Also known as: 10-inch mortar.
| Type | Heavy siege mortar |
|---|---|
| Bore | 10 inches |
| Fire | High-angle plunging fire |
| Role | Siege bombardment |
Plunging fire
The 10-inch siege mortar was a short, thick-walled piece fixed at a high angle to throw a heavy shell in a steep arc over parapets and into the interior of works. Mounted on a heavy bed rather than a wheeled carriage, it was moved and emplaced with difficulty and fired from prepared positions.
In the siege lines the 10-inch mortar dropped its shells among troops and magazines that direct fire could not reach, and it was one of the standard bombardment weapons of the war's great sieges.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- United States Army, Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1862.
- Gibbon, John. The Artillerist's Manual. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1860.