Newton 6-inch Mortar

[David]

By May 1916 the British Army decided to standardise its mortars into three types: the 3-inch Stokes ("Light"), the 2-inch Medium and the 9.45-inch Heavy ("Flying Pig"). In 1917 the 2-inch Medium was replaced by the 6-inch Newton Mortar.



The 6-inch Newton was a pretty simple mortar, mounted upon a wooden base held together by an angle iron frame. It had no bipod but was supported by three adjustable guys, one for elevation, the other two for traverse. It was dug in, with the bed often weighted with sandbags and/or secured with pickets to ensure its steadiness when fired.

The Newton 6-inch mortar fired snub-nosed, fin-stabilised bombs weighing 27kg filled with high explosive - both primer and propellant charge being accommodated in the fins. It could use either the type 105 time fuse or the new type 110 percussion fuse, that was very efefctive against wire. Firing was by fixed striker in the breech. Maximum elevation was 77°, minimum 45°; ranges achieved being 90 meters and 1300 meters respectively.

A combination clinometer designed to cater for both elevation and line sighting was clamped around the barrel, round which was engraved a direction scale in degrees marked LEFT and RIGHT of a zero point. To lay for line the clinometer was turned on the barrel until the index coincided with the direction required, i.e. right or left of the zero line. The transverse bubble of the clinometer was then levelled by manipulating the traversing guys. To lay for elevation the clinometer was set to the amount required, and the bubble levelled by adjusting the elevation guy.

By the end of the war, there were 12 medium mortars assigned to each British Army division. It was also used by a number of other Allied armies, including the American, Australian and Canadian. For a history of a US Army unit using this mortar click here!

The Newton mortar here can be seen in the War Museum in Rovereto, Italy, one of the worlds finest WW1-museums: