Wet mortar shells

[Mahatatain]

I recently watched the series "The Pacific" and there is a scene in it where the mortar shells get wet and therefore can't be used, rendering the mortar team useless until they get some dry shells. Is this detail of mortars accurate and is it still an issue that could be used for flavour in a T2k or T2k13 game (i.e. it's not just a WWII issue)?

Also what is the problem with wet mortar shells?

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Originally Posted by Mahatatain

I recently watched the series "The Pacific" and there is a scene in it where the mortar shells get wet and therefore can't be used, rendering the mortar team useless until they get some dry shells. Is this detail of mortars accurate and is it still an issue that could be used for flavour in a T2k or T2k13 game (i.e. it's not just a WWII issue)?

Also what is the problem with wet mortar shells?

The problem is that the propellant charges (cheese charges, IIRC?) get damp and don't go off evenly, severely hampering the range or in the case of one round not going off at all.

[Fusilier]

Originally Posted by Mahatatain

Is this detail of mortars accurate and is it still an issue that could be used for flavour in a T2k or T2k13 game (i.e. it's not just a WWII issue)?

I would say it could be used. Modern mortar bombs have their propellents charges encased in plastic or similar type sealed container. A wojo type plant won't probably have the luxury of plastics and will need to resort to a more primitive type of packaging that was used decades ago.

[Mahatatain]

Thanks for the info.

So this problem with damp propellant charges was a WWII issue that was eradicated with modern production methods but is likely to return with WWIII backroom manufacturing. Is that correct?

[Fusilier]

Originally Posted by Mahatatain

Thanks for the info.

So this problem with damp propellant charges was a WWII issue that was eradicated with modern production methods but is likely to return with WWIII backroom manufacturing. Is that correct?

IMO yes.

I would even go so far as to say wojo type rounds would be noticeably less accurate too. One, because of non-uniform propellant mixtures and that matter, but also because of the lack of plastics again - as that might mean there would be no obturating rings. An o-ring is a small plastic ring that fits around the outer shell to create a seal between the bomb and the tube. Without it, you'd increase the potential for exiting bombs to be launched with varying amounts of force, which would affect their trajectory (especially after a few firings heated up the barrel).