Site of a heavy siege mortar from WWI found

Team of explorers believe to have found the site of a Škoda M98 24 cm calibre siege mortar used in Przemyśl, south-eastern Poland, by the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I.

Archive picture of the siege mortar (by Marcin Wachol)

Members of the explorer team of the Kaponiera group found the artillery site where the mortar was used and blown up, like all of the cannons of the Przemyśl fortress – a fortification system used at Przemyśl by the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the mid 19th century until the First World War. Initial examination revealed that the mortar itself survived in 75 percent, what allowed to determine the model of the siege weapon. This model, weighing 8.6 tons,  is unique due to a small number of copies produced.

Site of discovery (by Darek Delmanowicz)

This particular weapon was meant to destroy fortifications but it had short range of fire and ineffective ammunition that weighted 128 and 133 kilogrammes. It was a first heavy mortar produced by Škoda and was soon replaced by the 30.5 cm M11 and M16 models. Przemyśl fortress was equipped between 4-8 such mortars out of 48 which the Austro-Hungarian army possessed.  The find is scheduled for unearthing and transportation in cooperation with the heritage officials to the Muzeum Narodowe Ziemi Przemyskiej.

Parts of the mortar (by Darek Delmanowicz)
Archive picture of the siege mortar (by Marcin Wachol)

(after Wyborcza, Dzieje.pl, Darek Delmanowicz & Marcin Wachol)

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