Pre-1946 Grenade Launchers

World B4

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Here are some interesting projects I wanted to post. Some are actually light mortars. I don't care.

From Britain:
A late WW1 prototype, a humble beginning

From the USSR:
The spade mortar, a jack of 2 trades that was bad at both
The Kukalov, the true big iron, not fielded due to weight
View: https://augfc.tumblr.com/post/76462842875/the-kulakov-grenade-launcher-origin-ussr

The Taubina AG-2, a true wonder weapon ahead of it's time
View: https://peashooter85.tumblr.com/post/162996520057/the-taubina-ag-2-automatic-grenade-launcher-an/embed


From Italy:
The Lanciabombe, the wonderful combination of a want for a bazooka without recoilless weapon technology. In english, the name loosely translates to "hearing loss"*

From Germany:
The M19, an automatic light mortar for fortifications
The Sturmkampfgewehr, a bit of an enigma
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/ForgottenWeapons/comments/ekcsvo/a_demonstrative_picture_of_the_sturmkampfgewehr/

Some mystery grenade launchers. Again, bit of an enigma
The "granatkarabiner" as it's called. Enigma 3, revenge of the enigma
If any are hoaxes I'd like to find out here, rather than a site with a less friendly and helpful userbase.

Lastly, something I could use translating assistance with due to auto-translate failing me in my time of need. The 3rd article here is all in german. I'd like to know what it says.

*it actually doesn't
 
The Taubina AG-2, a true wonder weapon ahead of it's time
Calling this weapon as "Taubina" or "Taubina Automatic Grenade Launcher" is actually a little bit unfortunate. It's a matter of declension - "Taubina" actually means "of Taubin" or "Taubin's" in Russian (surely coming from Avtomaticheskiy Granatomet Taubina - Taubin's Automatic Grenade Launcher) - so the basic form "Taubin" or "Taubin's" should rather be used in English translation.
 
Here's a pic I took of the Blanch Chevalier just before COVID kicked off. It's in the Royal Armouries in Leeds. The rifle below is the Farquhar-Hill Semi Automatic Rifle.
 

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Here's a pic I took of the Blanch Chevalier just before COVID kicked off. It's in the Royal Armouries in Leeds. The rifle below is the Farquhar-Hill Semi Automatic Rifle.
An obsolete Martini-Henry turned into a grenade launcher... Only the British could think that one up.
 

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Another italian grenade launcher project for parachute divisions, described like and compared to a Bazooka by this book, but it threw a grenade, not a rocket.
Bettica was a name associated with a WW1 mortar, maybe the designer was the same? Maybe this was a handheld lighter version?
 

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