News from Heroes and Leaders mod

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British Special Air Service

The SAS's origin lies in the disbanding of the Layforce Commando in Africa early in World War II. Stirling's new unit not required a standard Commando's naval support and would rely on individual initiative and "natural fighter" characteristics. The basic SAS unit is not a squad, but a four-man "patrol", and was less a standard military unit than a highly-cohesive team. In order to confuse Axis intelligence of its actual strength, the new unit was given the rather grandiose name of "Special Air Service" in 1941.
It quickly began operations against enemy aircraft in concert with the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG). Before the end of the war in the desert, the SAS had destroyed over 400 enemy planes, plus much other war material. In August 1942, given regimental status as the "1st SAS Regiment." A second SAS regiment was formed to pre-invasion raids on Sicily and Italy, then operations in Greece, the Adriatic and Aegean. Both regiments were called to England in March 1944 and expanded again to the "let SAS Brigade."
Some-times mistaken for slackness, like the sometimes scruffy appearance of SAS men, it is a sign of the nearly familial cohesiveness of a body of true professionals. To the SAS trooper, and therefore to the SAS as a whole, being a good soldier is of far greater importance than being a neat one. Why has the SAS been so successful? It selects what it perceives as the best volunteers and subjects them to intense training—but then so does every other special forces unit in the world worthy of the name. The SAS gets away with such conduct because its raw material is of extremely high quality. The trick is leaving such men free to be as good as they can be.
In Heroes and Leaders mod, all SAS soldiers have a movement allowance of 5 points. SAS units they have the ability to carry an additional SW than is usually allowed, they have the ability to self-rally and they have the ability of Stealth movement.

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British Colonial Gurkhas

The Gurkhas are soldiers native to South Asia of Nepalese nationality recruited for the British Army. Gurkhas are closely associated with the khukuri, a forward-curving Nepali knife, and have a reputation for military prowess.
The stalwart Gurkhas are a mix of elite and first-line squads, although even green Gurkha troops usually fought well. The "stealth" advantages for the ANZACs and Gurkhas reflect their renowned stealth and ferocity in close combat. Some Gurkha troops earned a reputation for their fiery tempers and sometimes exhibited far less self-restraint towards wounded or captured enemy personnel than other British soldiers. One officer wrote that Gurkhas "are not subject to mass suggestion, but require careful training, familiar leadership, and love".
During World War II there were ten Gurkha regiments, with two battalions each, making a total of 20 pre-war battalions. A total of 250,280 Gurkhas served in 40 battalions, plus eight Nepalese Army battalions, parachute, training, garrison and porter units during the war, in almost all theatres. In addition to keeping peace in India, Gurkhas fought in Syria, North Africa, Italy, Greece and against the Japanese in the jungles of Burma, northeast India and also Singapore.
The multi-national British army of World War Two was never to be entirely free of linguistic problem. However, where these language problems had been overcome, the routine use of languages such as Welsh, Hausa (used by African troops) Urdu, Hindustani or Gurkhali in British radio communications robbed the Germans and Japaneses of very valuable intelligence.
Former Indian Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw once stated that: "If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha."

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British Colonial First Line Fusiliers

The British Colonial First Line Fusiliers troops mainly represent the English metropolitan units that fought in North Africa and Southeast Asia. In terms of the Heroes and Leaders mod they are ordinary first line troops but with the extra capacity of long range fire. Basically, they are the forces that fought in North Africa forming the main core of the British Eighth Army. The rest of the British Colonial forces that fought in North Africa and Southeast Asia are considered British Colonial Second Line Rifles.
Although at the beginning of the war the pressure of events and often poor organisation sometimes meant that mostly raw troops with little or no training faced a much more proficient enemy, especially in Norway in 1940, France 1940, the Far East and then North Africa, as the war progresses, especially in the forces fighting in North Africa and Far East, German selection procedures were copied, including psychological assessments with great success and officer quality was also enhanced by the recruitment of more worldly-wise individuals who had hitherto followed civilian careers, especially in Africa and the Far East; the latter ensured in part that African, Indian and Burmese formations among others received officers who were experienced at handling personnel, spoke their language and knew their customs and culture. This pool of officers was also swelled by a significant number of British-born officers who were loaned or transferred to the African, Indian or Burmese forces from the British army for financial or other reasons in the inter-war years.

