Jake Holman Jr.'s Articles Tagged 'mortar' (4)

When U.S. forces battled from island to island in the Pacific theater of World War II, Marines and soldiers came upon a small, portable mortar left behind by retreating Japanese forces. At first glance, to American eyes, the baseplate looked like mount for placement on a bent knee, earning it…

Last week we featured the Brandt compressed gas mortar, a surprisingly effective quirky weapon of World War I. Jump forward to World War II and we'll examine another odd mortar, this one fielded by the Japanese throughout the Pacific theater.

It was the Barrage Mortar, an uncomplicated piece…

On the modern battlefield, mortar teams load their hefty tube artillery at the muzzle and on the command, "Hang it, fire," the compact mortar round slides down the tube before exploding into the air.

The basic muzzle loaded mortar has been around for centuries, with few tweaks here and…

Japan was on the brink of defeat. Last ditch defenses were being prepared. The Emperor would not let his island nation fall easily. They, the Japanese people, would fight to the last man, woman and child. Facing astounding odds in combat and unprecedented fortification efforts, the United States faced an…