Originally posted by Moxie:
The "secret" is the propellent charge. As I recall, the base of the mortar bomb has an ignition charge & also packed "powder increments" bundles fitted into the fin blades. The latter dictates the desired range of your round; the command will come down as "Charge X" (where X is a number) & you remove the unwanted increments accordingly.
The mortar barrel's elevation allows an inserted bomb to slide towards the base cap, which has a firing pin. Upon striking the latter, the ignition cartridge explodes & in turn enkindles the propellent charge, eliciting gas pressure that shoots the round up & out.
The base of the mortar bomb has
a primary charge, not an "ignition charge". "packed powder increments bundles" are
secondary charges, also called augmenting charges and fitted
on top, not "into the fin blades".
"The latter dictates the desired range of your round" -
Actually, the charges and the elevation of the barrel determines the range.
The mortar barrel's elevation allows an inserted bomb to slide towards the
base plate, not "base cap", which has a firing pin.
"Upon striking the latter, the ignition cartridge explodes & in turn enkindles the propellent charge, eliciting gas pressure that shoots the round up & out."
Actually, the firing pin strikes the percussion cap at the base of the bomb which ignites the primary charge and the secondary charges, if attached[b]Edited:
OOps, changed primer to percussion cap. Even though I served in gun and mortar battalion, my main training is gun, and gun uses primers
