Blacker Bombard
Encyclopedia
The Blacker Bombard, also known as the 29mm Spigot Mortar, was an infantry anti-tank weapon devised by Lieutenant-Colonel
Stewart Blacker
in the early years of the Second World War.
and the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force
from the port of Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June 1940, a German invasion
of Great Britain
seemed likely. However, the British Army
was not well-equipped to defend the country in such an event; in the weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation it could only field twenty-seven divisions. The Army was particularly short of anti-tank guns, 840 of which had been left behind in France
and only 167 were available in Britain; ammunition was so scarce for the remaining guns that regulations forbade even a single round being used for training purposes.
Given these shortcomings, those modern weapons that were available were allocated to the British Army, and the Home Guard was forced to supplement the meagre amount of outdated weapons and ammunition they had with ad hoc weapons. One of these was the Blacker Bombard, designed by Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Blacker
, the origins of which went back to the 1930s. During the early part of the 1930s, Blacker became interested in the concept of the spigot mortar. Unlike conventional mortars the spigot mortar did not possess a barrel, and instead there was a steel rod known as a 'spigot' fixed to a baseplate; the bomb itself had a propellant charge inside its tail. When the mortar was to be fired, the bomb was pushed down onto the spigot, which exploded the propellant charge and blew the bomb into the air.
Blacker began to experiment with the concept in the hopes of creating a platoon mortar that was lighter in weight than the one used by the British Army at the time. This evolved into the Arbalest, which he submitted to the Army but was rejected for a Spanish
design. Undeterred by this rejection, Blacker went back to the design and came up with the idea of an anti-tank weapon, although he was initially stymied in his attempts to design one because the spigot design failed to generate the required velocity to penetrate armour. However he was eventually successful in creating an anti-tank mortar, which he named the Blacker Bombard.
When the Second World War began, Blacker was a lieutenant-colonel in the Territorial Army. He had offered his Bombard to the War Office for two years without success but was introduced to the government department of Military Intelligence Research (MIRc) later known as MD1
, which had been given the task of developing and delivering weapons for use by guerilla and resistance groups in Occupied Europe. Blacker showed his list of ideas to the head of MD1, Major
Millis Jefferis
, who was taken with the design for the Bombard. He argued that it could serve in an anti-tank and artillery capability, and claimed that it would have similar anti-tank properties to the 2 pounder anti-tank gun
coupled with approximately the same range as the 3 inch mortar
. Objections were raised by the Director of Artillery and other government officials, but on 18 August 1940 the Prime Minister
, Winston Churchill
, attended a demonstration of the weapon. Churchill took a liking to the weapon and ordered it into full production. It would act as a temporary anti-tank weapon for the Home Guard until more 2 pounders could be supplied to them.
It was decided by General Headquarters Home Forces that Bombards would be useful as an anti-tank weapon for use by regular forces, as well as the Home Guard. General Alan Brooke
entertained doubts about the weapon's effectiveness, but believed that its simplicity would allow it to be used by younger soldiers. In Southern Command, 14,000 were ordered for use by forces in that area; twenty-four were to be issued to anti-tank regiments, twelve to troops assigned to guard aerodromes, eight per brigade and two for each Home Guard company. However, RAF personnel were forbidden from using the weapons, a restriction which was extended to the RAF Regiment
when it was formed in 1942.
The Bombard was a 29mm spigot mortar, weighing between 112 and 360 lb, placed on top of a swivel or pivot. It was able to fire a 20 lb high-explosive bomb to a range of approximately 100 yards; when the bomb detonated, it was able to inflict significant damage on a tank, although it was unlikely to actually pierce the vehicle's armour as the projectile was not able to gain sufficient velocity. It was served by a crew of between three and five men The Bombard was considered to be most effective at short range, with targets being engaged with 'considerable success' at a range of between 75-100 yards. It was a muzzle-loaded weapon and therefore had a slow rate of fire, averaging between six and twelve rounds per minute; as such it was considered vital that the weapon be well-camouflaged and that it hit the target with the first shot. Two types of ammunition were provided for the weapon - a 20 lb anti-tank bomb and a lighter 14 lb anti-personnel bomb, with each weapon being issued with 150 rounds of the former and 100 of the latter. The anti-tank rounds were found to
possess several problems. They had insensitive fuze
s, which meant that they would often pass through an unarmoured target without detonating, and when they did explode fragments were often thrown back at the crew. The Bombard was either affixed to a large cruciform platform, or an immobile concrete pedestal; in either case would usually be placed in range of defensive positions, such as road-blocks. It seems that there was a preference for the Bombard to be used primarily in a static role, with extra mountings being built by the Royal Engineers
to provide alternative positions from which the weapon could be fired. In a static position, the weapon was usually emplaced in a pit with ammunition lockers nearby.
