The REI sought to develop multi-purpose support weapons that were part cannon, part mortar and one was the Brixia Assault Mortar Mod. 35, used at company level.
It was to replace the rifle grenade launchers considered too inaccurate.
According to the official description it was:
‘Weapon with curved, folding shaft, has the possibility of relatively tight shooting, especially at shorter distances. Of good accuracy. It is also mobile and defilable, capable of curved and relatively tense shooting. It is the weapon that prepares the assault, disrupting and neutralising adversary resistance nuclei that are not, or poorly, armoured with its fire. It acts by concentrations of fire on the same target.“
Rate of fire:
25-30 rounds per minute without sight adjustment
8-10 rounds per minute with shot-by-shot adjustment.
Range: minimum 50m (100m in peace time), maximum 500m
Horizontal sector: 200°; vertical -100°
It was indeed a very stable and accurate weapon, adjustable with great precision, capable of curved and taut shooting and was even capable of depression firing.
For example, with a Brixia Mod. 35, it was possible to penetrate a window of a building or a loophole, which was impossible for a traditional mortar.
The often lamented low power of the single bomb was in fact largely intentional. The concept of use saw it as a weapon to support the infantry assault in the last 200 metres, when accompanying artillery fire had to be suspended or moved further forward.
The idea was to use several weapons at once with a high rate of fire and good accuracy to create a screen of fire behind which the infantrymen could advance, as well as create rapid smoke curtains with smoke bombs.
The bombs therefore did not have to be very powerful in order not to risk hitting the attackers. In practice, they had to be hand grenades of superior range and accuracy that would make the defenders keep their heads down.
Weight/effectiveness/calibre of the ammunition was balanced and it was possible to cary a lot of ammunition.
It was possible to fire while keeping a very defiladed position on the ground, which was very much appreciated by the soldiers, or to execute shots, even with a stretched trajectory, with fair accuracy.
From a technical point of view, it was a well-conceived weapon, ingenious and efficient when used as designed, although somewhat complex and expensive in terms of construction. The German equivalent did not shine. The 50 mm Granatwerfer 36 was always seen by the Germans as an inaccurate, unstable, underpowered and not easy to use weapon.
The main advantage of the British two-inch mortar was its extreme simplicity, lightness and ease of use, although gradually in the course of the war the main use became the formation of smoke screens.
Squadra Mortaio d'assalto Brixia Mod. 35
According to the training manuals, a 45-mm mortar squad consisted of 3 mortars and a total of 14 men, and one squad was attached to each the company.
Depending on the mission, the Brixia M35s could be assigned individually to the platoons, but were primarily intended to operate as a squad to concentrate their fire on a single target.