2-inch medium mortar

2-inch medium mortar
British troops loading a 2-inch trench mortar with attached periscope post, World War I. This appears to be a training exercise as no fuze is visible.
Type	Medium mortar
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1915–1917
Used by	British Empire
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Royal Ordnance Factory
Manufacturer	various contractors
No. built	1907[1]
Specifications
Mass	105 lb (48 kg)[2]
Barrel length	bore: 3 ft (0.91 m) total: 3 ft 5 in (1.04 m)[3]
Crew	5 per mortar 25 per battery of 4[4]
Shell	HE 51 lb (23 kg)[5] Smoke
Calibre	2 inch (50.8 mm) mortar barrel, not bomb
Rate of fire	2-3 per minute[6]
Effective firing range	100 yd (90 m) min 570 yd (520 m) max depending on charge
Filling	Amatol or Ammonal
Filling weight	12.5 lb (5.6 kg)[7]

The 2 inch medium trench mortar, also known as the 2-inch howitzer, and nicknamed the "toffee apple" or "plum pudding" mortar, was a British smooth bore muzzle loading (SBML) medium trench mortar in use in World War I from mid-1915 to mid-1917. The designation "2-inch" refers to the mortar barrel, into which only the 22 in (560 mm) bomb shaft but not the bomb itself was inserted; the spherical bomb itself was actually 9 in (230 mm) in diameter and weighed 42 lb (19 kg), hence this weapon is more comparable to a standard mortar of approximately 5–6 in (130–150 mm) bore.