58mm Type 2 Mortar - Crapouillot
In US Service in WW1

The Crapouillot, or "Little Toad", was an inexpensive and effective WW1 French trench mortar. It lobbed an 18 to 35 kilo mortar bomb out to 500 meters. It had limited traverse which was accomplished by shifting the mortar on its bed. The weapon was crude; but effective, and well suited for trench warfare. It was widely used by the French and was adopted the AEF, Russia, and Italy.

I started with the tiny U-Models resin kit of the mortar. This is nicely cast but tiny. The US Ordnance Manual for the weapon contains nice line drawings of the wooden mortar bed and platform. Using these, I scratch built the mortar bed and platform from Evergreen square tubing strip, and angle irons. The mortar bombs can from the Vargas Scale Models Russian variant of the mortar. I designed and printed the decals based upon the US Ammunition Handbook.