Britain

Stokes Mortar

The Stokes trench mortar was one of the most revolutionary weapons to come out of the Great War. It was invented by an Englishman, Sir Wilfred Scott-Stokes (1860—1927) who was the managing director of a mechanical engineering firm. Although he didn't have a military background, he quickly understood the need for a "portable gun". The Stokes Mortar was a remarkably simple weapon, consisting of an unrifled metal tube fixed to a base plate (to absorb the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount that could be adjusted for range. The weapon was broken down into three sections for easy transport — the barrel, the base plate and the bipod, for a total of 49kg. The cast iron mortar bombs were 7.62cm in diameter and weighed around 4.5 kg. They looked like long tubes, with a protruding stub at the rear end. They were fitted with a modified hand grenade fuse on the front. The 3-inch Stokes mortar revolutionized infantry tactics. It gave infantry a weapon with the power of the basic field gun and yet it could be man-carried onto the battlefield. It became the standard issue for the British army, and was used by most Allied armies, including the French, ANZAC, Portugese and American. For more info on the Stokes Mortar, click here! My simple little model is made from the one that comes with Fujimis old German Infantry set. It has just been detailed, and some parts, like the bipod, replaced.The crew are from IT Figures, with the Lewis Gunner being a HÄT Canadian.Click on the thumbnails to see more pics of this model.

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