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British Colonial Second Line Rifles

British Colonial Second Line Rifles troops primarily represent the Indian and Burmese army units, hastily-expanded of the early war years, that fought on the side of the Allies in both North Africa and the Far East, defending the colonial territories. In terms of the Heroes and Leaders mod they are ordinary second-line troops but with the extra capacity of long-range fire. Indian and other native colonial squads only have a “4” range factor, despite these being volunteer units. most Indian troops used the Vickers-Berthier LMG, an Anglo-French design both slightly lighter and slower-firing than the BREN.
The Indian army recruited largely from the same families of the "martial races" by tradition, at least initially. The Indian and Burmese armies differed from the British in that commissioned officers were not present below the position of second-in-command of a company, and platoons were commanded by officers promoted from the ranks, who performed admirably once properly trained and experienced. The gradual "Indianisation" of the Indian army, while resented by many reactionary British officers, also gave commissions to many wealthy, well-connected or well-educated men of Indian birth.
African, Indian and Burmese formations among others received officers who were experienced at handling personnel, spoke their language and knew their customs and culture. The officers in the pre-war Indian army (who were probably far more professional overall than their British home forces counterparts), as were those in Egypt. The pool of officers was also swelled by a significant number of British-born officers who were loaned or transferred to the African, Indian or Burmese forces from the British army.

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British Colonial Conscripts

The British Colonial Conscripts represent the inexperienced troops who fought in North Africa and the Far East, whether they are natives of the British colonies or United Kingdom soldiers coming from the metropolis. In terms of the Heroes and Leaders mod they are ordinary conscripts troops with a “3” range factor.
Because British training was very decentralised, the quality of training varied much more than the standardised training in German or US formations. Pre-war complaints about a lack of inter-arms training had been ignored and only the Far East was an exception, largely because the type of fighting in dense vegetation against a rival ruthless and suicidally-brave. Whereas the Germans conducted training exercises with live ammunition and strove to make the whole business brutally realistic regardless of casualties among the recruits, the western Allies (army commando training excepted) were slow to do likewise due to the public outcries when accidents occurred.
British training was no real preparation for fighting a first-rate mechanised army and there was general dissatisfaction with the adequacy of British (and US) training for the realities of combat. "Tommy's" firearms training was a legacy of his traditional and primary role as Imperial Policeman in situations where some-times every shot had to count when con-fronting hordes of unfriendly chaps. The finer points of tactics were not taught during basic training, and officers and men alike learned these (if any were indeed ever formally taught) on joining their unit.
General Auchinleck admitted that his forces were "not as well trained than the Germans", and "We don't really train for war in peacetime England—we play at it."

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British Leaders

There is some opinion about the poor historical reputation of British officers as all being high-born idiots, based on their antics in the Napoleonic and Colonial Wars, and on the 1914-1918 "lions led by donkies" stories, however much all these might be very sweeping generalisations. All armies have their share of idiots, particularly in wartime when standards inevitably fall, but the evidence shows that most British officers were good at their job despite a degree of apparent eccentricity in foreign eyes. Some senior officers may have been mediocre at the start of World War Two, but staff work became at least adequate after a poor start. However, the British army was hampered by the stubborn refusal to develop a doctrine based on the experiences of previous wars. Officers over-aggressive-ness and "romantic determination" to out-shine their fathers' heroism in the Great War stemmed from bad examples that would cost them unnecessary casualties in the desert. But most officers—however tactically-inept some might have been—were taught in no uncertain terms and took to heart the notion that the welfare of their men was "a solemn responsibility", not least because the supply of British and Commonwealth personnel was severely limited.
At the junior level most officers were as good as their allies, if usually not quite up to the best German standards, particularly when they began to be recruited from a wider social group through modified selection procedures. This is reflected in "Leadership Number" of Heroes and Leaders mod of British officers, which is only "1" or "0" (having eliminated the "2" usually assigned to other nations).
Officer quality in the British army was also enhanced by the many NCO platoon commanders (sergeant-majors) of 1939 who were also commissioned, some rising to command battalions or regiments, as well as some men who received com-missions-in-the-field for outstanding bravery or initiative. However, the commissioning of so many NCOs had drawbacks in the long term because it caused a leadership gap, and the quality of infantry NCOs declined noticeably by 1944 because those men with leadership abilities had already become officers. So serious was the shortage of officers that by 1945 some of the newer ones were barely 18 years old, despite the fact that a number of Dominion and Commonwealth officers, especially from Rhodesia and South Africa, had been transferred to British units by 1942.

