British 4.2-inch Heavy Mortar

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by Neil Ashley
Some one just told me that a dealer friend had tried to purchase some but he was told that they all had to be chopped up.

Which is typical for Dutch surplus. Anything armoured or capable of firing is to be sold to friendly nations or has to be scrapped. It would make you cry to see what has been melted down at Corus' IJmuiden plant during the past decades - even though the revenues ended up in the UK

The gun in your original photograph seems to have some significant modications to my pictures. There was an American 4.2" Mortar but this looks significantly different again.

Indeed the American 4.2-inch mortar was an entirely different weapon.

The one pictured above looks similar to the one below, but yet there are differences which I can't explain. Who can tell what the (wartime) different models are of the British 4.2-inch mortar?

Thanks,
Hanno