Blacker Bombard

29-mm Spigot Mortar (Blacker Bombard)
Men of the Saxmundham Home Guard prepare to fire a Blacker Bombard during training with War Office instructors, 30 July 1941.
TypeAnti-tank mortar
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1941–1942
Used byBritish Army
Home Guard
WarsWorld War II
Production history
DesignerLieutenant Colonel Stewart Blacker
Designed1940
No. builtc. 22,000[1]
Specifications
Mass112–407 lb (51–185 kg)[2]
Crew3–5

Calibre29 mm (1.1 in) (nominal calibre – diameter of spigot)
BreechSpigot mortar
Traverse360°
Rate of fire6–12 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity245 ft/s (75 m/s)
Effective firing range100 yd (91 m) 20lb bomb
Maximum firing range450 yd (410 m) 20lb bomb
785 yd (718 m) 14lb bomb[3]

The Blacker Bombard, also known as the 29-mm Spigot Mortar,[1] was an infantry anti-tank weapon devised by Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart Blacker in the early years of the Second World War.

Intended as a means to equip Home Guard units with an anti-tank weapon in case of German invasion, at a time of grave shortage of weapons, it was accepted only after the intervention of Churchill. Although there were doubts about the effectiveness of the Bombard, many were issued. Few, if any, saw combat.

  1. ^ a b Clifford, Phillip (2003). "Pillbox Study Group: Spigot Mortar". Pillbox Study Group. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
  2. ^ "BOOK OF THE BLACKER BOMBARD". Gale and Polden Limited. 1944. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  3. ^ Pamphlet No. 23 "The 29-mm. Spigot Mortar", Small Arms Training, Volume I, HMSO, 7 November 1942, p. 1