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British Heroes

Captain John Henry Cound Brunt, (6 December 1922 – 10 December 1944) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He served in the Italian campaign during the Second World War and was twice decorated for bravery in action before he was killed by mortar fire the day after his action. Brunt received a commission as a second lieutenant on 2 January 1943, and was posted to North Africa. He was commissioned in the Sherwood Foresters and being posted to the 6th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment. On 9 September 1943, Brunt's battalion landed at Salerno as part of the Allied invasion of Italy. Having been promoted to temporary captain, Brunt was appointed second-in-command of "D" Company of 6th Lincolns.
John Niel Randle (22 December 1917 – 6 May 1944) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross. At the age of 26, he was promoted to temporary captain whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment. On 4 May 1944 during the Battle of Kohima in northeast India, he was ordered to attack the Japanese flank on General Purpose Transport Ridge during the relief and clearance of Kohima. Captain Randle charged the Japanese machine gun post single-handed with rifle and bayonet. Although bleeding in the face and mortally wounded by numerous bursts of machine gun fire he reached the bunker and silenced the gun with a grenade thrown through the bunker slit. He then flung his body across the slit so that the aperture should be completely sealed.

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British Snipers

The sniper was introduced into the War establishment of the infantry battalion in 1943. From November 1944 the battalion snipers were concentrated at Battalion Headquarters.
Snipers used two types of rifle in XXI Army Group. The most accurate was the older Rifle No1 MkIII SMLE. However in the interests of standardisation most rifles were the sniper version of the Rifle No4 (T). The rifle was fitted with a No32 MkI telescopic sight. Sniper rifles were carefully selected and provided with a breech cover and a felt valise to protect it from the elements and accidental damage. A special sling was also fitted to the rifle to enable it to be braced for aiming and firing.
The primary function of the sniper was to keep the enemy on edge, never knowing when they might be observed and fired at. The preferred targets were officers or NCOs and communications personnel, but anyone foolish enough to show himself was fair game.
Snipers would be assigned to a sector of the battalion front and would then be very much free to decide on their exact positions. Usually leaving before dawn they would select a good position in which to spend the day, there being little chance to return to their own lines before dusk. Ideally they would select a position from where they could see a section of the enemy line while remaining in good cover. They would also select a number of alternate positions since once they had revealed their presence by firing they could expect machine gun and mortar fire in reply.
Snipers used the standard ammunition pouches containing 50 .303” SAA rounds of ammunition selected by the sniper; 5 tracer bullets; 5 armour piercing bullets and 2 No36 grenades.

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British Scouts

The Lovat Scouts was a British Army unit first formed during the Second Boer War. They were the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit and in 1916. Recruited initially from gamekeepers on Highland estates, the unit was commanded by The Hon. Andrew David Murray. Well practiced in the arts of marksmanship, field craft and military tactics, they were practitioners of discretion: "He who shoots and runs away, lives to shoot another day." Between the wars two Scottish Yeomanry regiments remained mounted as "Scouts": the Scottish Horse and the Lovat Scouts (reduced to a single regiment).
The Scouts training used to start with basic ski training, with the emphasis on cross country work with the type of load that would have to be carried in action e.g. sleeping bag, rations for two or more days, and a rifle. This was followed by survival instruction—what to do and what not to do to exist and function in very cold conditions e.g. by digging snow holes in which to sleep, or erecting simple shelters from the virgin pine and spruce forests.
Typically, men would spend three or four weeks at a mountain base. In that time, squadrons would practice their survival work in expeditions usually lasting about two or three days at a time, with the men sleeping in snow holes. At the end of the three or four weeks, the men would come down for a few days' rest and recreation. Training continued with work on river crossing, whether or not the individual soldiers could swim, and route marches.

