The following image depicts German Infantry Soldiers crossing the Soviet Border.

  • _cnt0@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    2·
    7 months ago

    What are those long tubes? The only thing that comes to mind is the Panzerschreck (Raketenpanzerbüchse 54) without the later heat shield, which would put this picture in 1943 at the earliest. Yet the invasion into the Soviet Union started in 1941.

    • kewjo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      7 months ago

      hard to tell, i think it could be a mortar. on the left one can be seen carrying a bipod and the guy infront of the tube carrying a base plate. looks like an 8 or 10 cm Nebelwerfer 35

      • SSTF@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        7 months ago

        You are spot on that those are mortars. You can actually see two tripods in the photo, being held by men near each tube.

        It appears very to be the 8 cm Granatwerfer 34, based on the fact that I can’t find any examples of the 10cm being shoulder carried, or of carrything straps. Whereas, I have found multiple examples of the 8cm being carried and a close up of the carrying strap which matches.

        • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          4·
          7 months ago

          Having lugged around an 81mm mortar, the designation “man portable” is a bit of stretch already. It breaks into 3 sets of 10kg, and each shell is another 4.5kg. and thats post ww2, I don’t think they were lighter in the 40s.

          Carrying an 81mm around on top of all the regular stuff is already dubiously useful for how few shots you get, doing the same with a 100mm is straight up stupid (though not impossible, I’m sure someone somewhere did it).