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ML 4.2-inch mortar

ML 4.2-inch mortar is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand ML 4.2-inch mortar rather than just read about it. In short: The Ordnance ML 4.2-inch mortar was a heavy mortar used by the British Army during and after World War II. History The 4.2 in (110 mm) mortar was a smooth-bore weapon of the Stokes mortar pattern and was designed by the Armaments Research and Development Establishment and produced by the Royal Ordnance Factories.

ML 4.2-inch mortar — main illustration
ML 4.2-inch mortar — illustration

Key takeaways

  • ML 4.2-inch mortar belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect ML 4.2-inch mortar to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of ML 4.2-inch mortar from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Ordnance ML 4.2-inch mortar was a heavy mortar used by the British Army during and after World War II.

History The 4.2 in (110 mm) mortar was a smooth-bore weapon of the Stokes mortar pattern and was designed by the Armaments Research and Development Establishment and produced by the Royal Ordnance Factories. It entered widespread British service in 1942, equipping chemical warfare companies of the Royal Engineers (RE). The Mark 3 became the standard model. The first combat use was at Second Battle of El Alamein, when the 66th Mortar Company (RE) was attached to the Australian 24th Infantry Brigade. During the battle, the mortar company provided intense, effective supporting fire on the 24th Brigade's exposed right flank, as the infantry advanced, expending all of the 4.2 in (110 mm) HE mortar ammunition in the theatre. Around mid-1943, the Royal Engineer chemical warfare companies were disbanded as an expedient and one heavy mortar company of each infantry division machine-gun battalion was equipped with the mortar. This company was organized with sixteen 4.2 in (110 mm) mortars, in four platoons of four mortars each. In early 1944, divisions in Italy also held a pool of mortars for issue to other units as needed, usually troops in the divisional anti-tank regiment, some regiments even converted one or more batteries to mortars. Ordnance ML 4.2 in (110 mm) mortars were slower to reach Commonwealth forces in the Pacific and Asia. Australian Army units in the South West Pacific theatre were reportedly the first to receive them, before forces in Burma.

Postwar After World War II, the mortars were handed over to the Royal Artillery, the 170th Mortar Battery used them at the Battle of Imjin River in Korea. They were used during the 1950s, also by airborne artillery, deployed to Kuwait in 1961 and manned by soldiers from air defence batteries during the Confrontation in Borneo in 1965. The Ceylon Army used them during the 1971 Insurrection until it was replaced by Soviet 82-BM-37 82 mm mortars. Reserve stocks of 4.2 in (110 mm) mortar bombs were used by the Sri Lanka Air Force to drop from helicopters during the early stages of Sri Lankan civil war.

Description The 4.2 in (110 mm) mortar entered production at the end of 1941 with a standard base plate and tripod. The normal detachment was six men and it was transported with ammunition in a 10 cwt [1,120 lb (510 kg)] trailer, usually towed behind a Loyd Carrier. There was also an auxiliary base plate that fitted around it, to increase its area for use on softer ground. Later an integrated trailer–base plate was developed, called the Mk 1 Mobile Baseplate. The wheels, which were on suspension arms, were unlocked and raised for firing; the Mk1/1 had detachable wheels and the barrel with tripod attached, was stowed on top for towing. The mobile base plate trailer mounting could be brought into action by two men. A source reports a crew putting 23 bombs in the air before the first one landed.

Ammunition HE [9.1 kg (20 lb)] and smoke [10.2 kg (22 lb)] ammunition was used. Smoke included WP and Base Ejection, and in World War II other types for practice. Two charges were available. In World War II, both streamlined and cylindrical bombs were available. Chemical munitions included the MK I chemical mortar bomb with Mustard gas (HS or HT fillings).

Users World War II

Australia New Zealand United Kingdom Postwar

Australia Canada Ethiopia Greece India Laos Malaysia New Zealand Nepal Sri Lanka Turkey United Kingdom

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era M2 4.2 inch mortar – US equivalent 107mm M1938 mortar – Soviet equivalent

Notes

References Pugh, Stevenson (1962). Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of the Modern British Army (First ed.). London: Macdonald. Bidwell, Shelford (1977). Artillery of the World (1st ed.). London: Brassey's. ISBN 0-904609-04-9. Horner, David (1995). The Gunners – A History of Australian Artillery (1st ed.). St Leonards: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86373-917-3. Maintenance Manual for ML 2-inch, ML 3-inch and SB 4.2-inch mortars Bishop, Chris (2002). The Encyclopedia of Weapons of WWII. Sterling Publishing Company. ISBN 9781586637620. Fendick, Rex F. Diary of a CANLOAN Officer (with the Middlesex Regt in NW Europe 1944–5) (self-published ed.). Saint John, NB.

External links

"British mortars of the Second World War". WWIIEquipment.

Illustrations

ML 4.2-inch mortar illustration
ML 4.2-inch mortar illustration
ML 4.2-inch mortar illustration
ML 4.2-inch mortar illustration
ML 4.2-inch mortar illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with ML 4.2-inch mortar

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what ML 4.2-inch mortar claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to ML 4.2-inch mortar before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about ML 4.2-inch mortar ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of ML 4.2-inch mortar

In research
ML 4.2-inch mortar appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses ML 4.2-inch mortar in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
ML 4.2-inch mortar is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 107 mm artillery, Chemical weapon delivery systems, Mortars of the United Kingdom, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for ML 4.2-inch mortar outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study ML 4.2-inch mortar in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what ML 4.2-inch mortar means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain ML 4.2-inch mortar out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is ML 4.2-inch mortar in simple terms?

The Ordnance ML 4.2-inch mortar was a heavy mortar used by the British Army during and after World War II. History The 4.2 in (110 mm) mortar was a smooth-bore weapon of the Stokes mortar pattern and was designed by the Armaments Research and Development Establishment and produced by the Royal Ordn…

Why does ML 4.2-inch mortar matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study ML 4.2-inch mortar?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on ML 4.2-inch mortar.

Tags

  • 107 mm artillery
  • Chemical weapon delivery systems
  • Mortars of the United Kingdom
  • United Kingdom chemical weapons programme
  • Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942
  • World War II infantry mortars of the United Kingdom

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