4x4s.org NAMED MODEL · 1941–43
NAMED MODELMilitary · AustraliaAustraliaUnited States

3-inch mortar carrier (Australia)

The 2-pounder carrier's chassis with a 3-inch mortar on a turntable, fired from the vehicle through 360 degrees or dismounted: 400 were produced and sent to the Nationalist Chinese Army as military aid.

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Sources & evidence
3-inch mortar carrier (Australia) — Carrier, 3-inch mortar (Aust), in three-colour camouflage.Photographer not identified. · Public domain ↗
BASE VEHICLEUniversal Carrier (1940–60)BUILT BYState Engineering, Ford Motor Company, Ford Motor Company of Australia, Victorian Railways, Newport Workshops, South Australian Railways, Islington Workshops, Metropolitan Gas Company, FitzroyIN SERVICE1941–43OPERATED INAustralia, ChinaPRODUCTION400LAYOUT4 wheels

The record

The 400 mortar carriers made up a large share of the 1,500 carriers Australia supplied to China during the war. Which of the Australian builders made them is not recorded in the sources consulted.

Research status: draft — identification, dates or figures could not all be pinned down; the summary says what is unresolved.

Specification

MANUFACTURED1941–43 (programme)
ENGINEFord flathead V8 petrolFord flathead V8
PRODUCTION RUN400
COUNTRY OF ORIGINAustralia
OPERATED INAustralia, China
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINEUniversal Carrier
FAMILYUniversal Carrier
WHEELS4
BODY STYLEopen
CATEGORYMilitary · Australia

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Variants & colours

Base model variants

Factory colours

  • Service Colour Standard brown
  • Olive Drab
  • Khaki Green No. 3
  • Dark Brown
  • Black
  • Dark Olive Green
  • Light Stone
  • Portland Stone
  • Desert Pink
  • Light Mud
  • Deep Bronze Green

Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1Universal Carrier ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE
  2. 2Australian Carrier Variants ↗Nevington War Museum · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-24 · status: draft