Also known as: mortar bed.
| Type | Fixed mortar mount |
|---|---|
| Material | Heavy timber or iron |
| Angle | Holds the mortar at a high, fixed elevation |
| Aiming | Range set by the powder charge |
Supporting the mortar
A mortar has no wheeled carriage; it rests on a solid bed, a massive block of timber or iron, that holds it at a fixed high angle and takes the heavy shock of firing. Because the mortar's elevation was usually fixed, the gunner varied the range chiefly by adjusting the powder charge.
Beds for the heavy siege and seacoast mortars were correspondingly massive, and moving and emplacing them was a labor of its own in the siege lines.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- United States Army, Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1862.
- Gibbon, John. The Artillerist's Manual. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1860.