Aussie LP mortar carrier boxes

Ryan · #1 30-09-12, 05:20

I have just bought these on ebay. Picked up in inner city Melbourne of all places. The chap I bought them from got them from another chap whose father had served in WW2. He thought they were off the back of a tank. I think they are off a Bren carrier, and a Mortar carrier to boot. They are both angled in towards their front. I've included a picture of a Mortar carrier diagram. I think they are the outer rear storage boxes, the small ones. One looks to be fractionally bigger than the other. One features welded brackets inside it while the other is plain.
What do you guys think?

Ryan · #2 30-09-12, 05:27

Here's some more pics. The brackets on the back look to be original as they are weathered just like the rest of the box.

Bob Moseley (RIP) · #3 30-09-12, 09:37

Hi Ryan - they certainly look like the two outer boxes of the 3" Mortar Carrier. Very occasionaly these boxes surface. It is a pity a 3" Mortar Carrier does not surface and the fate of the 300 made and sent overseas still has not been resolved. It would be interesting if a light sanding of the boxes reveals any scripting.

According to Mike Cecil their hull numbers were in the range of #6500-#6900 and here I have to revise the production run to 400 and not 300.

Bob

Ryan · #4 30-09-12, 10:27

Thanks for that bob. It's interesting that the boxes still surface yet no mortar carriers have existed here since the war. Now that sanctions are being lifted from Burma I think quite a few vehicles (and hopefully carriers) will surface there from ww2.

lynx42 · #5 02-10-12, 01:20

G'day Ryan,

There is another box just up the road from me on an old sawbench. It is the big one in the middle. Been trying to get it for years with no luck. So they are around. If we put them all together we may end up with a full set.

Regards Rick.

Ryan · #6 02-10-12, 12:44

Keep at it Rick, it will be yours one day. I'm glad there are still bits of the mortar carrier around to find.