s or refused to use them at all. However, Mackenzie cites the argument of the historian of the Ministry of Food Home Guard battalion, who stated that the issuing of the Bombard meant that the Home Guard was being taken seriously by the government. Mackenzie also argues that the Bombard did have a positive side, as it equipped otherwise unarmed Home Guard personnel with a weapon, and was a 'public relations' success. It would appear that a number of Bombards saw action with the British Army, being used in an anti-personnel role in the Western Desert Campaign
, although their use may have been limited due to their weight. A number of Bombards were also modified for use by the Royal Navy
, and were used as an anti-submarine weapon
known as the Hedgehog
.
Large numbers of fixed, concrete pedestals for Bombards were installed and a significant number survive in their original positions in many parts of the United Kingdom. The Defence of Britain Project, a late-1990's field survey of 20th century military landscape features by the Council for British Archaeology
, recorded a total of 351 surviving pedestals.
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Stewart Blacker
Stewart Blacker
Lieutenant-Colonel Latham Valentine Stewart Blacker OBE was a British Army officer and inventor of weapons.He invented the Blacker Bombard, laid the basis of the PIAT - both based on the spigot mortar - and the Ayre Petard...
in the early years of the Second World War.
Development
With the end of the Battle of FranceBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
and the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....
from the port of Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June 1940, a German invasion
Operation Sealion
Operation Sea Lion was Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during the Second World War, beginning in 1940. To have had any chance of success, however, the operation would have required air and naval supremacy over the English Channel...
of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
seemed likely. However, the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
was not well-equipped to defend the country in such an event; in the weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation it could only field twenty-seven divisions. The Army was particularly short of anti-tank guns, 840 of which had been left behind in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and only 167 were available in Britain; ammunition was so scarce for the remaining guns that regulations forbade even a single round being used for training purposes.
Given these shortcomings, those modern weapons that were available were allocated to the British Army, and the Home Guard was forced to supplement the meagre amount of outdated weapons and ammunition they had with ad hoc weapons. One of these was the Blacker Bombard, designed by Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Blacker
Stewart Blacker
Lieutenant-Colonel Latham Valentine Stewart Blacker OBE was a British Army officer and inventor of weapons.He invented the Blacker Bombard, laid the basis of the PIAT - both based on the spigot mortar - and the Ayre Petard...
, the origins of which went back to the 1930s. During the early part of the 1930s, Blacker became interested in the concept of the spigot mortar. Unlike conventional mortars the spigot mortar did not possess a barrel, and instead there was a steel rod known as a 'spigot' fixed to a baseplate; the bomb itself had a propellant charge inside its tail. When the mortar was to be fired, the bomb was pushed down onto the spigot, which exploded the propellant charge and blew the bomb into the air.
Blacker began to experiment with the concept in the hopes of creating a platoon mortar that was lighter in weight than the one used by the British Army at the time. This evolved into the Arbalest, which he submitted to the Army but was rejected for a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
design. Undeterred by this rejection, Blacker went back to the design and came up with the idea of an anti-tank weapon, although he was initially stymied in his attempts to design one because the spigot design failed to generate the required velocity to penetrate armour. However he was eventually successful in creating an anti-tank mortar, which he named the Blacker Bombard.
When the Second World War began, Blacker was a lieutenant-colonel in the Territorial Army. He had offered his Bombard to the War Office for two years without success but was introduced to the government department of Military Intelligence Research (MIRc) later known as MD1
MD1
Ministry of Defence 1 , also known as "Churchill's Toyshop" was a British weapon research and development organisation of the Second World War....
, which had been given the task of developing and delivering weapons for use by guerilla and resistance groups in Occupied Europe. Blacker showed his list of ideas to the head of MD1, Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Millis Jefferis
Millis Jefferis
Major-General Sir Millis Rowland Jefferis KBE MC was, during the Second World War, the founder of a special unit of the British Ministry of Supply which developed unusual weapons.-Early career:...
, who was taken with the design for the Bombard. He argued that it could serve in an anti-tank and artillery capability, and claimed that it would have similar anti-tank properties to the 2 pounder anti-tank gun
Ordnance QF 2 pounder
The Ordnance QF 2-pounder was a British anti-tank and vehicle-mounted gun, employed in the Second World War. It was actively used in the Battle of France, and during the North Africa campaign...
coupled with approximately the same range as the 3 inch mortar
Ordnance ML 3 inch Mortar
The Ordnance ML 3-inch mortar was the United Kingdom's standard mortar used by the British Army from the late 1920s to the late 1960s, superseding the Stokes Mortar.-History:...
