British 3"

A Subject of Mortars in Miniature.com
Click on all photos and scans to enlarge...
The Kit: This is a cast resin kit in 1/35th scale from the Belgian firm Resicast. A difficult kit to find, but well worth the effort as I was quite impressed by the quality of the castings. The kit parts required minor parting line cleanup and went together quite easily.		Some areas needed a bit more smoothing out than others, but generally well done. Also impressive was the number of parts included in this kit. There are enough parts to complete 2 mortars in the firing position and one mortar in the folded position, plus accessories.

	The Details: There were a few items missing in the kit. Based on photos, there appears to be elevation and traverse locking levers that needed to be added. I made the elevation lock out of thin brass with styrene hex nuts punched out with a Historex punch set. The traverse lock was made from styrene with a heated "knob", that also required styrene hex nuts to be added. The sighting device needed a little work also. Nothing major, but there is an adjustment knob required at the rear of the sight and I made this out of laminated styrene discs. I was not all that pleased with the sight's casting, but it works here for this model. The number of parts added to the tube and bipod from scratch, totaled 9.

	The Extras: As par for this collection, I've added a few other items to each of the settings to aid in the relations of the scale of these kits. The British Mk. III Helmet with liner is a Ultracast item, produced in Canada. This is superbly cast in resin and is a welcome addition to the 'standard' hollow or solid helmet interior. To this I added the chin strap from drafting tape and also some small photo etch strap retaining clips. The British '44 pattern Rucksack is from Accurate Armour and is also cast in resin. Very well done with a few very minor air bubbles that need to be filled. The British Lee-Enfield .303inch Rifle is a Tamiya item and was the standard army infantry rifle issued to the British Rifleman during World War II. To this I added the rifle sling from drafting tape and associated 'hardware' from fine wire and styrene plastic.

The Baseplate:
This is the only area of the kit where I was really disappointed. My example's Baseplate was poorly and cast, and was not a very accurate representation to the real weapon's Baseplate. Instead of trying to improve on the kit's offering, I drafted up some plans and decided to scratch-build a replacement. Made up entirely of .015" thick Evergreen styrene, I proceeded to build this up and I must admit that I was very happy with the end results. Quite small to build, but well worth the effort to do so.

The Base and Groundwork:
This base is cut to 3-1/2 inches in diameter also and is of pine wood, stained with a natural colored stain and sealed with multiple coats of Polyurethane. Sculptamold mixed with white glue was once again used to shape out the groundwork. A few pressed in stones were added prior to the Sculptamold setting up. When this was dry, I applied diluted white glue and fine dirt sifted through a nylon stocking for the ground texture. I also added some dried-flowers for the bushes.

Painting, Weathering and Finishing:
Painted entirely with PollyS/PollyScale Acrylic Paints. Winsor and Newton Oils thinned with Loew-Cornell Odorless Brush Cleaner and Thinner were used for the washes. Weathering on the mortar was accomplished in part by using a Berol Prismacolor silver colored pencil. PollyScale Acrylic Flat Coat was then applied overall to the finished subject.

Actual Data:
Weight: 147.5lbs.
Muzzle Velocity: 620fps.
Ammunition Types: HE (High Explosive) and Smoke.
Range (Charge I): 500 yards to 1,500 yards (HE).
           (Charge II): 950 yards to 2,800 yards (HE).
Average Flight Time of Bomb (HE):
              Approximately 20 seconds, Charge I.
              Approximately 30 seconds, Charge II.
Fragmentation Radius: Up to 100 yards in all directions from point of bomb impact.
Bomb Weight (HE): 36lbs. (One case of 2 Bombs)
Elevation: +45º. to +80º.
Traverse: +/-36º.
Crew: 3. (Not counting ammunition carriers, vehicle drivers and other Section support troops.)

(Mk 5 shown)


* Pre and WWII Manuals...

1932	1935	1937	1944
		Courtesy of Mr. Dave Albert	Courtesy of Mr. Tom Bebbington

General Info:
A popular and effective weapon, the British 3 inch (76.2mm) Mortar served with distinction throughout it's relatively long career. Having first entered Commonwealth service in the early 1930s, the 3 inch Mortar served throughout WWII in all theaters of operations. It also served later on in the Korean War and could still be found in some Home Guard units up until the late 1970s. Eventually, the 3 inch Mortar would be retired in favor of the more common and standardized 81mm weapons. The major drawbacks of the 3 inch Mortar, other than the odd size caliber, was the weapon's weight and long flight times for the ammunition to reach the target.
Transportation of the 3 inch mortar was either by a modified Universal Gun Carrier tracked vehicle, with 66 ready bombs stored, or by the 15-cwt truck with 90 bombs stored. Neither vehicle had the capability to fire this weapon from a mounted position. When dismounted from these vehicles, the driver would normally assist the No. 3 crewman. The mortar could also be broken down into 3-man loads, with the No. 1 man carrying the Baseplate and sight unit, weighing 52lbs. The No. 2 man would carry the barrel and spare parts bag for a weight of 51lbs, and the No. 3 man carried the bipod, weighing 44.5lbs and one bomb case of 36lbs.

* Post WWII Manuals...

1949	1951	1960	1962	1962	1963
	Courtesy of Mr. David Albert	Courtesy of Mr. John Garcia			Courtesy of Mr. Tom Bebbington

References: Australian War Memorial Mr. Haydn Neal - Australia Mr. Tom Bebbington - United Kingdom Mr. David Albert - United States Mr. Tom Ready - United Kingdom

	British 3-Inch Mortar Comments, suggestions, additional info?

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