OK, here's another odd one for the BOCN team to assist with.
When I first saw this mortar body, it appeared to be a Vietnam era M374 HE type with an external frag pattern roll-coined into the surface. But when looking closer, the original M374A1 markings were still visible. I figured if the surface was worked hard enough to raise cross-hatched ridges, the markings would have been smeared into oblivion.
The conclusion was the ridges were added onto the original surface via some sort of robotic welding process. I'm guessing the weld bead might have changed the heat treat characteristics of the body to help create fracture lines and a better frag pattern when bursting. Any other opinions?
I also noticed the end points of the weld beads near the obturator band added enough to the diameter that the shell wouldn't fit in a standard 81mm mortar barrel. So the piece either came out of the factory before a final sizing process or it wasn't intended to be a mortar round anymore. Perhaps a submunition application or something similar? An early COFRAM experiment just for burst tests? Thanks.
Rick
When I first saw this mortar body, it appeared to be a Vietnam era M374 HE type with an external frag pattern roll-coined into the surface. But when looking closer, the original M374A1 markings were still visible. I figured if the surface was worked hard enough to raise cross-hatched ridges, the markings would have been smeared into oblivion.
The conclusion was the ridges were added onto the original surface via some sort of robotic welding process. I'm guessing the weld bead might have changed the heat treat characteristics of the body to help create fracture lines and a better frag pattern when bursting. Any other opinions?
I also noticed the end points of the weld beads near the obturator band added enough to the diameter that the shell wouldn't fit in a standard 81mm mortar barrel. So the piece either came out of the factory before a final sizing process or it wasn't intended to be a mortar round anymore. Perhaps a submunition application or something similar? An early COFRAM experiment just for burst tests? Thanks.
Rick
