Davidka mortar?

Question

When the Arabs in '48 came under fire from Israeli-made Davidka mortars, did they really think that they were being assaulted with nuclear weapons?
And was the weapon's main attribute its ability to sow panic and fear in the Arab ranks?

Answer 1

Davidka' (Hebrew: דוידקה) was a home made Israeli mortar used in Safed and Jerusalem during the initial stages of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. Its shells were reported to be extremely loud, but otherwise of little value, besides that of using fear tactics against the Arab forces. Due to their extreme noise and horrific explosions, they proved particularly useful in scaring away Arab forces, despite the fact that they were very inaccurate. It is nominally classified as a 3 inch (76.2 mm) mortar, although the shell was considerably larger.

Answer 2

The nuclear weapons story was likely an urban legend, but it is not unlikely that right after the end of WWII and the lack of knowledge of what a nuclear weapon was (particularly to a third world peasant) a loud noise can be seen as the "ultimate weapon."

The fact is though the Davidka did prove to be a better propaganda weapon with its loud noise then an effective artillery piece.

Answer 3

You don't sleep well these days