Both the design and use of Stokes mortar was enormously simple, suitable for use on the battlefield. Although its designation was that of “3-inch trench mortar”, in fact the caliber was 81.2mm as it was with other British mortars. The grenades dropped down the tube and a firing pin ignite the propellant charge in the base of the grenade ejecting the shell towards the target.The 81mm grenade weighted 4.84 kg and contained 1 kg of Amatol explosive charge and the range was achieved by the amount of propellant charge chosen. Propellent chrges was distributed in the form of 4 rings within the cilindrical grenade, in such a way that the gunners discarded the rings depending on the range needed. This, together with the firing angle, determined the final range of the firing.The mortar weighed about 47 kg in position and its recoil was enormous. It was necessary to make sure that the baseplate was well locked to the ground, because if it was not, the servants could easily be injured. This problem was because the barrel was too light compared to the grenade used. The mortar was normally transported by three soldiers, each carrying one of the three main parts, as can be seen on this image.Although Stokes mortar was not an outstanding weapon, it was selected by a good number of armies and ended up participating in several armed conflicts around the World. They were widely used in the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay and many of them were used by the Republican Army during the Spanish Civil War.
