British 3"

- British 3-Inch Mortar, Mark I -

World War II, Korea

The Kit:

This is a resin kit in 1/35th scale from the Resicast. A difficult kit to find, but well worth the effort as I was quite impressed by the quality of the castings.

The Details:

Based on photos, elevation and traverse locking levers that need 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.
There is an adjustment knob at the rear of the sight and I made this out of laminated styrene discs.

The Extras:

The British Mk. III Helmet with liner is a Ultracast item. 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.
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 disappointment with this kit. My example's Baseplate was poorly cast, and did not match my reference. I drafted up some plans and decided to scratch-build a replacement out of .015" thick styrene.

Base and Groundwork:

The pine base is 3-1/2 inches in diameter. It is stained and sealed with multiple coats of Polyurethane. Sculptamold mixed with white glue was 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 sifted dirt for the ground texture. I also added some dried-flowers for the bushes.

Replacement Baseplate Drawings (.pdf files)

Painting, Weathering and Finishing:

Painted with PollyS/PollyScale acrylic paints and flat coat. 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.


General Mortar 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.


Actual Mortar Data:
Weight: 147.5lbs.
Muzzle Velocity: 620fps.
Elevation: +45º. to +80º.
Traverse: +/-36º.	(Mk 5 shown)
Crew: 3. (Not counting ammunition carriers, vehicle drivers and other Section support troops.)

Ammunition:
Types: HE (High Explosive) and Smoke.
Range (Charge I): 500 yards to 1,500 yards (HE).
Range (Charge II): 950 yards to 2,800 yards (HE).
Bomb Weight (HE): 36lbs. (One case of 2 Bombs)
Average Flight Time of Bomb (HE): Approx. 20 seconds, Charge I., Approx. 30 seconds, Charge II.
Fragmentation Radius: Up to 100 yards in all directions from point of bomb impact.



1932	1935	1937	1944	1949


1951	1960	1962	1962	1963


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

	Mortars in Miniature ...A Scale Model Collection of the "Infantryman's Artillery"...