trench mortar to be identified

[battle of loos]

good morning,

 

I would like your opinion on the type of mortar used by these Scots Seaforth highlanders :

 

- on the first photo, one can observe on the left a ammunition crate containing 4 shells.
in addition, we can see the firing mechanism made by a Lee Enfield.

- in the middle photo one can observe the ammunition expelled from the mortar.

 

 

thank you in advance for your answers.

 

regards

 

michel

[14276265]

It looks - to me - like a pair of 3.7-in. "pipe gun" light mortars, first produced by Lt-Col. Twining RE of the sappers and miners of the Indian Corps. The bomb was a 4.5lb "tin pot" filled with ammonal.

 

 

 

265

 

 

[battle of loos]

Good evening,

 

Thank you for your reply.

it's a precursor on the Stokes mortar and the 2-inch medium mortar.

 

Kind regards

 

michel

[Lee Smart]

This picture, apparently taken some time slightly before the other in the sequence shows the mortar from a better angle as well as the ammunition crate.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mtxAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA36&lpg=PA36&dq=3.7-in.+"pipe+gun"+light+mortar,+designed+by+Lt-Col.+Twining&source=bl&ots=h3ILw0KhQy&sig=ACfU3U3mGKLS3nNHtHR8lu_iCg1dEpzpwA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3tOmbps3-AhUXS8AKHc2cAekQ6AF6BAgDEAM#v=onepage&q=3.7-in. "pipe gun" light mortar%2C designed by Lt-Col. Twining&f=false