ML 3-inch mortar

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Ordnance ML 3-inch mortar
Canadianmortarteam.jpg
Canadian 3-inch mortar team
Type Mortar
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1936 – 1980s
Used bySee § Users
WarsSee § Conflicts
Production history
Designed1932
Manufacturer Royal Ordnance
Produced1930s – 1950s
Specifications
Mass
  • Base plate/sight: 37 lb (17 kg)
  • Barrel/spares: 34 lb (15 kg)
  • Bipod: 44.5 lb (20.2 kg)
  • Total: 115.5 lb (52.4 kg)
Length4 ft 3 in (1.3 m)
Barrel  length3 ft 11 in (1.19 m) [1]

Shell Bomb 10 lb (4.5 kg)
Calibre 3.19 in (81.0 mm)
Elevation +45° to +80°
Traverse 11° [1]
Muzzle velocity 650 ft/s (200 m/s)
Maximum firing rangeMk.II: 1,600 yd (1,500 m)
Mk.II LR: 2,800 yd (2,600 m)

The Ordnance ML 3-inch mortar was the United Kingdom's standard mortar used by the British Army from the early 1930s to the late 1960s, superseding the Stokes mortar. Initially handicapped by its short range compared to similar Second World War mortars, improvements of the propellant charges enabled it to be used with great satisfaction by various armies of the British Empire and of the Commonwealth.

Contents

Design

The ML 3-inch mortar is a conventional Stokes-type mortar that is muzzle-loaded and drop-fired. It also reuses many of the Brandt mortar features. [2]

History

Based on their experience in World War I, the British infantry sought some sort of artillery for close support. The initial plan was for special batteries of artillery, but the cost was prohibitive and the mortar was accepted instead.

Lieutenant General Sir Bernard Paget, C-in-C Home Forces, inspecting a 3-inch mortar crew, 9 January 1943. The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H26605.jpg
Lieutenant General Sir Bernard Paget, C-in-C Home Forces, inspecting a 3-inch mortar crew, 9 January 1943.

The Mark II mortar (Mark I was the Stokes) was adopted by the British Army in the early 1930s; and this was the standard British mortar when World War II broke out in September 1939. Experience in the early part of the war showed that, although the Mark II was reliable and sturdy, it did not have sufficient range compared to the German 81 mm s.GW.34 mortar. A series of experiments and trials using new propellants improved the range from 1600 yards to 2800 yards by about 1942; and, by 1943, the barrel, baseplate and sights had also been improved. [2] [3]

The ML 3-inch mortar was carried on three packs by infantry or on Universal Carriers. [3]

The Mark II remained in service with the British Army until replaced by the L16 81mm mortar in 1965.

Variants

Users

Returned & Services League building, Roma, Queensland 3 inch ML Mortar.jpg
Returned & Services League building, Roma, Queensland
Tail unit of 3-inch mortar bomb fired by the Royal Jordanian Army on 5 June 1967, the first day of the Six-Day War landing in Israeli part of Jerusalem. ML3 Mortar Jerusalem 1967.jpg
Tail unit of 3-inch mortar bomb fired by the Royal Jordanian Army on 5 June 1967, the first day of the Six-Day War landing in Israeli part of Jerusalem.

Conflicts

In action in Burma, 1944 British 3-inch mortar detachments support the 19th Indian Division's advance along the Mawchi Road, east of Toungoo, Burma.jpg
In action in Burma, 1944

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Mortars and rockets. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p.  18. ISBN   978-0-668-03817-1. OCLC   2067459.
  2. 1 2 Bishop 1998, p. 194.
  3. 1 2 3 Norris 2002, p. 13.
  4. Isby, David C. (1990). The War in Afghanistan 1979-1989: The Soviet Empire at High Tide. Concord Publications. p. 15. ISBN   978-9623610094.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Norris 2002, p. 43.
  6. Jowett, Philip (2016). Modern African Wars (5): The Nigerian-Biafran War 1967–70. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Press. pp. 22–23. ISBN   978-1-4728-1609-2.
  7. Ilan, Amitzur (1996). The Origin of the Arab-Israeli Arms Race: Arms, Embargo, Military Power and Decision in the 1948 Palestine War. St Antony's Series. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 40, 133. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-13696-4. ISBN   978-1-349-13696-4.
  8. 1 2 Subramanian, L.N. (November–December 2000). "The Battle of Chushul". Bharat Rakshak Monitor. 3 (3). Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  9. Iraqi army equipment 1930-2017. Vol. 2. p.  18.
  10. Young, Peter (1972). The Arab Legion. Men-at-Arms. Osprey Publishing. p. 24. ISBN   978-0-85045-084-2.
  11. Norris 2002, p. 5.
  12. Jowett 2016, p. 20.
  13. 1 2 Gates, Scott; Roy, Kaushik (2014). Unconventional Warfare in South Asia: Shadow Warriors and Counterinsurgency (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 94. ISBN   978-1-138-25298-1.
  14. Zaloga, Steven J. (1982). The Polish Army 1939–45. Men-at-Arms 117. Osprey Publishing. p. 21. ISBN   978-0-85045-417-8.
  15. "WWII weapons in Yemen's civil war". wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com. 9 September 2018.[ self-published source ]
  16. Vukšić, Velimir (July 2003). Tito's partisans 1941–45. Warrior 73. Osprey Publishing. p. 25. ISBN   978-1-84176-675-1.
  17. Varble, Derek (25 March 2003). The Suez Crisis 1956. Essential Histories 49. Osprey Publishing. p. 57. ISBN   978-1-84176-418-4.

Main Sources

Secondary Sources