Original Item: Only One Available. Recently acquired from a prominent American collection, the is a fantastic example of a genuine French 18th or early 19th century 12 inch diameter hollow mortar bomb with two lifting rings or lifting "ears" still intact. The mortar is iron and has a faded word ending in LON (likely the arsenal or foundry where it was manufactured). The ball measures approximately 12 inches in diameters with a 39 inch circumference and weight approximately 100 LBS. Overall condition is good with areas of pitting and previous rust which has been eradicated. A very rare hard to find piece that dates from the American Revolution or Napoleonic Wars!

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.

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.

The Mortar Bomb was a hollowed projectile: the "shells", hollowed spheres, iron or cast iron made, filled with powder and set afire by a fuse. When blowing up, they generally set fires as witnessed by General Griois; the shell splinters were far from having the effectiveness demonstrated in more modern conflicts.

Bombs which were hollowed projectiles, even though much heavier (50 to 75 kilos) which added a breaking effect to the burst. This result was particularly sought against buildings during siege operations. The powder load reached 3 to 4 kilos. 

So the bomb was a hollowed sphere, which inner surface was reinforced in its bottom (culot in French) whose role was to sustain the burst pressure. However, there was always the danger that the projectile would explode soon after departure, in which case the artillery piece could be damaged or destroyed. Every bomb was equipped with a fuse, a hollowed pipe made from a lime tree and filled with an inflammable mixture, which length and density were "estimated" by the artificer.

The powder load (we would say the military head today) could also be adjusted to put the emphasis more on the incendiary effect or on the lightening effect for instance. Every bomb was equipped with 2 rings passing through "ears". Those rings eased the transport of the particularly heavy projectiles, with the help of levers and S shaped hooks.
The Mortars

Their look is typical: the tubes are short and huge: calibre reaching 200 to 300 mm. The carriages are bulky; in fact these are sorts of bases able to sustain the almost vertical propelling burst, being understood that the firing angles ranging from 45 degrees, as a minimum, to 60 degrees, the most frequently used. The whole lot, extremely bulky, weighted depending on the calibre, 1500 to 2500 kilos.