The 2 inch medium trench mortar, also known as the 2-inch howitzer, and nicknamed the "toffee apple" or "plum pudding" mortar, was a British smooth bore muzzle loading (SBML) medium trench mortar in use in World War I from mid-1915 to mid-1917. The designation "2-inch" refers to the mortar barrel, into which only the 22-inch bomb shaft but not the bomb itself was inserted; the spherical bomb itself was actually 9 inches (230 mm) in diameter and weighed 42 lb (19 kg), hence this weapon is more comparable to a standard mortar of approximately 5-6 inch bore. Background and predecessors As the Western Front in France and Belgium stagnated into trench warfare in late 1914, British forces found themselves with no means of replying to the German minenwerfers (trench mortars) which were lobbing both small and large (over 100 pound) high-explosive shells into their frontline trenches from short range. British commanders requested an accurate short-range weapon which was manually portable in the trenches, could be safely used to attack enemy trenches as close as 100 yards to the British trenches, was easily concealed and projected a reasonably large explosive charge capable of damaging protected enemy positions. The British Expeditionary Force had been expected to participate only in mobile warfare and was not equipped with any mortars. Various alternative designs for light and medium mortars were evaluated, prompted by the need to place at least some weapon into action without diverting manufacturing capacity from guns and howitzers, which weapons were given priority. Hence the emphasis was on designs for both mortar and ammunition that could be manufactured by small unsophisticated workshops unsuited to other war work: 4-inch mortar The 4-inch mortar was the only official type to enter service before the end of 1914 (12 units). It fired an 8 pound steel bomb with studs to engage rifling grooves in the mortar barrel, similar to the German minenwerfer. The barrel was improvised by boring out a 6-inch shell. Its range of 900 yards and its accuracy was considered acceptable, but the shell case was expensive and was slow to load. About 40 guns and several thousand rounds were issued by June 1915, with 168 of the total 300 manufactured eventually serving in France. It was soon replaced by the 3-inch Stokes mortar in its "light mortar" class. 3.7-inch mortar The 3.7-inch pipe gun was an early improvised mortar. Eighteen were initially