ML 3-inch mortar

Template:Short description 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.

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.

History

File: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

Based on their experience in the First World War, 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.

File: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 the Second World War 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.

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

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

Variants

• Mark 4 - heavier baseplate and new sight
• Mark 5 - lightened for use by airborne units and in the Far East
• The Canadian Army modified some of its 3-inch mortars, lengthening them to increase their range. This modification was abandoned as it was considered too heavy.
• The Australian Army, for its part, shortened the barrel for use in jungle.

Users

File:3 inch ML Mortar.jpg

Returned & Services League building, Roma, Queensland

File: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.

• Afghanistan: used by the anti-Soviet insurgents in the 1980s
• Australia
• Template:Country data Biafra
• Canada
• Egypt
• Greece
• India
• Iraq
• Ireland
• Template:Flagcountry (1944–1946)
• Jordan
• Luxembourg
• Myanmar
  • Myanmar Army : Inherited from British-Burma Army and also bought from India.Main Medium mortar used till 1970s.
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Poland: Polish Armed Forces in the West
• South Yemen
• Tibet
• Template:Flagcountry
• Yugoslavia: Used by Yugoslavian Partisans

See also

• Stokes mortar : British WWI predecessor
• List of infantry mortars

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

• 8 cm Granatwerfer 34 – German WWII equivalent
• 82-BM-37 & 82-PM-41 – Soviet WWII equivalents
• Brandt Mle 27/31 – French WWII equivalent
• M1 mortar – US WWII equivalent
• Type 97 81 mm infantry mortar – Japanese WWII equivalent

Gallery

• File:A 3-inch mortar crew from the Queens's Own Royal West Kents in action in Tunisia, 31 January 1943. NA576.jpg
• File:The British Army in North Africa E126.jpg
• File:The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H29779.jpg
• File:The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H9425.jpg
• File:Allied Forces in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H5454.jpg

References

Bibliography

• Boyd, David, British Mortars of the Second World War, www.wwiiequipment.com.au, retrieved 23 October 2016.
• War Office, Handbook for the Ordnance, M.L 3-Inch Mortar, Mark II, on Mounting, 3-inch Mortar, Mark I Land Service 1937, His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1937.
• War Office, Army Council, Small Arms Training, Volume I, Pamphlet No. 9, Mortar (3-inch) 1939, His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1937.
• War Office, Army Council, Small Arms Training, Volume I, Pamphlet No. 9, Amendment No.1, Mortar (3-inch) 1943, His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1937.