2 inch mortar number 4 tail unit.

[BMG50]

I have always thought that the No:4 tail unit for the 2inch inch mortar was a post war replacement for the wartime No 3 steel tail. When I went to the War and Peace show Sat I was lucky to pick up 3 very mint 2 inch para illum rounds and a multi white star round, two of the rounds were dated 1944 and one dated 1943.One of the para illum rounds still had its original parachute dated 1942. What I did notice that two rounds had No:4 tail units one dated 1944 and the other dated late 1943, quite a surprising find, puts my theory out of the window, anyone here have an earlier dated No:4 tail unit.

 

[AE501]

The Tails No 3 and 4 were both fitted during WW2. The Tail No 1 was Aluminium and the Tail No 2 was Mazak. The No2 should have a letter Z embossed on it.
Should you ever find a No 2 look at it closely and if it looks as though its surface is covered in crazy paving there is a very good chance that it can be crushed in your hand due to Mazak corrosion. It turns to dust.
There was also a Tail No 5 which was the No 4 but modified to 21 holes round the tube instead of 18.
There were a lot of repair programmes to replace the mazak tails. They could not take the 55 grain cart pressure.

 

[AMMOTECHXT]

Yesterday I met an ex colleague at a RAOC Association reunion who coincidentally mentioned the 2 inch mortar repair programme. He said that the manufacture dates of the bombs for replacement of Mazak tails included stock from WW2 until the mid 1950s. He was working on the repair programme in the mid 1960s while he was a junior Corporal.