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British Medic
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The Royal Army Medical Corps, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps form the Army Medical Services.
The Royal Army Medical Corps began to develop during the Boer War of 1899–1902. The Corps itself lost 743 officers and 6130 soldiers in the war. However, far more of them, and thousands more of the sick and wounded they treated, would have died if it had not been for the civilian doctors working in South Africa as volunteers. During the First World War, the corps reached its apogee both in size and experience. Before the Second World War, the Royal Army Medical Corps recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 2 inches tall, and could enlist up to 30 years of age. They initially enlisted for seven years with the colours, and a further five years with the reserve, or three years and nine years. They trained for six months at the Royal Army Medical Corps Depot, Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Church Crookham, before proceeding to specialist trade training.
Since the Victoria Cross was instituted in 1856 there have been 27 Victoria Crosses and two bars awarded to army medical personnel. A bar, indicating a subsequent award of a second Victoria Cross, has only ever been awarded three times, two of them to medical officers. The corps also has one recipient of both the Victoria Cross and the Iron Cross. One officer was awarded the George Cross in the Second World War.

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British Bren Mark 1 LMG

The Bren gun, usually called simply the Bren, are a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used in the Korean War and saw service throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including the 1982 Falklands War.
The Bren was a licensed version of the Czechoslovak ZGB 33 light machine gun which, in turn, was a modified version of the ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. The later Bren featured a distinctive top-mounted curved box magazine, conical flash hider, and quick change barrel. The name Bren was derived from Brno, the Czechoslovak city in Moravia, where the Zb vz. 26 was designed (in the Zbrojovka Brno Factory) and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory. The designer was Václav Holek, a gun inventor and design engineer.
Although was designed to hold 30 rounds of .303” and care had to be taken during loading to ensure that the cartridge case rim was in front of the previous rim, it was found to be far more reliable if only 28 rounds were loaded into the magazine. The gun had a cyclic rate of fire of 500 rounds per minute and 25 magazines were issued per gun. A spare barrel was carried and this could he changed in 2 to 3 seconds but it was not uncommon to see the barrel glow with heat. The method used to try to cool the replaced barrel was often by unconventional methods, but the rapid change barrel using the carrying handle was a godsend to prolonged fire.
Generally, the Bren was fired from the prone position using the attached bipod. On occasion, a Bren gunner would use his weapon on the move supported by a sling, much like an automatic rifle, and from standing or kneeling positions. Using the sling, Australian soldiers regularly fired the Bren from the hip, for instance in the marching fire tactic, a form of suppressive fire moving forward in assault.
It was "by general consent the finest light machine gun in the world of its period, and the most useful weapon provided to the French "maquis" ... accurate up to 1,000 meters, and it could withstand immense maltreatment and unskilled use. "Resistants" were constantly pleading for maximum drops of Brens".
Since Bren guns had been made the principle machine gun of the front line infantry, it was not surprising that the first British soldier to land in France during the 1944 Normandy invasion was a Bren gunner. At 00:02 hours on 6 Jun 1944, Private William Gray of D Company of 2nd Battalion of the airborne infantry regiment Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry arrived by glider to ensure those who landed after him would have the benefit of cover fire from his Bren gun should there be such need immediately upon landing.

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British Vickers MMG

The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The machine gun typically required a six- to eight-man team to operate: one fired, one fed the ammunition, the rest helped to carry the weapon, its ammunition, and spare parts. The Vickers machine gun was based on the successful Maxim gun of the late 19th century. After purchasing the Maxim company outright in 1896, Vickers took the design of the Maxim gun and improved it, inverting the mechanism as well as reducing its weight by lightening and simplifying the action and using high strength alloys for certain components. A muzzle booster was also added.
The gun was 112 cm long and its cyclic rate of fire was between 450 and 600 rounds per minute. The Mark VIIIz cartridge, which had a boat-tailed spitzer 'streamlined' bullet, could be used against targets at a range of approximately 4,115 m. The gun and its tripod were carried separately and both were heavy. The Vickers Mk I was 13.6 kg without the water and tripod, and weighed 18.1 kg with the water. The original design did not anticipate it being carried up jungle-covered mountains on men's backs, but such was the weapon's popularity that men were generally content to pack it to all manner of difficult locations. The tripod would be set up to make a firm base, often dug into the ground a little and perhaps with the feet weighted down with sandbags.
The water jacket would be filled with about 4 litres of water from a small hole at the rear end, sealed by a cap. The evaporative cooling system, though heavy, was very effective and enabled the gun to keep firing far longer than its air-cooled rival weapons. Some crews added vehicle antifreeze, others drained the water jacket, or simply fired a few rounds periodically to keep the water from freezing.

