British Ordnance Collectors Network
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
2in smk MK 2/2 info riquered
- Thread starter alpvogt
- Start date
I can add a little more from my basic AT course notes, from @1979: Unfortunately I have very little info on weights, although I know that the filling for the HE bomb weighed 5 Ounces and 13 Drams and it was a similar sized bomb to the smoke.
On firing, flash passed through the flash holes to ignite the delay pellet. The burning time of the delay pellet was 4 to 9 seconds. As the delay pellet burned it ignited the priming composition which in turn ignited the main filling of PN 800, giving smoke for 100 seconds.
The only differences between the Mk2, Mk 2/1 and Mk 2/2 bombs was in the design of the delay unit.
The tail unit and primary cartridges were the same as for the HE bomb: The No 2 tail unit was made of Mazak, while the Nos 3 and 4 tail units were made of steel. Tail units were fitted with a `Cap Retaining, Cartridge' and there were two types - one for use with Mazak tail units, the other for use with steel tail units. Those for use with steel tail units were embossed with the letter S and were not intended to be interchangeable with those for Mazak tails.
There were two versions of primary cartridge (there were no augmenting cartridges to my knowledge):
(1) 50 grains of smokeless Ballistite - for use only with steel tail units. These cartridges were wrapped in a celluloid strip, to protect the wall of the cartridge at low temperatures, to improve waterproofing and to ensure a tight fit in the tail tube.
(2) 55 grains Ballistite, otherwise the same as for the 50 grain primary cartridge.
I can only assume that the Mazak tail was obsolescent by the time I was on my AT course, because by then the 2 inch mortar in entirety was in the process of being superceded by the 51 mm mortar.
My AT course fired a number of smoke and illuminating mortar bombs at Sennybridge as part of a `Complete Round Proof' (CRP) in 1979 or 1980. CRP is a method of monitoring reliability of lot numbers of ammunition by firing a representative sample and measuring its performance, for example duration of effective smoke emission, height of parachute deployment of illuminating composition and duration of burning after separation of the illuminating bomb body. It was fun, especially when altering the barrel bearing to lob smoke bombs close to our colleagues who were measuring the emission time. That way they could more easily see when emission began and ended. They enjoyed the exercise too.
On firing, flash passed through the flash holes to ignite the delay pellet. The burning time of the delay pellet was 4 to 9 seconds. As the delay pellet burned it ignited the priming composition which in turn ignited the main filling of PN 800, giving smoke for 100 seconds.
The only differences between the Mk2, Mk 2/1 and Mk 2/2 bombs was in the design of the delay unit.
The tail unit and primary cartridges were the same as for the HE bomb: The No 2 tail unit was made of Mazak, while the Nos 3 and 4 tail units were made of steel. Tail units were fitted with a `Cap Retaining, Cartridge' and there were two types - one for use with Mazak tail units, the other for use with steel tail units. Those for use with steel tail units were embossed with the letter S and were not intended to be interchangeable with those for Mazak tails.
There were two versions of primary cartridge (there were no augmenting cartridges to my knowledge):
(1) 50 grains of smokeless Ballistite - for use only with steel tail units. These cartridges were wrapped in a celluloid strip, to protect the wall of the cartridge at low temperatures, to improve waterproofing and to ensure a tight fit in the tail tube.
(2) 55 grains Ballistite, otherwise the same as for the 50 grain primary cartridge.
I can only assume that the Mazak tail was obsolescent by the time I was on my AT course, because by then the 2 inch mortar in entirety was in the process of being superceded by the 51 mm mortar.
My AT course fired a number of smoke and illuminating mortar bombs at Sennybridge as part of a `Complete Round Proof' (CRP) in 1979 or 1980. CRP is a method of monitoring reliability of lot numbers of ammunition by firing a representative sample and measuring its performance, for example duration of effective smoke emission, height of parachute deployment of illuminating composition and duration of burning after separation of the illuminating bomb body. It was fun, especially when altering the barrel bearing to lob smoke bombs close to our colleagues who were measuring the emission time. That way they could more easily see when emission began and ended. They enjoyed the exercise too.