109 Gustav Posted November 7, 2000 Share Posted November 7, 2000 My dad was cleaning out the garage yesterday, and he found a piece of PVC pipe mounted on a really nice bipod. He wants to know if I might have any information on it, since it looks exactly like the kind of thing I would build. I think he's just mad because now he knows where all those snowballs were coming from. (indirect fire is soo deadly) Anyway, it'll sound more confusing for him if I call it a potato mortar in German, since he won't know what I'm talking about. Can anyone help me? ------------------ No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. -Ender's Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Germanboy Posted November 7, 2000 Share Posted November 7, 2000 Kartoffelgranatwerfer - enjoy. ------------------ Andreas <a href="http://www.geocities.com/greg_mudry/sturm.html">Der Kessel</a > Home of „Die Sturmgruppe“; Scenario Design Group for Combat Mission. [This message has been edited by Germanboy (edited 11-07-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordfluffers Posted November 7, 2000 Share Posted November 7, 2000 HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Funniest post I've read in ages!!! Let us know if your dad believes you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted November 7, 2000 Share Posted November 7, 2000 hmmm didn't they refer to the german stick-hand-gernade as a "potato masher"? -john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted November 8, 2000 Author Share Posted November 8, 2000 Thanks for the translation, Germanboy. BTS, could we please have potato mortars included as a weapon in CM2? I'll be happy to include the ballistics. That thing was unbelivably accurate. Once I walked the rounds in, I could put a snowball in the back of a pickup truck at 200 yards. My brother and I teamed up so that I could hide, and he would spot for me, guiding the rounds in. I noticed that my dad kept glancing up whenever he walked outside, trying to spot plunging fire before it hit. ------------------ No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. -Ender's Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dschugaschwili Posted November 9, 2000 Share Posted November 9, 2000 Just out of curiosity, what did you use as a "propellant"? Dschugaschwili Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420 Posted November 9, 2000 Share Posted November 9, 2000 i find that carb cleaner works quite well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Petersson Posted November 9, 2000 Share Posted November 9, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Germanboy: Kartoffelgranatwerfer<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hmm... Kartoffelgranatwerfer = Potatoe grenade launcher Potatoe = Kartoffel Mortar = Morser If you mean something in the style of a grenade launcher (direct fire, low trajectory) then Kartoffelwerfer would be best. For a high trajectory weapon I'd suggest Kartoffelmorser. Cheers Olle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dschugaschwili Posted November 9, 2000 Share Posted November 9, 2000 Actually, the correct spelling is Kartoffelmörser. Dschugaschwili Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted November 9, 2000 Author Share Posted November 9, 2000 It was a high trajectory weapon. I usually fired it at about a 45-75 degree angle. It was mounted on a bipod I made in my high school welding class, and I could even turn a bolt to adjust the angle, just like a real mortar. Sometimes I would set it up for indirect fire, with my brother up in a tree spotting the rounds in. There is nothing that freaks people out like having a snowball drop in from the sky, and they have no clue where it came from. For propellant I used whatever was in the garage at the time, usually BBQ lighter fluid or WD-40. Ammo was snowballs, soda cans, carefully shaped blocks of wood, and sometimes water ballons. Cardboard juice concentrate cans made excellent sabots for the snowballs. ------------------ No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. -Ender's Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted November 10, 2000 Share Posted November 10, 2000 LOL!!! Now that's just mean. Reminds me of the tennis-ball launcher we used to make as kids. Never even thought of using snowballs though. Yours sounds like it had a lot more range and power too. ------------------ Sounds like 100% weapons-grade Balonium to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted November 10, 2000 Author Share Posted November 10, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Formerly Babra: LOL!!! Now that's just mean. Reminds me of the tennis-ball launcher we used to make as kids. Never even thought of using snowballs though. Yours sounds like it had a lot more range and power too. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> About 200 yards was the max range. Hey, I always used really soft snowballs, and it's pretty hard to hit someone with plunging fire. If I ever drop out of college (CM's fault), I'm going to join the army to play with real mortars. ------------------ No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. -Ender's Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dschugaschwili Posted November 10, 2000 Share Posted November 10, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 109 Gustav: It was a high trajectory weapon. I usually fired it at about a 45-75 degree angle. It was mounted on a bipod I made in my high school welding class, and I could even turn a bolt to adjust the angle, just like a real mortar. Sometimes I would set it up for indirect fire, with my brother up in a tree spotting the rounds in. There is nothing that freaks people out like having a snowball drop in from the sky, and they have no clue where it came from. For propellant I used whatever was in the garage at the time, usually BBQ lighter fluid or WD-40. Ammo was snowballs, soda cans, carefully shaped blocks of wood, and sometimes water ballons. Cardboard juice concentrate cans made excellent sabots for the snowballs. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Sounds like great fun. I still don't understand the technical details though, like how you get the propellant to shoot your ammo out. Your propellants don't sound like they'd explode very easily, or am I missing something? Dschugaschwili Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tss Posted November 10, 2000 Share Posted November 10, 2000 109 Gustav wrote: BTS, could we please have potato mortars included as a weapon in CM2? I'll be happy to include the ballistics. Popping into yet another thread with a digressing story. Last week corporal Viljam Pylkäs's biography was published here in Finland. For those who haven't heard about him, he was the model of Antti Rokka of the movie (and book) "Unknown soldier". He is most famous for singlehandedly stopping a Soviet attack in April 1942 when he killed at least 80 men with a SMG. But this story happened during the attack period of 1941. One night Pylkäs's MG platoon came under a harrassing fire by a Soviet 50 mm mortar or "Naku", as they were called, for the sound it made. (see, the story had a mortar, so it fits the thread topic). The fire was inaccurate but it disturbed their sleep. So Pylkäs stood up, took a SMG and slipped in the night to search the mortar. As mortars are pretty difficult to keep hidden in darkness and it had only a short range, he quickly spotted its place. He then sneaked towards it until he was about 15 meters from it. There were two Russians operating the mortar. Pylkäs could have shot them with his SMG but then he thought otherwise. He grabbed three pine cones from the ground and threw them one by one to a bush that was a short distance away from the mortar. The Russians heard the noise and went carefully to investigate. As soon as they had left, Pylkäs run quietly to the mortar, grabbed it and returned to cover. He didn't like the idea that he would have to carry the mortar back so he stayed and waited. After a few minutes the mortar crew came back. When they noticed that it was gone they got pretty worried. I don't fault them. They were in middle of a forest, in dark, alone, surrounded by strange noises, and they knew that the enemy was near. So when Pylkäs quietly said "ruki vehr", they instantly obeyed. He then ordered them to carry the mortar and escorted his prisoners back to Finnish positions. The platoon slept rest of the night peacefully. - Tommi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Fredriksson Posted November 10, 2000 Share Posted November 10, 2000 Excellent story, tss! Do you know if the biography is/will be translated into other languages. I quite clearly remember the scene from "Unknown soldier" where he stops the attack. What was his nick-name? The Fox? The Wolf? Wolf-paw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Germanboy Posted November 10, 2000 Share Posted November 10, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Olle Petersson: Hmm... Kartoffelgranatwerfer = Potatoe grenade launcher Potatoe = Kartoffel Mortar = Morser If you mean something in the style of a grenade launcher (direct fire, low trajectory) then Kartoffelwerfer would be best. For a high trajectory weapon I'd suggest Kartoffelmorser. Cheers Olle<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks for correcting my German Olle, but may I point out that I am a native speaker. Granatwerfer is the correct name for the small-scale, err, implement Gustav made. A Moerser would refer to a large-calibre weapon (nothing to do with trajectories, really, size matters). I also thought it would be fitting because it is the longer word, and English speakers usually get a kick out of long German words. In CM, when the Germans get under mortar fire, you can hear them say 'Granatwerfer' before they dive for cover. What you refer to as a low-trajectory DF weapon (maybe a rifle grenade?) is where the projectile is called a Gewehrgranate in German, but I am not sure if there is a special German word for the launcher, or if it is Gewehrgranatwerfer. I am sure some Panzergrenny can enlighten me... Anyway, that is my understanding of it. If you look into your dictionary to check, you have to be aware that the word Moerser (sorry, can't do Umlaute on this stupid PC) is also used for the Apothecary's instrument used to grind up herbs, other stuff and mix medicine. ------------------ Andreas <a href="http://www.geocities.com/greg_mudry/sturm.html">Der Kessel</a > Home of „Die Sturmgruppe“; Scenario Design Group for Combat Mission. [This message has been edited by Germanboy (edited 11-10-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Petersson Posted November 10, 2000 Share Posted November 10, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Germanboy: (i) Granatwerfer is the correct name for the small-scale, err, implement Gustav made. A Moerser would refer to a large-calibre weapon. (ii) What you refer to as a low-trajectory DF weapon (maybe a rifle grenade?) is where the projectile is called a Gewehrgranate in German, ...