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British Satchel Charge

A satchel charge is a demolition device, primarily intended for combat, whose primary components are a charge of dynamite or a more potent explosive such as C-4 plastic explosive, a carrying device functionally similar to a satchel or messenger bag, and a triggering mechanism.
In World War II, combat engineers used satchel charges to demolish heavy stationary targets such as rails, obstacles, blockhouses, bunkers, caves, and bridges.
Part or all of this charge could be placed against a structure or slung into an opening. It was usually detonated with a pull igniter. When used as an anti-tank weapon, charges were sufficient to severely damage the tracks. 4 kg charges were enough to destroy medium tanks. The demolition charge assembly consists of 8 block demolition charges, 8 block demolition charge hook assemblies, and 2 demolition priming assemblies.
One of the simplest plastic explosives was Nobel's Explosive No. 808, also known as Nobel 808 (often just called Explosive 808 in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War), developed by the British company Nobel Chemicals Ltd well before World War II. It had the appearance of green plasticine with a distinctive smell of almonds. During World War II it was extensively used by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) at Aston House for sabotage missions. It is also the explosive used in HESH anti-tank shells and was an essential factor in the devising of the Gammon grenade. Captured SOE-supplied Nobel 808 was the explosive used in the failed 20 July plot assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in 1944.
During World War II a number of new RDX-based explosives were developed, including Compositions C, C2, and eventually C3. Together with RDX, these incorporate various plasticizers to decrease sensitivity and make the composition plastic.

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British Flamethrower AP Mark 2

The British World War II army flamethrowers, "Ack Packs", had a doughnut-shaped fuel tank with a small spherical pressurizer gas tank in the middle. As a result, some troops nicknamed them "lifebuoys". It was officially known as Flamethrower, Portable, No 2. It was a near copy of the German Wechselapparat ("Wex") from 1917. The Mark 1 was used as a training weapon, while the improved Mark 2 was used in action. Over 7,000 units were produced from 1943 to 1944. They were ready for service during Operation Overlord (the Allied invasion of Normandy).
The Ack Pack was a harness carrying a doughnut-shaped fuel container with a capacity of 18 litres of fuel on the operator's back. In the middle of the "doughnut" was a spherical container holding nitrogen gas as a propellant, which was pressurized to 140 Bar. This was sufficient to propel the burning fuel 36 metres. A hose from the fuel tank passed to the nozzle assembly which had two pistol grips to hold and aim the spray. The back grip had the trigger. In some versions the nozzle was fitted with a 10-chambered cylinder which contained the ignition cartridges. These could be fired once, each giving the operator 10 bursts of flame. In practice this gave 10 one-second bursts. It was also possible to spray fuel without igniting it to ensure there was plenty splashed around the target, then fire an ignited burst to light up the whole lot.
At some 29 kg the flamethrower was considered heavy. The British hardly used their man-portable systems, relying on Churchill Crocodile tanks in the European theatre.

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British Piat Mk I AT

The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT) Mk I was designed in 1942 in response to the British Army's need for a more effective infantry anti-tank weapon and entered service in 1943. The PIAT was first used during the Tunisia Campaign in 1943.
The PIAT had several advantages over other infantry anti-tank weapons of the period: it had greatly increased penetration power over the previous anti-tank rifles, it had no back-blast which might reveal the position of the user or accidentally injure friendly soldiers around the user, and it was simple in construction. However, the device also had some disadvantages: powerful recoil, a difficulty in cocking the weapon, and early problems with ammunition reliability.
The PIAT was a reasonably good if unpopular weapon; heavy and awkward to carry but safer to use if not as powerful as the German Panzerfaust, it could also be fired by one man and was safe to use from inside hard cover. Given the choice of no back-blast or the ability to fire to lower elevations, the former was a more useful feature in tank hunting since the operator could stay inside buildings or other confined spaces. That said, having to try and re-cock the thing manually if the recoil from a previous shot failed to do this risked a hernia or strained back, since the operator had to use his feet in the way that the less powerful medieval crossbows were re-cocked, but by either standing or by lying horizontal. In Burma, PIAT gunner and Victoria Cross winner Ganju Lama actually managed to do this twice in succession, standing up, despite wounds to three of his limbs, and so destroying two Japanese light tanks. Although one source observed that an essential ingredient to using the PIAT was that a man "should have suicidal tendencies", analysis showed that PIATs destroyed 7% of German armour lost to the British in Normandy, compared to 6% lost to the much over-rated aircraft rockets. A skilled man could hit a target over 60% of the time at 100 yards.

