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TerryStibal

Many years ago, back in the 1980s, I ran across a Japanese spigot mortar, on of the monstro-400+ mm ones, complete with its timber bedding. No projectile mounted, but it was quite clear that that was what it was.

It was painted in our 1976 Bicentennial colors, in a roadside park in Michigan City IN. It was on the main drag leading from the Interstate highway/tollway to the downtown area where the factory outlet mall was located. As I recall it, it was one the west side of the street, in a completely open area alongside the street. It was obvious even from a hundred feet away on the road.

We revisited Michigan City this past summer, only to find that the former little park had been revised as part of the city's new high school stadium. The red, white and blue piece of ordnance had been relocated. But, where?

I visited the City Engineer, who was helpful as hell, but she was too new on the job to know what went on when the stadium was built. I visited a couple of the veteran's posts in the town (we were very pressed for time), but the barmen didn't have any idea either.

Does anyone know what happened to this bit of Japanese history? Thanks in advance for any help that you might be able to give.

armyjunk2 · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Sep 22, 2006 Posts: 1416

was it one of these?? I changed out the photo,

TerryStibal

Nope. It was a vertical metal spigot atop a timber bedding. It matched the photos of the Japanese one exactly, as far as I could tell, right down to the numbers cut into the ends of the bedding timbers.

I would have photographed it in the 1980s, but this was back in the days of "real film", and I had just used up the last few exposures that I had with me.

Massimo_Foti

Maybe one of these?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..._mm_mortar

Massimo

armyjunk2 · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Sep 22, 2006 Posts: 1416

was it one of these?? I changed out the photo, what an odd piece to have as a trophy gun, most folks would have no idea what it is..

TerryStibal

That's the one, although all that they had was the spigot and base.

As mentioned above, the thing was all tarted up for the Bicentennial, all red, white and blue with stars running around the base. I doubt that one in a thousand who saw it knew it for what it was.

It seems like something that large would still be somewhere.

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