Artillery in Canada: 4.2-inch Mortars, and 81-mm Mortar

4.2-inch Mortar M30 US, and 81-mm Mortar

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3516223)

Personnel of the Saskatoon Light Infantry (M.G.) with a 4.2-inch mortar, Militello, Italy, 22 August 1943. Canada used the same suite of 2-inch, three inch and 4.2 inch mortars in the Second World War as the United Kingdom. In addition to a number of project to extend the range or lighten existing equipment, an effort was also made to develop a 120mm mortar based on a Finnish design.

(RCA Museum, Clive Prothero-Brooks Photo)

Canada first established a Parachute Battery in 1949 in Shilo. It was initially equipped with the M1 75mm Pack Howitzer and the British 4.2″ Smooth Bore (4.2″ SB) Mortar. The 4.2 Inch SB Mortar went out of service in 1950 and was replaced by the two models, including the M30 4.2″ Rifled Mortar.

(RCA Museum, Clive Prothero-Brooks Photo)

The Canadian Army used the M30 Mortar with parachute and light batteries from 1955 until 1969. The M30 replaced the 4.2 Inch Smooth Bore (SB). Unlike the SB, the M30 had a rifled barrel, increasing its range and accuracy. However, the rounds were still muzzle loaded and needed to slide loosely to the bottom of the barrel. Once fired, the shell expanded into the rifling, activating the spin that increased the M30’s range. Before the Canadian Army began using the M30, American troops used it during the Korean War. Mortars worked well in the Korean theatre due to the rough terrain and challenges deploying weaponry. The US also used it during the Vietnam War. Weight of Projectile: 22 to 27 pounds (10 kg to 12.3 kg). Range: 7,480 yards (6,840 metres). Rate of Fire: 3 rounds per minute. (RCA Museum)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4235854)

4.2-inch Mortar M30 US, training in Germany, ca 1964.

4.2-inch M107 Mortar, 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, 4 CMBG, Germany, ca 1963.  Operated by a six-man detachment, the M107 4.2-inch mortar was employed by "L" Battery of the 4th Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, from 1964 until 1969, when it was replaced by the L5 pack howitzer.  The Battery had eight mortars to sustain the airportable support role necessary for Canada's Allied Mobile Force commitments.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4235849)

81-mm Mortar training in Germany, ca 1964. The 81-mm mortar is an indirect fire support weapon. It has the tactical advantage of a high trajectory, which allows it to be sighted and engage targets from behind cover and provide overhead support to friendly troops. The mortar consists of a monobloc steel barrel with a smooth bore. The supported barrel in the bipod mount allows it to elevate, depress and cross the mortar within specified limits.

The 81 mm Mortar is a light-weight, close support, indirect fire weapon. The mortar consists of a forged monobloc steel barrel with a smooth bore. The exterior is finned for approximately half of its length towards the breech end to increase the cooling properties. At its breech end is the breech plug, which is ball shaped to fit into a socket in the base plate. The barrel is supported in the bipod mount which has a means for elevating, depressing, and traversing the mortar. It has the tactical advantage of a high trajectory, which allows it to engage targets from behind cover and provide indirect fire support. (Government of Canada)

(Hisamikabunomura Photo)

81-mm mortar L16. The L16 81-mm mortar is a British and Canadian standard mortar used by the Canadian Army, British Army, and many other armed forces. It originated as a joint design by the UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 81-mm Mortar; the U.S. armed forces version is the M252. The weapon can be man-packed by the mortar detachment, in which case the ammunition would be carried by other soldiers of the battalion. In addition to their normal equipment, each soldier would carry four bombs in a pair of two-bomb plastic containers. (Wikipedia)

(Hisamikabunomura Photo)

81-mm mortar L16 baseplate.

(Hisamikabunomura Photo)

81-mm mortar L16 site.

C3 81-mm Mortar

The C3 81-mm Mortar was a Battalion level indirect fire weapon which is capable of providing accurate High Explosive, smoke and illuminating rounds out to a maximum range of 5,650 metres.

Since the Second World War the mortar has been kept at the forefront of almost every nation's armoury and fresh designs have appeared in all major armies. The principal complaints of the war years - poor reliability and worse accuracy - have been overcome by better manufacturing techniques, though this has inevitably increased the cost. However, matters tend to balance out; whereas a wartime 3-in (76-mm) might have had to fire 100 bombs to get 30 into the target area and do worthwhile damage, today's (1978) 81-mm (3.2-in) mortar will put 30 bombs exactly where they are wanted, without waste.¹

The 81-mm mortar was introduced into the Canadian Army in 1967 and upgraded to C3 status commencing in 1968. Mortars were issued on a scale of eight per Regular Force Infantry Battalion.

Canada acquired 160 weapons, employing them in infantry battalions and mounting them on Armoured Personnel Carriers.

From the DND website:

The 81-mm mortar is an indirect fire support weapon used primarily by the infantry. A mortar crew can carry the weapon and some ammunition by backpack over short distances. A tactical advantage of the mortar is its high trajectory, which allows it to be sited behind high cover, to engage targets behind high cover, and to provide overhead support to friendly troops. The weapon can fire 20 rounds per minute for short periods and 15 rounds a minute for sustained periods. It can be used against targets between 200 and 4500 metres away. The mortar can fire high explosive rounds with a high degree of fragmentation in both ground and air bursts. It can also use red phosphorus rounds that produce a smoke screen and can also be used for signalling. Troops can also use illuminating rounds to light up the battlefield or for signalling.

• Ammunition: High Explosive, Illumination, and Smoke
• Caliber: 81.4 mm
• Rate of fire: 20 rounds per minute for short periods, 15 rounds per minute for a sustained period, normmal rate 5 rounds per minute
• Weight: 36.3 kg
• Range: From 200 m to 4,500 m (depending on type of ammunition used)
• Mortar sight unit: C2A1
• Max Range HE: 5,650m
• Min Range: 70m
• Muzzle Velocity: 225m/s
• Length of barrel: 1280-mm
• Weight in action: 35.3kg
• Bomb Weight HE: 4.2kg
• Calibre: 81-mm.

The C2 mortar sight was also used on the Sustained Fire Kit of the C6 General Purpose Machine Gun.

In Britain, the 81-mm Mortar was called the L16, the US version was the M252. Canada adopted the Bison as a mortar vehicle in the 1990s. (Canadiansoldier.com)

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