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British Boys .55 ATR

The Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys, was commonly known as the "Boys Anti-tank Rifle". It was often nicknamed the "elephant gun" by its users due to its size and large bore.
There were three main versions of the Boys: an early model (Mark I) which had a circular muzzle brake and T-shaped monopod, built primarily at BSA in England; a later model (Mk I*) built primarily at the John Inglis and Company in Toronto, Canada, that had a rectangular muzzle brake and a V shaped bipod; and a third model made for airborne forces with a 30-inch (762 mm) barrel and no muzzle brake. The Boys was phased out in favour of the hollow charge weapon PIAT mid-war.
The Boys anti-tank rifle was "ludicrously inadequate" against even the more thinly-armoured of the German tanks, having been designed for the defence of the Egyptian border after the Italian-Abyssinian war. It reflected a General Staff obsession with infantry-held ATW from 1927 onwards (the year that the lance was officially declared obsolete) and was rushed into service despite its shortcomings. Apart from the violent recoil, the noise made the wearing of ear-plugs prudent and the original steel-cored bullet had to be replaced by one of the harder tungsten-carbide to render it even remotely effective. The 1937 training leaflet recommended practice against targets moving at 15-25 mph at up to 500 yards range—extremely unrealistic advice. After Dunkirk troops were taught to hold their fire until the target was just 30 yards away, or aim at the suspension. Its effectiveness in France with the BEF was undermined both by a shortage of ammunition, the general availability of only half-charge practice ammunition and insufficient training. But the more enterprising Australians found it useful against the Italians at Tobruk in early 1941 by firing at stone sangars to produce rock fragments, and one Aussie, anchored by two of his mates, even fired it at aircraft attacking his troopship. British troops entering the steep and mountainous Ethiopian terrain were quick to dump them, but nonetheless by 1943 nearly 69,000 had been made, even though "... a good crossbow would have been just as useful and far cheaper".

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OML 2-in. Mortars:

The "Ordnance, Muzzle Loading, 2-in. Mortar" was derived from a Spanish design. The threatening international situation forced it into production in 1938 after only a minimum of testing, but nonetheless it performed well throughout WW2. Its short range was a drawback, but one at least partially offset by its ability to fire smoke, and later, IR. One 2-in. mortar was allotted to the HQ of each infantry (including parachute and airlanding) platoon, each motor platoon, each assault troop in an infantry recce squadron, and each support troop in an AC squadron. In the latter half of 1943, each gun troop in an AT regiment was authorized two 2-in. mortars (those in a 17pdr troop, whether SP or towed, were carried in trucks). There were 14 variations of the 2-in. mortar, the most noteworthy being the Airborne version which was lighter and had a shorter barrel; it was issued to parachute infantry.
However the main British technical weakness in infantry weapons lay in mortars, as there had been no inter-war research into mortar design or the effects of rain on ignition efficiency. The little 2" mortar was of 1918 vintage, lacked punch like all mortars of so small a calibre, and had rudimentary sights in the form of a white line painted on the barrel. With a theoretical rate of fire of 20-30 rpm, great skill was needed by the user if ammunition was not to be wasted; although it could in theory be fired point-blank horizontally (an unwise procedure occasionally practised against Japanese bunkers), it had a poor range compared to its foreign equivalents.

