Mallet's Mortar

There was little response from the government until Mallet wrote to the Prime Minister Lord Palmerston in March 1855. Palmerston was taken with the idea and instructed the Board of Ordnance to arrange for the construction of two mortars of Mallet's design. Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company won the contract at a price of £4,300 per mortar. The company's bankruptcy resulted in the work being divided among three firms which managed to deliver the mortars in May 1857. Testing began on 19 October 1857 with further testing taking place on 18 December 1857, 21 July 1858, and 28 July 1858. Each test was brought to an end by damage to the mortar. A total of 19 rounds were fired with a rate of about four shells an hour being achieved. Shell weight was between 2352. In testing with an 80 lb charge it fired the lighter shell a distance of 2759 yards with a flight time of 23 seconds. The gun used for testing is on loan to the Royal Artillery and is located on the corner of Greenhill Terrace and Repository Road, opposite the entrance to the British Army's Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, while the unfired gun is on display outside the Royal Armouries Fort Nelson near Portsmouth.

• Name — Mallet's Mortar • Origin — United Kingdom • Type — Siege mortar • Is Ranged — Yes • Is Uk — Yes • Wars — Unused • Designer — Robert Mallet • Manufacturer — C. J. Mare ironworks, Blackwall (bankrupted), Completed by Horsfall & Co and Fawcett, Preston & Co, both of Liverpool. • Production Date — March 1857 • Number — 2 • Weight — 42 LT • Length — 11 ft • Cartridge Weight — 2800 lb • Caliber — 36 in • Range — 1.5 mi with 2400 lb shell • Elevation — 45 • Filling Weight — 480 lb

Mallet's Mortar is classified as a siege artillery or mortar. Recorded at coordinates 51.4869, 0.0565. Recorded as a kind of siege artillery. Associated with United Kingdom.