Sauterelle

Sauterelle
French soldiers with a Sauterelle c1915.
Type	Crossbow
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1915–1916
Used by	France United Kingdom
Wars	World War I
Production history
Produced	1915-1916
Specifications
Weight	24 kg (53 lb)
Crew	2
Effective firing range	110–140 m (120–150 yd)

The Arbalète sauterelle type A, or simply Sauterelle (French for grasshopper), was a bomb-throwing crossbow used by French and British forces on the Western Front during World War I. It was designed to throw a hand grenade in a high trajectory into enemy trenches. It was initially dismissed by the French Army but General Henri Berthelot thought it had practical value.^[1]

It was lighter and more portable than the Leach Trench Catapult, but less powerful. It weighed 24 kg (53 lb) and could throw an F1 grenade or Mills bomb 110–140 m (120–150 yd).^[2]

The Sauterelle replaced the Leach Catapult in British service until they were replaced in 1916 by the 2 inch Medium Trench Mortar and Stokes mortar.^[3]

References

1. Glenn E. Torrey (2001). Henri Mathias Berthelot: soldier of France, defender of Romania. Center for Romanian Studies. p. 119. ISBN 9739432158.
2. The Royal Engineers Journal. The Institution of Royal Engineers. 39: 79. 1925. Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. Hugh Chisholm (1922). The Encyclopædia Britannica: The New Volumes, Constituting, in Combination with the Twenty-nine Volumes of the Eleventh Edition, the Twelfth Edition of that Work, and Also Supplying a New, Distinctive, and Independent Library of Reference Dealing with Events and Developments of the Period 1910 to 1921 Inclusive, Volume 1. Encyclopædia Britannica Company Limited. p. 470.