Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · IV · 093

German Minenwerfers, before 1919

Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 84 ↗

German, Minenwerfers, having fixed firing pins, spring or hammer actuated striker, any cal., any model, mfd. prior to 1919.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESConfigured as the ATF wording states: “having fixed firing pins, spring or hammer actuated striker”
  • ATF REQUIRESMade 1918 or earlier (ATF’s dates)ATF: “mfd. prior to 1919”
  • INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
Germany
Manufacturer
Various German manufacturers
Type
Cannon
Action
Other
Caliber
Any caliber
Made
Before 1919¹
Service
Military
Search listings ↗Check a specific gunReport an error ↗

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 84 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. Wikipedia, “Minenwerfer” ↗, years: the Rheinmetall mine-shell mortar: 'In 1910, the largest of these was introduced'; the 17 cm medium model introduced 1913; production stepped up through 1918; end limit is ATF's 'mfd. prior to 1919'
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
None

Historical context

Minenwerfer (base model shown for German Minenwerfers, before 1919)
Shown: a 25 cm Minenwerfer with its crew; this entry covers all pre-1919 German Minenwerfer models.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “25 cm minenwerfer.png” by K.u.k. Kriegspressequartier, Lichtbildstelle - Wien, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “Minenwerfer”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

Minenwerfer is the German name for a class of short-range mine shell launching mortars used extensively during the First World War by the Imperial German Army. The weapons were intended to be used by engineers to clear obstacles, including bunkers and barbed wire, that longer range artillery would not be able to target accurately.