T-16 mortar mount
Juan,
That thing that you smash your leg on when you get in from the gunners side of the vehicle is the mortar mount base. In your photo it has 6 holes in it. The 2" mortar was a replacement for the 4" smoke generator that was fired by a Ross rifle cut down on Canadian Carriers. They are also seen, often in pairs, on tanks and armoured cars. While it could probably put an eye out, the 2" mortar is quite a small animal. the Carrier borne version has a very large baseplate compared to the 'infantry' version.
I have seen stowage diagrams of the T-16 that have 2 of the brass fire extinquishers - one on either side of the 'Bren gun hole' in front of the gunner.
The use of the .50 Browning heavy machine gun looks to have been a cobbled up pintle mount affixed to the front of the armour structure of the T-16. I suspect that a combination of ground mounts and discarded HMGs would have been pressed into service so many years ago. I think everybody feels better when they grab onto the spade grips of the M2 - it must have been a popular swap.
Stewart
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