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OML 3-in. Mk II Mortar:

The Stokes 3-in. trench mortar which entered service in 1917 was the fore-runner of the modern infantry mortar. By 1939 the Mk II version was in widespread service, but lacked range compared to its Axis counterparts. Improved ammunition and, later, improvements to the mortar itself partially redressed this problem. In 1940 an infantry battalion contained only two 3-in. mortars, but in 1941 this was increased to a platoon of six. Also in 1941, two were added to the infantry division's recce battalion, and in 1942 this too was increased to a platoon of six. Some motor battalions began the war with two 3-in. mortars per company, but others apparently had none until 1942. An airlanding (glider) battalion in 1944 had a platoon of four 3-in. mortars, plus two more 3-in. in each of the battalion's four companies; at the start of 1945 all were placed at battalion level in three four-mortar platoons. In India-Burma the 3-in. saw even more widespread service: Light Mountain, and Jungle Field, artillery regiments were given a battery of sixteen 3-in. in 1943, and in 1944 AT and AA/AT regiments also received them. In Burma, each Chindit company was authorized two 3-in. mortars.
Initially the British 3-inch mortar could reach to only 1600 yards, while the German and Italian 81mm mortars could manage 2625 and 4429 yards, respectively. The fact that the British weapon threw a larger bomb and could deliver 200 lb of projectiles in 60 seconds compared to the 25-pdr gun's 125 lb at intensive fire rates was little consolation. However, its range was later increased to 2790-2800 yards, though some crews improved on this through the unorthodox use of captured ammunition, or to over 3000 yards (in Burma) by the addition of extra propellant. Only in 1945 was the range officially increased to 3500 yards by means of a stronger base-plate and barrel to cope with yet more propellant.

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British ML 4.2-in. Mark 3 Mortar

This mortar was developed in 1941 to fire chemical rounds, but HE ammo was designed for it as the fighting in North Africa made it clear that a mortar with a range greater than that of the 3-in. was needed. The 4.2 in (110 mm) mortar was a smooth-bore weapon of the Stokes pattern and was designed by the Armaments Research and Development Establishment and produced by the Royal Ordnance Factories. It entered widespread British service in 1942, equipping chemical warfare companies of the Royal Engineers (RE). The Mark 3 became the standard model. Like the 3-in., the 4.2-in. initially had an unsatisfactory range for a mortar of its caliber, being able to reach out only to about 3100m; improved ammo soon appeared, which increased its range to some 3900m. In North Africa it was used by Royal Engineer mortar companies. The first combat use was at Second Battle of El Alamein, when the 66th Mortar Company (RE) was attached to the Australian 24th Infantry Brigade. During the battle, 66 Mortar Company provided intense, effective supporting fire on the 24th Brigade's exposed right flank, as the infantry advanced, expending all of the 4.2-inch HE mortar ammunition in the theatre. In the Pacific Theater of Operations it was assigned directly to infantry units: an infantry division's MG/support battalion had a company of sixteen, of which four (one platoon) were in the support company detached from that battalion to each brigade; in an armoured division, the independent MG company attached to the infantry brigade also contained one such platoon. In the European Theater of Operations the 4.2-in. first appeared in 1944, replacing the 3-in, mortars in AT regiments (except in the West African divisions). More arrived during the advance to Rangoon, and were allotted to divisional artillery regiments. The 4.2-in. was usually towed by a Loyd Carrier. When the 4.2" mortar was introduced only 4100 yards range could be obtained, by which time the Germans already had copies of the Soviet 120mm mortar in service with a range of 6500 yards, a heavier bomb and a lower overall weight.

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British OQF 25mm Hotchkiss Mark I AT

The 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun was a French anti-tank gun from the 1930's, built by the Hotchkiss arsenal, that saw service in the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War and the Indochina War. This was the standard light AT gun of the French Army and the British purchased a quantity in 1938, and used them in nine-gun AT companies allotted to infantry brigades. At least one AT regiment in the British Expeditionary Force (the 14th, of the 4th Infantry Division) was also equipped with them. A number saw action in Norway, but the majority were used (and lost) in Belgium and France. Later, some were used in North Africa by Free French troops who had captured them in Syria.
When the British Expeditionary Force landed in France in 1939 it had insufficient numbers of anti-tank weapons such as the Ordnance QF 2 pounder. The British Expeditionary Force was fully mechanised and attempted to tow the weapon behind their vehicles, but quickly found that it was not robust enough because British troops had been issued with the hippomobile version of the cannon (designed to be towed by horses). The solution was to use the gun as a portée, that is, carried in the back of a truck. It was the first artillery piece to be used in this way.
Despite its low caliber which forced its servants to target precisely the weak points of the opposing tanks, it remained for the time a powerful anti-tank gun against the Panzer II, III and IV which constituted the majority of the German tanks during the invasion of France by the German Army.