centurion Posted 23 January , 2014 Share Posted 23 January , 2014 In October 1916 Special Brigade launched a gas attack on Serre they apparently used 2 inch (toffee apple) 60 lb mortar rounds and some bombs called Judgements which weighed in at 40 ;lbs What were these and what were they fired from? Where they an early form of Liven? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman Posted 24 January , 2014 Share Posted 24 January , 2014 Found this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_inch_Medium_Mortar Its primary use was in cutting barbed wire defenses and attacking enemy front line trenches, such as in the July 1916 attack on the Somme. The spherical shape and relatively low velocity brought the benefit that the bomb did not penetrate the ground before exploding. The short range was a disadvantage as it could only be used if no man's land (between the British and enemy front line) was relatively narrow. It was used to fire some White Star (50%-50% chlorine and phosgene) gas bombs during the Battle of the Somme until other specialised longer range projectors became available. References this book http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/book.aspx?bookcode=t1516 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Jones Posted 24 January , 2014 Share Posted 24 January , 2014 Livens referred to his oil or gas bombs as Judgements in reference to his anger over the sinking of the Lusitania. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=oWx9sbaTcegC&pg=PA27&dq=judgements+intitle:world+intitle:war+intitle:gas+intitle:warfare&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zjLiUvvbJYWThgf2jIFQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=judgements%20intitle%3Aworld%20intitle%3Awar%20intitle%3Agas%20intitle%3Awarfare&f=false Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 24 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 24 January , 2014 Found this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_inch_Medium_Mortar Its primary use was in cutting barbed wire defenses and attacking enemy front line trenches, such as in the July 1916 attack on the Somme. The spherical shape and relatively low velocity brought the benefit that the bomb did not penetrate the ground before exploding. The short range was a disadvantage as it could only be used if no man's land (between the British and enemy front line) was relatively narrow. It was used to fire some White Star (50%-50% chlorine and phosgene) gas bombs during the Battle of the Somme until other specialised longer range projectors became available. References this book http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/book.aspx?bookcode=t1516 Thanks I knew about the use of toffee apples which were still being used by some Australian units to deliver smoke as late as 1918. It was the Judgements I was asking about and I see my guess about Livens was right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Jones Posted 24 January , 2014 Share Posted 24 January , 2014 You are very welcome, centurion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 24 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 24 January , 2014 You are very welcome, centurion. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now