Help i.d required early ww1 mortar/bomb?

[Wgreen]

Hi to all I picked up this item at the last Chatham military fair and would very much appreciate any help on a positive i.d it looks to me like early m.l mortar from ww1 similar to the Newton 6" minus the fins but I am not sure I have looked through bocn and found one pic of a 3" mortar which looks very similar to this but there was no more info posted than the size this example has a diameter of 80mm overall length is 270mm the cylindrical part of the body is 180mm the fuze hole in the top is 26mm but is a bit rusty the main body is made from cast iron the fins or what is left of them look to be steel and where cast in place the stall holder said it was found in Britain many years ago but? thanks for any help with this one
wg

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[hangarman]

It reminds me of an exploding whale harpoon.

 

[Wgreen]

Hi hangerman I don't think it is a harpoon but anything is possible I'm not sure about exploding harpoon design but some I have seen have a normal looking strong shaft with the spear point attached to the end and a charge underneath the shaft not sure how they worked exactly but I take it they explode killing the poor whale but leaving the spear inbedded in to reel it in so to speak this item would have just exploded completely no dought doing the job but surely a big gun would do the same? I forgot to add on the original post it also has on the front and back of the cylindrical body a raised band which I have seen on early mortars I assume to save the barrel from excess friction I also found a post on bocn of a 3" ,4" and 6"early war trench mortars which looked freshly dug and were very rusty but the 3" and even the 4" seemed to have these bands I don't know if i can or how to post other people's pics but I am very open to any possibility untill we can know for sure thanks for your reply

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[stecol]

Looks like a scaled down Newton mortar bomb ...

Regards
stecol

 

[doctor]

3 inch for chemical, HE and Smoke composition filling... The vanes look like 3 in mortar bomb WW2 not like 6 in Newton Bomb (restricted documentation...)

 

[Wgreen]

3 inch for chemical, HE and Smoke composition filling... The vanes look like 3 in mortar bomb WW2 not like 6 in Newton Bomb (restricted documentation...)

Hi thanks for your responses, doctor I do not think it is a ww2 3" mortar im thinking more along stecol idea that is a very similar design to the newton 6" t.m here are some pics I found on this site which clearly show early t.m similar to this one the first is described as a 3" the others as 4"

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[Wgreen]

I also thought I would replace the missing fins I know some people are not fond of repairs but it shows it for what it is which is why im thinking newton design maybe before settling on the 6" there was trials of other sizes or it has been suggested that maybe they were an emergency rush job to get weapons and ammo to the front this one when I got it I was told it was found in britian many years ago on an old test range but does that make it british ? as always any help is appreciated wg

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[doctor]

Yes it's notified for WW1 with new vanes like ww2mortar i want to say but not like the pictures above but you see it on the first replie

 

[Wgreen]

Hi doctor I think I was having trouble understanding what you were saying my fault but might understand now they are from ww1 but they have vanes like the ww2 3" with a slot running up from the base the pic you sent was a bit hard to make out but I can see the vanes of a mortar? similar to mine do you know for what type of mortar they were used french/british , stokes /newton or someting else thanks for your replys

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[doctor]

Hi doctor I think I was having trouble understanding what you were saying my fault but might understand now they are from ww1 but they have vanes like the ww2 3" with a slot running up from the base the pic you sent was a bit hard to make out but I can see the vanes of a mortar? similar to mine do you know for what type of mortar they were used french/british , stokes /newton or someting else thanks for your replys

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the British vane i've post here is for your mortar WW1 and extract from restricted picture documentation
This vane is also use on little 3 in TM W1 with smoke composition

 

[Wgreen]

Hi doctor thats great I really appreciate that information looks like I have a bit more work to do to get it to look just right thanks again
Wg

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