but this, used solely by the Special Brigade of the Royal Engineers, should be considered a separate weapon from the standard "3-inch" version used by the infantry — with an actual bore of — firing high explosive rounds described in this article. The Stokes mortar was used in the Banana Wars and helped American forces defeat Sandinista rebels during the Second Battle of Las Cruces on 1 January 1928. The Paraguayan Army made extensive use of the Stokes mortar during the Chaco War, especially as a siege weapon in the Battle of Boquerón in September 1932. Stokes mortars were widely used by the Republican Army during the Spanish Civil War, sold mostly by Poland. In September 1936, 44,000 Stokes rounds arrived in Spain. By World War II, it could fire as many as 30 bombs per minute and had a range of over with some shell types. Image gallery See also Ordnance ML 3 inch mortar : British 1930s successor Weapons of comparable role, performance and era 7.58 cm Minenwerfer : approximate German equivalent Surviving examples Australian War Memorial, Canberra An example with bombs is displayed at l'hotel de ville d'Arras, France.Bernard Plumier : Link to his web page which has details and photograph Direct link to photograph See also Mortar (weapon) List of infantry mortars Notes and references Bibliography "Stokes' trench howitzer, 3", mark I". US Army War College, January 1918. Made available online by Combined Arms Research Library Field Artillery Notes No. 7. US Army War College August 1917. Provided online by Combined Arms Research Library External links "Handbook of the M.L. Stokes 3-Inch Trench Mortar Equipments. 1919." Published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1920. "Basic Field Manual. Volume III, Basic Weapons. Part Four, Howitzer Company. 3-inch Trench Mortar". United States War Department, 1932. Made available online by Combined Arms Research Library Infantry mortars World War I British infantry weapons World War I mortars of the United Kingdom World War I infantry weapons of Australia World War II infantry weapons of Australia 81mm mortars Weapons of the Philippine Army