60mm Mortar Ammo

[yantaylor]

Hi everyone.

I am building a US Paratroop company and wondered what containers did the 60mm squad use to store 60mm mortar rounds.
Did they have metal boxes or even bandoliers, or did each man in the platoon carry a couple of rounds each.
The 60mm mortar squad had six men, two of which are ammo bearers, so how did they carry their rounds and how many?

Thanks
Ian

[ROLAND1369]

60 MM mortar ammunition was packed in black asphalt coated cylinders sealed with a pull off tape which attached the top cover. Some later containers were additionally coated with a covering of Wax to further weatherproof them for tropical service. They were shipped in a wooden box containing these canisters.
In action the ammo bearers carried 6 rounds in a vest which fitted over their head and contained 3 rounds in front and 3 in the rear vertically in pockets. I have fired the 60 MM in training and combat and is a highly accurate weapon in the hands of a good gunner. It always was my favorite mortar.

[yantaylor]

Thank you Roland, I agree the 60mm would be a great company mortar.
Italeri do a nice version in 1/72 which I have a few spares, I will use these not only for US Inf, Paratroop and Marines but French and Romanians too.

BTW: would those tubes carry just one round?

Ian

[ROLAND1369]

Just one round per tube. My VietNamese mortar gunner carried just the mortar tube and a rucksack full of rounds. When he had to fire, he put his steel helmet, without liner, on the ground, used it as a baseplate and proceeded to put down precision fire better than a full gun crew and plotting board.

[ROLAND1369]

Here is my nonfiring replica 60 MM M2 I built for display with my M 38a1 Jeep. The Baseplate is a reproduction all else was fabricated in my shop, including the dummy ammunition. The second pic shows the shell carrier and storage tube size in relation to the shell.

[yantaylor]

Thanks Roland, I will see if I can do some converting of kneeling rifle men to act as ammo men for the mortar, gonna take some fiddling though.

Ian