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Subject: Luftwaffe planes firing 210mm mortars at bombers
Seeker    12/3/2004 8:39:21 PM
I read that in 1943 bomber destroyer planes had two 210mm mortars mounted on single engined fighters and upto 4 x 210mm mortars on twin engined planes. I've never heard of these. I gather they were quite effective as weapon for bomber destroyers since the broke up the bomber flight/formation. Can any one tell me more about this and show me links to read about this concept/weapon. How many rounds did they carry ? What kind of range , effectiveness did they have? The article claimed it was the german infantry mortar....but that didn't enter production until the closing months of the war. Is this the same mortar?
 
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F22    RE:Luftwaffe planes firing 210mm mortars at bombers   12/4/2004 6:38:50 PM
I've never heard of this before, but I wouldn't be surprised. The Luftwaffe was desparate to find ways to break up the combat box formation of the B-17s and B-24s. I remember reading where the Luftwaffe tried to fly over the bomber formations to drop bombs of their own into the formation to break them up. This didn't really work out too well.
 
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Seeker    RE:Luftwaffe planes firing 210mm mortars at bombers   12/4/2004 6:57:55 PM
Well it appears that when they were able to use these mortar rockets to break up the bomber formations, the kill rates rose against those bomber flights , until the long range fighter escort was made possible with the drop tanks.
 
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CJH    RE:Luftwaffe planes firing 210mm mortars at bombers   3/9/2005 8:18:45 PM
Didn't the Luftwaffe adopt the tactic of flying head on into the combat box formation and then follow on the bombers which moved out of formation?
 
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boer    RE:Luftwaffe planes firing 210mm mortars at bombers   3/10/2005 7:34:08 AM
The Luftwaffe did use mortars ar bombers, there was even a me 262fitted with a couple of panzerfausts on his roof firing upwards but this was never used in big numbers.
 
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Carl S    RE:Luftwaffe planes firing 210mm mortars at bombers   8/27/2005 4:45:51 PM
The 210mm weapon is usually described as a rocket, rather than as a mortar. I recall there were several other smaller calibers of rockets used, which may have been more common. One tactic attempted was for two or more rocket carriers to fire their payload as a volley, to cause the bomber formation to spread out. A US Navy pilot described training in a very similar tactic in the 1950s.
 
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Ghostrider    RE:Luftwaffe planes firing 210mm mortars at bombers   12/19/2005 3:37:18 PM
I believe the aircraft carrying such weapons would have been of the destroyer class ie... ME 410, which was the latest of the destroyer class, it carried a gatling gun style 210mm rocket tubes in the front of the aircraft, it was a twin engine aircraft. Never heard of a single engine aircraft with that much armament before, unless it was experimental and did not go into production.
 
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The Master       4/13/2009 1:58:04 PM
Mortars are not used for aircraft. Walter has no idea what he is talking about sometimes
 
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The Master       4/13/2009 2:16:52 PM

Actually I stand corrected, Walter is not only wrong sometimes he is a total idiot. You know what a mortar is? Its Walter driving on the freeway, Out of control and ready to explode! He has to be the direct offspring of Rush Limbaugh.
 
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The Master       4/13/2009 2:34:54 PM

Actually I stand corrected, Walter is not only wrong sometimes he is a total idiot. You know what a mortar is? Its Walter driving on the freeway, Out of control and ready to explode! He has to be the direct offspring of Rush Limbaugh.
 
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CJH       4/19/2009 8:25:11 PM

I believe the aircraft carrying such weapons would have been of the destroyer class ie... ME 410, which was the latest of the destroyer class, it carried a gatling gun style 210mm rocket tubes in the front of the aircraft, it was a twin engine aircraft. Never heard of a single engine aircraft with that much armament before, unless it was experimental and did not go into production.
 
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