| Historical Specifics: |
The first record of a 5.5 inch mortar in NSW appears in the return for 1861 when it is shown as being held in the Military Store. A weapon of this type would have been used to support an Infantry unit and records show a number being used during the Maori Wars in the 1840s and 1860s. its last recorded use is as a rocket rescue brigade signal in Kiama. The chamber on this mortar has been filled. The Royal mortar has the cipher of King George III and was made by Francis Kinman in 1794.
Unlike guns which fired solid shot horizontally at high velocity, the mortar fired shells vertically at low velocity. Mortars could fire over obstacles and their exploding shells were capable of causing great casualties. Mortars were cast with their trunnions to the rear and were mounted on beds – blocks of wood hollowed out to take the trunnions and breech of the mortar. Mortars were chambered, that is the bore terminated in a compartment smaller then the calibre. The mortar was fixed at 450 and the weight of the charge was varied to alter the range of the projectile. The Royal Mortar is similar to the Coehorn Mortar and both came into British service about the same time (between 1713 and 1725). |
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