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2" Mortars.

B

Bullet Mick

Well-Known Member
Been in the shed today sorting some of my stuff thats boxed away. Decided to have a good look at these 2" practice mortars and was very happy with what i found. I always thought they were post war due to the dates on the fins been late 40s early 50s. However on closer inspection the black one has stamped on the body ASCO 10/44 and one white one has NSCo ?/42. Under the plastic cap on the white ones they are both stamped 1941 F&W No1 IS. I was wondering if anyone has any info on these as to what there origional colours may have been as the white ones have been brush painted at some point and also if they would of had steel fins. Cheers Mick.
PICT2112.jpgPICT2115.jpgPICT2117.jpgPICT2125.jpgPICT2127.jpgPICT2133.jpgPICT2135.jpg
 
These may help. Please note that white was not used as a body colour until 1948.ilum2.jpginch2.jpgwph2.jpgheb2.jpgpyr2.jpg
 
The steel tail fins came out late WW2 & it is possible to find ones dated from about 1943 , I think , so it's always worth checking & not just assume they are post WW2 .
 
Hi Mick. The black round is fine,the white ones are repainted and not correct. First the fins have been repainted and the bodies too. The P marked cap would denote Illuminating with parachute,and should be made of tin and push over the mortar body,which is thinnish tin too. The bodies are wartime HE bodies which are thicker and threaded . The plug under the P thing should thread into the body L/H thread and is found as yours with a slot,or in Bakelite. WW2 2" bodies are found used in lots of rounds from HE itself,to drill and practice,filled with various inert fillers and also with the bursting phosphorous,and are sometimes found with 50s dates as well as wartime ones. If one was refinished with the body in shellac and some wartime fins it would look great,there are various rounds it could represent. Hope this helps,and please search the forum for 2" info. Tig.
 
Early late war steel tail fins are a different shape (only slightly) to the post war versions.
 
Tony just for info the white ones dont have any markings on the cartridge tube caps but the black one does its dated 11/52 cheers Mick.
 
Mick. It may be a Belgian one from the 1950's . They made exact copies & the end caps were n't always marked . Mike.
 
Hi mick as mentioned above,sometimes a date can be found. Wartime steel fins(no3),have a rolled bottom where they meet the body and are secured by a screw. post war fins(no4) are secured by dot punches. This usaully means when undoing them the body threads get damaged. Do your nose plugs undo??(the p end). cheers Tig.
 
Tig the fins on all three are secured by dot punches. As for the ends on the white ones they are very tight and i dont want to damage them trying to get them off. Just one other thing in reply to Mike the tail fin and body on the black one are both stamped with the broad arrow mark. Cheers Mick.
 
Mick . That one is probably British then . The white ones are most likely Belgian & also , the cartridge caps are a different thread on those & won't fit British ones if I remember correctly . Still , nice examples .Mike.
 
As far as im concerned all your rounds are british, The Black round as previously stated is a standard British weighed practice round. The other white ones are british ww2 bodies with later British fins as explained previously. As far as I am aware Belgian rounds are post WW2. Remember your nose plugs are left hand thread btw. I would want to also confirm they are empty for piece of mind. As Mike states, the fuze plugs and fuses on British and Belgian rounds are not interchangeable. Cheers Tig.
 
Tig. I've just noticed , one of the tail fins is stamped with a makers mark of ATELOR . Is that British ? Mike.
 
I suspect these have had their tails replaced, which if the originals were Mazak, is not a surprise
F & W - Frost and Woods - Canada
NSCo - National Stove Company, Canada (I think)
ATELOR - Not a company I'm familiar with, but apparently Belgian - as above

Tim
 
Mick. Tim makes a good point . The bodies would appear to be Canadian from WW2 . I wonder if the Belgians actually used surplus bodies for their 2" mortars ? The fins are difficult to remove & may well have been in place from new . Someone may know the answer to this conundrum ! Mike.
 
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