Tore’s Tuesday – The Whizbang or Flying Pig.
Here is another collectible that for obvious reasons is not present in most collections. A huge and heavy thing it is.
This is the projectile of the German 24,5cm Schwerer Minenwerfer, the 24,5 cm Heavy Mortar. It has, of course, been properly deactivated and emptied, as one would not want a live one in the mancave.
The diameter is 24,5 cm and it is 107 cm long, so it has room for quite a huge explosive charge.
Because it travelled slowly and made a distinct whizzing sound the brits nicknamed it Whizbang, of course because first there was the whiz, then the bang. It was also, probably due to the abnorm size and weight, nicknamed the flying pig.
Humorous nicknames aside, it was a real danger, a serious threat. A trained ear could hear where it was going, so there was a chance to take cover, but once one landed in the bottom of a trench and exploded it could do real damage. And, with an arched trajectory it could indeed land directly in the trench.
To quote the song “Hush! Here comes a Whizbang” from the movie “Oh what a lovely war”:
“And you’ll see all the wonders of no mans land, if the Whizbang hits you!”
I apologize for the ugly mannequin, – sorry, the dummy, in the third picture. It is there to indicate the size.