. Objections were raised by the Director of Artillery and other government officials, but on 18 August 1940 the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, attended a demonstration of the weapon. Churchill took a liking to the weapon and ordered it into full production. It would act as a temporary anti-tank weapon for the Home Guard until more 2 pounders could be supplied to them.
It was decided by General Headquarters Home Forces that Bombards would be useful as an anti-tank weapon for use by regular forces, as well as the Home Guard. General Alan Brooke
Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke
Field Marshal The Rt. Hon. Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO & Bar , was a senior commander in the British Army. He was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War, and was promoted to Field Marshal in 1944...
entertained doubts about the weapon's effectiveness, but believed that its simplicity would allow it to be used by younger soldiers. In Southern Command, 14,000 were ordered for use by forces in that area; twenty-four were to be issued to anti-tank regiments, twelve to troops assigned to guard aerodromes, eight per brigade and two for each Home Guard company. However, RAF personnel were forbidden from using the weapons, a restriction which was extended to the RAF Regiment
RAF Regiment
The Royal Air Force Regiment is a specialist airfield defence corps founded by Royal Warrant in 1942. After a 32 week trainee gunner course, its members are trained and equipped to prevent a successful enemy attack in the first instance; minimise the damage caused by a successful attack; and...
when it was formed in 1942.
Design
possess several problems. They had insensitive fuze
Fuze
Fuze Beverage, commercially referred to as just Fuze , is a manufacturer of teas and non-carbonated fruit drinks enriched with vitamins. Currently the brand consists of five vitamin-infused lines: Slenderize, Refresh, Tea, Defensify, and Vitalize...
s, which meant that they would often pass through an unarmoured target without detonating, and when they did explode fragments were often thrown back at the crew. The Bombard was either affixed to a large cruciform platform, or an immobile concrete pedestal; in either case would usually be placed in range of defensive positions, such as road-blocks. It seems that there was a preference for the Bombard to be used primarily in a static role, with extra mountings being built by the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
to provide alternative positions from which the weapon could be fired. In a static position, the weapon was usually emplaced in a pit with ammunition lockers nearby.
Operational history
The first Bombards appeared in late 1941, and were issued to both regular and Home Guard units; in Southern Command, no more were issued after July 1942. By that time, approximately 22,000 of the Bombards had been produced and issued to forces throughout the country. By November 1941, concerns were already being aired about the suitability of the weapon and it was unpopular with a number of units; some attempted to trade their Bombards for Thompson submachine gunThompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
s or refused to use them at all. However, Mackenzie cites the argument of the historian of the Ministry of Food Home Guard battalion, who stated that the issuing of the Bombard meant that the Home Guard was being taken seriously by the government. Mackenzie also argues that the Bombard did have a positive side, as it equipped otherwise unarmed Home Guard personnel with a weapon, and was a 'public relations' success. It would appear that a number of Bombards saw action with the British Army, being used in an anti-personnel role in the Western Desert Campaign
Western Desert Campaign
The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War, was the initial stage of the North African Campaign during the Second World War. The campaign was heavily influenced by the availability of supplies and transport. The ability of the Allied forces, operating from besieged Malta, to...
, although their use may have been limited due to their weight. A number of Bombards were also modified for use by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and were used as an anti-submarine weapon
Anti-submarine weapon
An anti-submarine weapon is any one of a range of devices that are intended to act against a submarine, and its crew, to destroy the vessel or to destroy or reduce its capability as a weapon of war...
known as the Hedgehog
Hedgehog (weapon)
The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...
.
Large numbers of fixed, concrete pedestals for Bombards were installed and a significant number survive in their original positions in many parts of the United Kingdom. The Defence of Britain Project, a late-1990's field survey of 20th century military landscape features by the Council for British Archaeology
Council for British Archaeology
Established in 1944, the is an educational charity working throughout the UK to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and future generations...
, recorded a total of 351 surviving pedestals.
Users
Some of the users of the Blacker Bombard included:-
British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
(Modified as HedgehogHedgehog (weapon)The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...
anti-submarine weaponAnti-submarine weaponAn anti-submarine weapon is any one of a range of devices that are intended to act against a submarine, and its crew, to destroy the vessel or to destroy or reduce its capability as a weapon of war...
)
External links
- Pictures of Surviving Spigot Mortar Emplacements in the UK.
- Photos of Surviving Spigot Mortar Emplacements in the UK.
- Imperial War Museum on-line image collection: search for "Blacker Bombard".
- Imperial War Museum on-line collection Recollections of a Home Guard soldier (audio) under accession number 17834.
- Love, Hate And The Spigot Mortar by Philip Clifford