well preserved bipods are damaged this way could be that the Germans had to make a quick retreat, and leave some of the weaponery behind. And to prevent that their own weapons could be used against them, they would just bend this axle, and the entire weapon would be useless.
There can of course be other natural explanations to why so many axles are bent - they could be damaged by wehicles running over them, they could be damaged when and if they were intentionally buried by machines, the weight of the earh and rocks and so forth.


Anyway. Thanks again for all your nice comments, and Im really looking foreward to pictures of Floris's Granatwerfer restoration project.
And if there are others out there with german 8cm mortars, please post pictures


Cheers
Björn

[floriskok]

Just got my bipod for my tube and baseplate (finally!!!).

She isn't in the best condition and has been crudely restored
but with some love and a complete restoration she might
become quite good.

Let me know what you guys think!

[floriskok]

And here she is, for the first time together, before restoration:

[Bjørn]

Very very nice, Floris. This is looking good.
Congratulations with the new parts, and the completion of the parts for your Granatwerfer.
I am looking foreward to seing pictures from the restoration process.




Best Regards
Björn

[petopoint]

nice

Nice ordnance pickup, sweet mortar..


Peto at point

[Jeroen wo2]

Nice one! Goodluck with the project!

[Bjørn]

Hi crew.
While we are waiting for an update on Floris's restoration project (wich I know is coming along quite well) I have a interesting story, as well as a nice update on my own Granatwerfer.
In June this year, I got a tip from a friend in Germany, that there was found a incredibly well preserved groundplate in Russia, buried in clay in the summer of 2011.
Here are a couple of pictures of the groundplate right after it was found:
















I got an email adress from my friend in Germany, to a gent in Russia, who knew more about this groundplate. I then sent a email to russia, asking about the groundplate and if it was for sale. After a couple of days, I got an email back, where I was informed that the groundplate now was in Ukraine, belonging to a friend of the Russian Gentleman. He told me that he would ask his friend in Ukraine, if the groundplate was for sale.
A couple of days later I got another email, where I was told that the groundplate was indeed for sale.
I was also offered a original muzzle cap for the granatwerfer from the fellow in Russia, wich I bought from him.
Anyway, The bank system in Norway and Ukraine are not really compatible, so it would be a problem to transfer money from my bank account, to the bank account of the owner in Ukraine. I then made a deal with the Gent in Russia, that I would send the money for the groundplate and the muzzlecover to him, and he would foreward the money to his friend in Ukraine.
The fellow in Ukraine had in the meantime checked with the Ukraine mail system, and made sure that the groundplate could be sent as regular post package. (the groundplate is quite big, and weights 22 kilograms)
Everything seemed to go well, the money arrived in Russia, and the payment was then sent to Ukraine.
But.. When the seller in Ukraine went to his local post office in Ukraine, they would not accept the package - they said it was to large and heavy.
The seller had to plan a trip, and drive many miles to the main post office in Kiev to send the package to Norway.

[Bjørn]

After about 2 weeks in the mail, the groundplate arrived at my post office in the last week of september.
And here it is.
This is the best preserved original groundplate that I have ever seen. There is absolutely no rust what-so-ever on this one. Only slight dis-coloration and small damages to the original paint. Where the green paint has come off, there is a good layer of original red primer underneath.
Usually, these groundplates, or "Bodenplatten" (wich the Bp abbreviation in front of the serial number stands for) are over painted for post war use, or they have been restored after rust attacs.
Original factory finish is almost un heard of...















I have only carefully cleaned away some dirt of the groundplate.
The groundplate will be preserved as it is, with the wartime paint and finish intact.

[Bjørn]

As a huge bonus in this case, the groundplate manufacturer and year of production, is an exact match to my original werferrohr, or the tube itself. " 41 bdx " This I am told, is a rare manufacturer, not often found on german mortars.

[Bjørn]

And here is also the muzzlecover that I bought from the Gent in Russia:

[Bjørn]

And at last, here is the complete mortar, with the new parts together:











...As I am sure you can understand, I'm VERY happy with the new and rare parts.
I think that the last picture here show this - My wife took a picture of me, while I was cleaning the groundplate on the floor. I was smiling all the time







I hope you liked the pictures, and the update.



Best Regards
Björn

[Frans H.]

Incredible find Björn! Very nice

[dEVIL]

Great mortar and find Björn!
Thanks for sharing !!

[Bjørn]

Thanks for the nice comments Gentlemen.
I'm happier then a tornado in a trailerpark.





Cheers
Björn