Bomb Thrower

a weapon for close combat (caliber of 20 to 152 mm), used in World War I (1914–18) in the armies of all the belligerent countries. The bomb thrower was designed for the destruction of personnel by means of high-angle fire with grenades or fragmentation bombs with masses of from 2.5 to 20.7 kg; the range of fire was up to 850 m. In its construction the bomb thrower was similar to the infantry mortar, but, in contrast, the bomb thrower was loaded from the breech, and in power the projectiles were not suitable for destroying even weak shelters and dugouts. As a consequence, toward the end of the war bomb throwers were replaced by mortars.