Chapter 266: Testing the Blacker Bombard
Currently, the British Royal Armouries were testing a variety of weapon designs to deal with German Panzers. Whether it was large and powerful mines that could be embedded in the ground and triggered by a weight far greater in forced than a human being could muster.
Or by creating a much larger caliber rifle. This, of course, being significantly harder to manufacture and test than some of their ideas because of the overwhelming pressure of such rounds, and the need for the chamber to contain it.
However, there was one mad lad among British Engineers who decided that maybe, just maybe, they should try to modify a normal spigot mortar to be fired in an arc directly at the oncoming German Armor.
In Bruno's past life, during the second world war, this was among Britain's first attempts to replace obsolete "Anti-Tank Rifles" that were normally chambered in something akin to 20mm. And the nickname for the device was the Blacker Bombard.
It never actually saw service, and only was issued to the British Home Guard out of the overall lack of dedicated anti-tank weapons, and even then, military leadership suspected whether or not it would have a significant impact on damaging a German Panzer.
The first modern lightweight mortars were invented during the Great War of Bruno's past life, with the 3-inch Stokes being the first example of such weapons. Bruno had, of course, stolen this feat as far back as 1900, with his first prototypes being used against Boxer Militants in the far east.
But after seeing the effectiveness of German man portable mortars being used within their defenses on the Western Front, the British Army quickly prioritized their own variation of such a device.
Resulting in the Stokes Mortar being adopted into service by January of 1915, a few months prior to what it otherwise would have been. And by now, as spring was beginning to approach, the British found themselves with another quandary.
The simplest solution to the introduction of the Panzer I by the Germans would be to modify the stokes mortar, and make it fire a shot directly at an oncoming tank. Would it work as planned? Probably not. The overall shape of the Panzer I design that Bruno had brought to life in this new timeline had slanted armor which protected the tank from HE explosives that lacked overall penetration.
But it was not like the British Army had an example within their hands to test their new weapons on, and they were desperate for a solution to this potential problem which could be used against them in the field.
Hence the rapid development and production of experimental weapons whose practical basis on the battlefield was not confirmed. Currently, British Lieutenant-Colonel J. C. Matheson of the Trench Warfare Supply Department was inspecting the operation of the first functional prototype of their new anti-tank weapon.
British soldiers clambered onto the ground in the prone position, as the Blacker Bombard sat very low on the ground, the crew of operators hiding behind its small shield which was designed to protect them as they loaded the weapon, and prepared to fire it in the distance. The target? A Lancia 12 which was an Italian Armored car, provided to the British by their Allies in the Kingdom of Italy and was left over from the Italo-Turkish war of 1911. This was supposed to be the proof the British Army needed about whether or not they could damage a German Panzer Spähpanzer.