Davidka
Sign in to saveAlso known as Little David, 76 mm mortar Davidka
The Davidka () was a homemade Israeli mortar used in Safed and Jerusalem during 1947–1949 Palestine war. Its bombs were reported to be extremely loud, but very inaccurate and otherwise of little value beyond terrifying opponents; they proved particularly useful in scaring away both Arab soldiers and civilians. It is nominally classified as a 3-inch (76.2 mm) mortar, although the bomb was considerably larger.
Key facts
- Weapon.name
- Davidka
- Weapon.image
- MY-Davidka-1.jpg
- Weapon.image_size
- 300
- Weapon.caption
- Davidka mortar, Givati Museum, Israel
- Weapon.origin
- Israel
- Weapon.type
- Mortar
- Weapon.is_ranged
- yes
- Weapon.is_explosive
- yes
- Weapon.is_artillery
- yes
- Weapon.service
- 1948
- Weapon.used_by
- Palmach
- Weapon.wars
- 1948 Arab–Israeli War
- Weapon.designer
- David Leibowitch
- Weapon.design_date
- 1947–48
- Weapon.production_date
- 1948
- Weapon.number
- Six
- Weapon.cartridge
- Explosive grenade
- Weapon.filling
- TNT
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Diameter
- 3
- Image
- MY-Davidka-1.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Davidka
- service entry
- 1948-01-01
- Commons gallery
- Davidka
- total produced
- 8
- service retirement
- 1949-00-00
- caliber
- 3
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~5 min read
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Characteristics
- Syrian rebels' copy
- See also
- References
- External links
The Davidka () was a homemade Israeli mortar used in Safed and Jerusalem during 1947–1949 Palestine war. Its bombs were reported to be extremely loud, but very inaccurate and otherwise of little value beyond terrifying opponents; they proved particularly useful in scaring away both Arab soldiers and civilians. It is nominally classified as a 3-inch (76.2 mm) mortar, although the bomb was considerably larger.
==Etymology== The Davidka (the word may be interpreted either "Little David" or "Made by David" in Russian) was named for its inventor, , although the name also metaphorically evoked the biblical battle of David and Goliath (I Samuel chap. 17): In 1948, the defense forces of the state of Israel felt themselves fighting against the "giant" British-trained and British-led professional Arab Legion, amongst many others, and so they felt the metaphor appropriate.