It wasn’t until WWII that the mortar came into its own as an infantry support weapon. Mobile and capable of indirect fire, it was a highly effective light artillery weapon. Germany’s standard medium mortar throughout WWII was the 8cm Granatwerfer 34 (which translates as “grenade projector/launcher”), or 8cm Gr.W.34 for short. This mortar had been designed by Rheinmetall in 1932, and it proved a reliable and accurate system. The complete mortar weighed 57kg, and it could launch a 3.5kg shell out to a range of 2400m. It was capable of a rate of fire of 15-25 rounds per minute in the hands of a well-trained crew. The success of the 8cm Gr.W.34 is seen in that a total of more than 70,000 mortars were produced throughout the course of WWII.