Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider

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280 mm mortar in front of the Museum of the Polish Army in Warsaw

The Mortier de 280 modele 1914 Schneider was a French WWI siege mortar, manufactured in small numbers by the Schneider company. Sold primarily to France, less than 40 were also sold to Russia and took part in the fights on the eastern front, the Russian Civil War and the subsequent Polish-Bolshevik War. During the latter conflict some were also captured by Poland. In June, 1941 the Red Army still possessed 25 of these guns [1].

It had a crew of 12 men, maximal range of 10,950 m and fired heavy shells at an average rate of 2/min.

In Imperial Russia it was initially known as 11 inch siege mortar model 1912 (Russian: 11 дм. осадная мортира обр. 1912 г.), but later the more common name became 280 mm Schneider Mortar Model 1914/15 (Russian: 280-мм мортира Шнейдера образца 1914/15 гг.). The 1914 and 1915 model years referred to the dates of delivery from France.