[horsa]

We got a break in the cold temps so I was able to get the rest of the towed mortar base painted and assembled. Two shots attached to show the final result of the modern tyres mounted on the 6-pdr pattern wheels.

Interestingly, the 4.2-inch towed base design first appeared in 1944. But the wheels and related parts used on my example must have come from unused or salvaged artillery parts as they are all 1942 and 1943 dated. I'd have thought that the military would have used up all of the earlier produced components and had more current (at the time) items when they began building the portable base plates.

When first produced in 1944, these would have used wheels like the ones pictured on the airborne 10-cwt trailer also seen in the shots. Then sometime in 1945 they went to the wider and slightly lower profile 6-pdr pattern.