Product Description
CAN01 – Coehorn Mortar, full scale, 2-1/4″ bore, 80#, 13-1/2″ long.
The Coehorn Mortar was one of the first guns cast here at Hern. Like the Napoleon 1/2 scale, we had one of these on the front porch growing up – lots of fun!
Cast Iron around our standard 2-1/4″ bore liner – the original idea was for similar sized cannon to have a common bore so the customer could have multiple guns, but only have need for one ball mold or source of projectiles.
This mortar looks great on the Base available on this site as a Hardware Kit and Plans for the Coehorn mortar bed. You will not be disappointed with this historically accurate Kit & gun! (Please note – Hardware Kit includes 2 pair of trail handles, do not buy a kit AND additional handles unnecessarily.)
Cannon is boxed and packaged for UPS shipment to the US of A — Included with the price shown.
I generally keep one or more on hand as these are quite popular; sometimes we do run out of stock but will let you know if there will be a delay in fulfilling your order! Over 3 on hand – September.2022
The shot that opened the Civil War was fired from a mortar
The Coehorn Mortar was a very useful piece, for it was developed in the 16th century, and there were still a few in use in British colonial garrisons in the 1920’s. This 24 pounder model of 1841 was mounted on on a simple bed and served by a crew of four. It fired a standard 24-pounder shell to a maximum of 1200 yards.A coehorn /ˈkoʊhɔrn/ (also spelled cohorn) was a portable mortar developed in the Netherlands by Menno van Coehoorn in 1674 and in use from the seventeenth to the mid nineteenth centuries. Unlike larger, heavier mortars, the coehorn was designed to be movable by as few as four men. By the time of the American Civil War, it was in service with both armies in twelve (4.62″) and twenty-four pound varieties.
Unlike most other contemporary mortars, the coehorn fired a powder-filled, time-fused shell at a relatively short range. Range could be altered by adding to or reducing the amount of powder loaded behind the shell. Its usually small powder charge and slow muzzle velocity meant that the shell’s high, arching flight could be easily observed from ground level
