WWII 2 inch mortar tail fin stamps, examples

[satchiel]

In my travels collecting relics between WWII training sites around South-East Queensland, Australia, I semi-frequently come across tail fins from 2 inch mortars. Whilst the tail fins often times don't weather well in the Queensland climate after 70 years lodged in the scrub, sometimes they retain their composure long enough to give up a few clues as to their place & date of manufacture - via both the tail fin body, & also the breech cap. It's always fascinated me that, of the readable fins I've found here in Queensland, all were manufactured by various companies in the United Kingdom - & little is listed about these markings or manufacturers online...at least in one place.

Below are a few of the readable fins & breech caps that I've recovered from around South-East Queensland, with date & place of manufacture - please feel free to add pictures & details of your own 2 inch mortar tail fin & breech cap stamps, whether they be fired or non-fired, as a growing reference of all the markings out there internationally.


Breech cap stamp from fired mortar, marked "40" with stroke at 1 o'clock (manufactured January 1940), & "WDC" for the Wolverhampton Die Casting Company.


Breech cap stamp from fired mortar, marked "42" with stroke at 1 o'clock (manufactured January 1942), & overlapping "PC" for the Paton Calvert company.


Breech cap stamp from fired mortar, marked "41" with 9 x strokes in circle (manufactured September 1941), & illegible marker's mark.


Tail fin from fired mortar, marked with overlapping "PC" in border for the Paton Calvert company, 1942, & "Z" for nitrocellulose fill compound.


Tail fin from fired mortar, marked with "BDC" for British Die-Casting Company, "42" for 1942, & "Z" for nitrocellulose fill compound.


Tail fin from fired mortar, marked with Defence broadarrow /|\ over 13 "quality control mark."


Tail fin from fired mortar, marked with Defence broadarrow /|\ over 64 "quality control mark."

[zwerge]

Hi, some other marks I have seen are...FD Fry`s Die Casting....S&W Scoffin & Willmott.....TFD Trico-Folberth Die Casting.....SFD Shaw Foundry Die Casting....MW Mitcham Works. Pete.

[satchiel]

Went out exploring again today, & stumbled across another mortar range impact zone out in the bush - which resulted in six more 2 inch tails, most of which are in remarkably good condition with clear markings on both fins & breech caps.

While I endeavour to clean them up & get some clear shots of the markings (virtually not one of the six are the same), below are a few pictures of the environment/conditions in which these were found - no metal detector or digging, just educated exploration based on Google Earth maps, & visual surface search:

[satchiel]

All cleaned up, with breech cap & fin markings:


Breech cap marked "42" (manufactured 1942), & "ORB" (unknown manufacturer - can anyone identify!?).


Breech cap marked "6-42" (manufactured June 1942), & "ML" possibly for Munitions and Light Castings Ltd, Grimsby (can anyone confirm!?).


Tail fin marked with "AW" possibly for Acme Wringers, Glasgow (can anyone confirm!?), "3/42" (manufactured March 1942), & "Z" for nitrocellulose fill compound.


Breech cap marked "42" (manufactured 1942), & "ORB" (unknown manufacturer - can anyone identify!?).


Tail fin marked with "ADC" (unknown manufacturer - can anyone identify!?), "6/42" (manufactured June 1942), & "Z" for nitrocellulose fill compound.


Breech cap marked "41" (manufactured 1941), & "WDC" for the Wolverhampton Die Casting Company.


Breech cap marked "41" with 7 x strokes in circle (manufactured July 1941), & "FD" for Fry's Diecasting.


Tail fin marked with unusual symbol that looks like a "%" (can anyone identify this mark!?), "11/41" (manufactured November 1941), & "Z" for nitrocellulose fill compound.


Last but not least, a very unusual example - the tail clearly comes from a fired mortar, however the breech cap is missing & an Eley-Kynoch cartridge is clearly visible & securely jammed in the breech. I can only imagine if the breech cap was blown away on firing, the cartridge would have also ejected...which makes me think this one was fired minus the breech cap (obviously not the safest option)!


Tail fin marked with "MAR" in crossed circle (unknown manufacturer - can anyone identify!?), "9-42" (manufactured September 1942), & "Z" for nitrocellulose fill compound.


Tail fin marked with Defence broadarrow /|\ over 8 "quality control mark."

[zwerge]

The tail with MARX is the MARX Toy Co......Pete.

[satchiel]

I've seen this marking before, but have never been able to figure it out - thank you! Having a quick look now, & despite being an American company, Marx Toys also had a manufacturing plant in England...which would explain the manufacture of Commonwealth munitions:

[zwerge]

Have a look here,lots of info......Mortars

[satchiel]

Another couple of hours spent traipsing through the bush, & another good haul of 2 inch mortar tails (plus an almost complete No. 161 fuse & No. 151/161 fuse fragments) - many of which exhibit new stamps not already photographed in this thread. Just a quick photo spill of the afternoon's activity for interest, while I clean up the tails & get good photos of the new manufacturer markings:

[satchiel]

New markings (not covered before in the thread):

The first comes from a tail the likes I which I haven't before been lucky enough to find - a 2 inch star mortar, which has sheered off just short of the main casing:





Fin stamp "S & W" inside a box topped with triangle, with date on separate fin, for Scoffin and Willmott (a garden products manufacturer).



Breech plug marked "1941" & "CWS" (2 of these found) - I have seen "CWS" claimed as standing for "Chemical Warfare Service" on 2 inch mortars on other sites, which doesn't make a great deal of sense given this munition was never loaded with any form of chemical payload?



Fin stamp (maybe) "R/|\5" - may be a "quality control" stamp, in addition to the manufacturer stamp below.



Fin stamp "4" with "F.D. Ltd" for Fry's Diecasting (a differing version of the previous encircled "FD" on the 2 inch breech caps), followed by 1939-1 (January 1939), & "Z" (nitrocellulose fill).



Fin stamp "Z 2 D" under broadarrow - possible "quality control stamp, or indication of a Mazak No. 2 fin?



Fin stamp, large broadarrow followed by "N/|\86" as "quality control" mark?



Fin stamp "RS & J" with "spear" logo (unknown manufacturer/).



Different fin from same mortar above - stamped "3", "*", 11/41 (November 1941), & "Z" (Mazak No. 2 fin).



Very large "quality control" fin stamp - "Q" above broadarrow, above "43"



Same mortar tail as above, stamped with a "Y-Circle" symbol (unknown manufacturer?), "7/42" (July 1942) & "Z" (Mazak No. 2 fin).

[satchiel]

Doing a little more research on potential hits for today's manufacturer stamps, & came across a very likely company/match for this one:



"RS&J" is very likely Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies, an agricultural machinery manufacturer from Ipswich, Suffolk - which would also explain the "harvester tyne-esque" outline alongside the "RS&J" stamp. During WWI they manufactured F.E.2. fighter/bombers on one of their production lines, & would likely have participated again in the war effort come WWII (& would have had the machinery necessary for the production of munitions components like mortar tail fins). In the 1940's, they were also renowned for their "state-of-the-art" mowers