Project : UK Forces

[Britboy]

I'm guessing you aren't doing full desert cammo marines :'(

[woofer]

Briefly back to the rifle launched grenade, this link points to photo of a marine in Oman with the sight attached to his SUSAT

http://www.janes.com/defence/gallery/saifs_gallery/gallery2/0020.shtml

[Lt_Phoenix]

As I said earlier in this post.. Great work.
Will you be making Artic Warfare Marines too?
They play a very important role in defending NATO's Northern flank (Norway),

[greatunclebulgaria]

Just a thought on the 51mm mortar - I believe it can be fired very like a grenade launcher,ie holding in hands and firing by a trigger rather than by dropping bombs down the barrel.

Why not do a large grenade launcher? OFP does these no problem.

If you want indirect fire I'd suggest using CoC mods arty support with the mortar man assigned as the base ( that way it moves with the platoon! ) The ai would then engage close range targets within visual range as normal. Smoke and star shells are better called by a commander as the ai doesnt really know what to do with them anyway.

As i said just a thought  

PS keep up the good work! ;D

PPS is the 51mm mortar a metricated ww2 2inch mortar or is it a newer pierce of kit? anybody know?

[woofer]

Just a thought on the 51mm mortar - I believe it can be fired very like a grenade launcher,ie holding in hands and firing by a trigger rather than by dropping bombs down the barrel.

If you're on about a real 51mm mortar, thats a big no. Unless you have firm ground or something underneath to absorb the recoil, you will end up digging it out of the ground.

PPS is the 51mm mortar a metricated ww2 2inch mortar or is it a newer pierce of kit? anybody know?

The 51mm mortar is a redesign of the 2". Apart from switching to metric rounds, the firing mechanism was redesigned and a sight was added for aiding the elevation of the barrel.

Incidently it will still fire 2" rounds

[screamingeagle_101]

Are you guys gonna make a P99 to go with the SAS pacK?
If you weren't intending to make one, could you?  

[greatunclebulgaria]

@woofer


I have taken this from a book called the british army handbook 1939-1945.

"The 2in mortar could fire HE, smoke or illuminating ammunition. It was a smooth bore, muzzle loading, high angle of fire weapon (although it could be fire horizontally for street fighting), lanyard trigger fired mortar  which was still in service 25 years after the end of the war."

also the british army web site describes a "short range insert device" for close quarter combat.

It is this that led me to believe that it could be fired in a similar manner to a grenade launcher.

anybody had any experience of this weapon and how it operates in this short range mode?

[The_Dude]

I think the impact of firing a mortar with the butt of it against your chest or shoulder or whatever would break a bone...
I heard a story about a marine in WW2 picking up a japanese short mortar (whatever they were called, they looked like gl's though) and propped it against his thigh and fired...
Well needless to say he went home and didnt serve anymore in the war...

[screamingeagle_101]

I'm guessing that this was a US marine right?

[woofer]

"The 2in mortar could fire HE, smoke or illuminating ammunition. It was a smooth bore, muzzle loading, high angle of fire weapon (although it could be fire horizontally for street fighting), lanyard trigger fired mortar  which was still in service 25 years after the end of the war."

I would still recommend something sturdy like a tree or wall if you were going to try that - I don't have any examples like The_Dude, but please take my word for it that you wouldn't want it to be your shoulder that you fire it from.

also the british army web site describes a "short range insert device" for close quarter combat.

anybody had any experience of this weapon and how it operates in this short range mode?

*Puts smoking jacket on and settles into his leather armchair with his favourite pipe*

I have fired the 51mm  . I have fired 2" Smoke, 51mm Smoke and Illum, but not HE as the restrictions on using 51mm HE in training are such that it doesn't provide any training value (if that makes any sense).

The Short Range Insert was basically an insert for short ranges. You put that in before the bomb. When you wanted to go longer range, you dropped it out.

Any more questions, PM me.

[Monkey Lib Front]

I think the impact of firing a mortar with the butt of it against your chest or shoulder or whatever would break a bone...
I heard a story about a marine in WW2 picking up a japanese short mortar (whatever they were called, they looked like gl's though) and propped it against his thigh and fired...
Well needless to say he went home and didnt serve anymore in the war...

that was actually a Misconception becaus ethye were actually called knee morters so people thought they were fired from the knee.

[The_Dude]

Well yeah the whole story is to show that its a bad thing to prop a mortar against your body and fire it.

[Lt_Phoenix]

When Mirbat in Oman was attacked by Adoo guerillas in 1972, the enemy were at one point so close to the SAS compound that one of the SAS defenders held the red hot barrel against chest and the base of the mortar between his legs. He fired several rounds at the attackers, so it must have worked.
Needless to say, although heavily outnumbered, the defenders beat of the attack.

[woofer]

When Mirbat in Oman was attacked by Adoo guerillas in 1972, the enemy were at one point so close to the SAS compound that one of the SAS defenders held the red hot barrel against chest and the base of the mortar between his legs. He fired several rounds at the attackers, so it must have worked.

To fire a small mortar (http://www.army.mod.uk/equipment/pw/pw_lm.htm), you put the base on the floor and aim it by eye. You do not need to hold it tightly but you do need access to the landyard in order to fire it. Nothing is gained by firing it while gripping it to your chest.

A medium mortar (81mm is current British Issue - http://www.army.mod.uk/equipment/pw/pw_81m.htm) has a seperate baseplate and bipod. in which the barrel is held to aid accuracy of subsequent shots - the quicker a mortar can be brought back to the correct aiming point, the quicker the rate of fire and more efficient. The Bipod for a medium mortar doesn't allow for a very high firing angle because the rounds could land back on the mortar crew.

The baseplate is approximately 60cm in diameter and is designed to spread the recoil of firing out from the base of the barrel. The base plate on a medium mortar is not considered "bedded in" (ie won't move more) until a couple of rounds have been fired. Rounds are fired by dropping the round down the barrel, where the round meets a fixed firing pin and is fired immediately.

Hypothesis - The Mirbat mortar crewman removed the medium mortar from its bipod and aimed it by hand in order to beat off the attack, relying on the protection of their pit from fragments.

But hey, I wasn't there. Somebody please post a picture or scan of a manual showing how a 2" mortar should be used (nearly) horizontally then this part of the thread can be put to bed.

The round from a 51mm Mortar is a number of times bigger than a 30mm Grenade or even Rifle Proppelled Grenade, which are fired from equipment designed to be fired from the shoulder. I'll say it again - please take my word for it that to fire a mortar from the shoulder or any other part of your body will cause injury - eg mashed bones rather than bruises.

[Lt_Phoenix]

I think it was due attackers being so close, and the defenders not being able to elevate the tube enough.

I read this in two different  books about the SAS, so I reckon there must be some truth to it.

Back to the topic:
Will there be some radiomen made for these addons (like in BIBMI's earlier Marine and Para addons)? Something like the Clansman PRC319 (I think thats the name of the radio)