During World War II, several dozen divisions were formed as part of the British Army, and at the end of the war they served in its ranks about 2.9 million people. In this one of the most important armies of the Second World War, in terms of numbers, the most important element was, of course, the infantry. The standard British infantry division in 1939, numbering approximately 13,900 officers and men, was relatively well saturated with mortars. This can be seen as the aftermath of the experience of the Great War, in which mortars played a significant role on the battlefield. In each division infantry battalion there was a mortar platoon consisting of 6 pieces of weapons, which very often - as early as 1939! - were transported on Universal Carriers. Mortars (three in number) were also included in the reconnaissance platoon assigned to the infantry battalion. The light mortar was also a full-time job for every British infantry squad. With the ongoing war, the mortar saturation increased and the 1944 infantry division already had (apart from the mortars on the ranks from the team up) a support battalion with three machine gun companies and a mortar company of 16 4.2 inch mortars. It can be estimated that at that time the British infantry division was equipped with approximately 360 mortars of various types. It is worth adding that the basic types of British infantry mortars in 1939-1945 were three 2 inch (50.8 mm), 3 inch (81 mm) and 4.2 inch (107 mm) mortars.
Mortar The Ordnance ML 3-inch was a British 81mm mortar from the interwar period and World War II. The first prototypes of this weapon appeared in the 1930s, and the mortar entered service before 1939. The mass of the projectile fired from this mortar is about 4.5 kilograms, and the range is about 2500-2600 meters. The weapon featured a highly traditional smoothbore design with a stop plate and tripod. Interestingly, despite the term (3-inc, i.e. 76mm), the gun had a caliber of 81 mm, which was the same as many other mortars of this type at the time. It is worth adding that the weapon was reliable and very solid, but in the Mark I model it had a relatively low range (around 1500 meters), which was improved only in the Mark II version. Mortar The Ordnance ML 3-inch was the primary support weapon for British infantry during World War II. It remained in service until the 1960s!