C&R · IIIA · 009
German Minenwerfers, before 1919 (friction primer)
Section IIIA: removed from the NFA, classed as an antique (outside the GCA)
Official wording
ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IIIA · VERBATIM · PDF P. 64 ↗
German Minenwerfers, mfd. prior to 1919, utilizing radial, straight pull friction primer ignition system.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade 1918 or earlier (ATF’s dates)ATF: “mfd. prior to 1919”
- INFOAn antique under federal law, outside the GCA.
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
GermanyBasis: the ATF wording - Manufacturer
- Various German manufacturersBasis: the ATF wording
- Type
- CannonBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- OtherBasis: no citation
- Caliber
- Any caliberBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- Before 1919Basis: outside reference ¹
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IIIA · PDF p. 64 ↗ · 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: development with Rheinmetall from 1907; 'In 1910, the largest of these was introduced as the 25 cm schwerer Minenwerfer'; production stepped up through 1918. ATF's 'prior to 1919' limits the end.
- 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
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.