Quote:
Originally Posted by bigehauser
Paul, Law?
Any insight, albeit your skill sets aren't specific to High Angle Hell?
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Actually my first MOS was 11C (mortar gunner), but what the other minds on this board have said are right. I can add that the 4.2" mortar uses "cheese charges" -- these are about the size a color of a slice of cheese you might put on your bread, but made of nitroglycerin and beeswax. They have a hole in the middle to wrap around the tail of the charge. 4.2" mortar rounds don't have fins (the barrel is rifled), so there is a simple retaining ring to keep the charges in place. The rounds come with enough charges to propel the round to its maximum range, so the one of the ammo bearers (there are two on a 4.2" crew) "cuts charges" -- he tears off or detaches (they come in 5-"slice" increments as well as some single slices and one 10-pack) the parts of the charge not needed. A good charge cutter will be 2-3 rounds ahead of the round being fired. If you need to drop close, you can fire the mortar on charge 0 -- no propelling charges.
Then comes the best part of 4.2" mortar gunnery -- destroying the unused charges when you're done. You dig a bit pit, throw the charges in, then throw a burning book of matches or a stick on fire into it and run. Big fireworks display, and it sounds like a jet engine for a few seconds.
Older 81mm rounds have bagged charges -- 7 for an 81mm. The 60mm are similar, but only have three charges. You just unhook what's necessary.