Big mystery mortar tail

[vegetius]

Or, the Tail Unit Tube, the primary cartridge housing, (propellant area), has expanded under the pressure from the mortar bomb main filling functioning.

If you look at the tail on the 42 though the small protrusion which is to gain correct bore diameter on each fin is quite distinctive on the granatwurfer42.

[CSW]

I'm fairly confident it is indeed a Finnish 120mm shell for the 120 Krh/40 heavy mortar. I was able to find some wartime photographs of the ammunition, here's a pretty clear shot.

[vegetius]

Just a thought, are they the same mortar?

[CSW]

Just a thought, are they the same mortar?

The German 12cm GrW 42 and the Finnish 120 Krh/40? No, they are not. Plans for a Finnish heavy mortar started becoming a thing already in the early 1930s, the main development of what would become known as the 120 Krh/40 being carried out between 1935 and 1939 by Tampella. The production of the mortar really commenced in 1940.

Finnish ammunition could also be used with captured Soviet 120mm mortars, but apparently only for a short period of time as the breech of the Soviet weapon wasn't strong enough for the Finnish-made shells. Not sure whether this would've been the case with Finnish ammunition fired from the German 120mm variant as well..?

But anyway, the answer to the question is negative

[vegetius]

Thanks, it is always good to learn new facts in my job. I was only musing the possibility as it is quite a common thing for two opposing countries to use the same weapon, look at the British 1 Pdr AKA the German and French 37mm.

[CSW]

Thanks, it is always good to learn new facts in my job. I was only musing the possibility as it is quite a common thing for two opposing countries to use the same weapon, look at the British 1 Pdr AKA the German and French 37mm.

Yeah, that's very true. The Finns definitely used a ton of foreign equipment - both captured and bought - under their own designations. This one, however, is one of the native designs.