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>(i) Actually, I was aware of it. Mörser is more like a siege mortar, but it's originally the same word (and it's called mörsare in Swedish, a direct adaptation of the German word). Still, the smaller scale used for potatoes doesn't "throw" Granaten, so it should be a Kartoffelwerfer. I suggested Mörser since it sounds more impressive to those who know the term, something like basket ball calibre... The word Mortar/Mörser goes back to the midieval age when they looked like a big, thick iron pot. This is the same shape, but not size, as the bowl used to grind herbs and spice. Hence the same name (which is mortel in Swedish). Those weapons definately were restricted to high trajectory fire, and the term has stuck in the English language. (ii) I do not mean rifle grenades, but grenade launchers such as H&K M19 or the rifle mounted M203 or the Russian AGS-17. These shoot 30-40mm grenades at fairly low trajectories. I think these are referred to as Granatwerfer in German too, at least they are in Swedish. Cheers Olle (Can you tell linguistics is one of my interests?) [This message has been edited by Olle Petersson (edited 11-10-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted November 10, 2000 Author Share Posted November 10, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Germanboy: Granatwerfer is the correct name for the small-scale, err, implement Gustav made. A Moerser would refer to a large-calibre weapon (nothing to do with trajectories, really, size matters). <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, it was about an 88mm Potato Mortar, if that helps. ------------------ No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. -Ender's Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaSCa Posted November 10, 2000 Share Posted November 10, 2000 I can't weigh in on the linguistic discussion but hair-spray was the most powerful propellent we found when we made our potato-cannon (kartoffelkannon?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tss Posted November 10, 2000 Share Posted November 10, 2000 Olle Petersson wrote: Still, the smaller scale used for potatoes doesn't "throw" Granaten, so it should be a Kartoffelwerfer. Well, you could always get a "Granatapfelwerfer", instead. - Tommi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tss Posted November 10, 2000 Share Posted November 10, 2000 Stefan Fredriksson wrote: Do you know if the biography is/will be translated into other languages. It isn't and probably will not be. It is by a small publisher that even rented the press from a larger one. I seriously doubt that they have resources to translate it by themselves and I fear that there's not enough foreign interest to get it translated. What was his nick-name? The Fox? The Wolf? Wolf-paw? "Wolf-paw" was the nickname of Rokka's friend in the movie, from his surname "Susi" ("Wolf"). That character is also based on a real man, Toivo Ruuna. (A literal translation for his surname to English is "gelded horse"). Actually, pretty much every character of the movie is based on a real person, with the possible exception of the hated Lt. Lammio, though apparently the company commander Lt. Karitie had few Lammio-like qualities. - Tommi - Tommi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted November 10, 2000 Author Share Posted November 10, 2000 Think i should start a website for the Combat Mission kartoffelgrenatwerfer club? ------------------ No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. -Ender's Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tss Posted November 12, 2000 Share Posted November 12, 2000 Speaking of interesting designations, I just came upon (once again as I had forgotten the designation) a thing called "Panzerwerfer", with range of 6.9 km Now think about it. You could throw your King Tigger over the enemy's nasty AT gun and bazooka defence zone and start some heavy duty harrassing of the communication lines. Also, any enemy soldier and most fortifications will be completely flattened when a King Tiger drops on top of it from the height of approximately 1.2 km. - Tommi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splinty Posted November 12, 2000 Share Posted November 12, 2000 So would the catapult used by the French in Monty Python and the Holy Grail be called a Tiergranatewerfer? ------------------ Nicht Schiessen!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dschugaschwili Posted November 13, 2000 Share Posted November 13, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Splinty: So would the catapult used by the French in Monty Python and the Holy Grail be called a Tiergranatewerfer? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, as it didn't really throw grenades, perhaps we should leave the "Granaten" out and use "Kuhwerfer" (cow thrower) instead. Dschugaschwili Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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