WWII Spigot Mortar Pedestal, Gramborough Hill, Salthouse.
Spigot Mortar Pedestal laying on the side of the footpath leading up to Gramborough Hill, most of the base is missing and some of the rebar is exposed due to it being ripped out from its original position, which is unknown.
The Spigot Mortar or ''Blacker Bombard'' was invented by Lieutenant-Colonel Blacker with the aim of providing cheap and easily produced weapon after most of the British Army's Heavy Equipment had been lost at Dunkirk.
It fired a 20lb Fin-Stabilised High Explosive Mortar Bomb propelled by 'Black Powder' and had an effective range of 100 yards in its Anti-Tank Role and up to 450 yards when firing a lighter Anti-Personnel Bomb. It had one major drawback in that when the warhead hit its target, the fins would often fly backwards endangering the firing crew.
The Spigot Mortar was a weapon shunned by the Regular Army but was issued to the Home Guard in large numbers to protect bridges and other strategic locations. In its static defence role, the Mortar was mounted on a stainless steel pin (''Pintle'') set into a substantial base of reinforced concrete (''Pedestal'') this was in turn set within a camouflaged Weapons Pit to offer some protection to the three man gun crew. A portable mount was also available, but weighed around 350lb and took 3 men to move it.
WWII Spigot Mortar Pedestal, Gramborough Hill, Salthouse.
Spigot Mortar Pedestal laying on the side of the footpath leading up to Gramborough Hill, most of the base is missing and some of the rebar is exposed due to it being ripped out from its original position, which is unknown.
The Spigot Mortar or ''Blacker Bombard'' was invented by Lieutenant-Colonel Blacker with the aim of providing cheap and easily produced weapon after most of the British Army's Heavy Equipment had been lost at Dunkirk.
It fired a 20lb Fin-Stabilised High Explosive Mortar Bomb propelled by 'Black Powder' and had an effective range of 100 yards in its Anti-Tank Role and up to 450 yards when firing a lighter Anti-Personnel Bomb. It had one major drawback in that when the warhead hit its target, the fins would often fly backwards endangering the firing crew.
The Spigot Mortar was a weapon shunned by the Regular Army but was issued to the Home Guard in large numbers to protect bridges and other strategic locations. In its static defence role, the Mortar was mounted on a stainless steel pin (''Pintle'') set into a substantial base of reinforced concrete (''Pedestal'') this was in turn set within a camouflaged Weapons Pit to offer some protection to the three man gun crew. A portable mount was also available, but weighed around 350lb and took 3 men to move it.