Mortier de 12 Gribeauval

The Mortier de 12 pouces Gribeauval (Gribeauval 12-inch mortar) was a French mortar and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. It was part of the siege artillery. The measurement of the mortar is expressed by the diameter of the ball, using the French ancient system of measurement, in which 1 pouce (1 inch) is worth 2.707 cm.

Mortier de 12 pouces Gribeauval
12-inches mortar (Mortier de 12 pouces Gribeauval) with cylindrical chamber, 1789, Les Invalides.
Place of originFrance
Service history
Used byFrance
WarsFrench Revolutionary Wars
Napoleonic Wars
American War of Independence
Production history
DesignerJean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval
ManufacturerBerenger
ProducedApril 1789
Specifications
Mass1,540 kg
Barrel length81 cm
Crew15 men & 6 horses
Caliber12 pouce (French inches) = 324.8 mm
Barrels1, cylindrical chamber, brass

The Mortier de 12 pouces Gribeauval was used extensively during the wars following the French Revolution, as well as the Napoleonic wars. However, its first major operational use was even earlier, during the American Revolutionary War, in General Rochambeau's French expeditionary corps, from 1780 to late 1782, and especially at Yorktown in 1781.[1]

A Gribeauval coastal mortier de 12 pouces, with pear-shaped chamber (retained for power and range), 1806, Toulon.

Gomer system
A 12-inch Gomer mortar with conical chamber, cast by Bouquero, An 2 de la République (1793-1794).

The Mortier de 12 pouces used a cylindrical chamber, which, although quite efficient, used to wear easily. It was superseded by the Gomer system using a conical chamber, which was incorporated in Gribeauval's system in 1789.[2]

Some of the Mortier de 12 pouces were used in coastal defenses, in which case they were fixed on solid metal platforms.

Notes
  1. Napoleon's Guns, 1792-1815 - Page 14 by René Chartrand, Ray Hutchins
  2. Chartrand, p.11

References
  • Chartrand, René 2003 Napoleon's guns 1792-1815 (2) ISBN 1-84176-460-4 Osprey Publishing

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