Mortar (weapon)

Last updated
United States Army soldiers firing an M120 mortar (round visible in smoke) during the War in Afghanistan M120 Mortar in Zabol Province, Afghanistan.jpg
United States Army soldiers firing an M120 mortar (round visible in smoke) during the War in Afghanistan

A mortar today is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded cannon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition. Historically mortars were heavy siege artillery. Mortars launch explosive shells (technically called bombs) [1] in high-arching ballistic trajectories.

Contents

History

Mortars have been used for hundreds of years. The earliest reported use of mortars was in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the wan'gu (gourd-shaped mortar) (완구, 碗口). [2] The earliest version of the wan'gu dates back to 1407. [3] Ch'oe Hae-san (1380–1443), the son of Ch'oe Mu-sŏn (1325–1395), is generally credited with inventing the wan'gu. [4] In the Ming dynasty, general Qi Jiguang recorded the use of a mini cannon called the hu dun pao that was similar to the mortar. [5]

The first use in siege warfare was at the 1453 siege of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror. An Italian account of the 1456 siege of Belgrade by Giovanni da Tagliacozzo states that the Ottoman Turks used seven mortars that fired "stone shots one Italian mile high". [6] The time of flight of these was apparently long enough that casualties could be avoided by posting observers to give warning of their trajectories. [7]

Engraving depicting the Venetian siege of the Acropolis of Athens, September 1687. The trajectory of the shell that hit the Parthenon, causing its explosion, is marked. Venetian siege of Acropolis.jpg
Engraving depicting the Venetian siege of the Acropolis of Athens, September 1687. The trajectory of the shell that hit the Parthenon, causing its explosion, is marked.

Early mortars, such as the Pumhart von Steyr, were large and heavy and could not be easily transported. Simply made, these weapons were no more than iron bowls reminiscent of the kitchen and apothecary mortars whence they drew their name. An early transportable mortar was invented by Baron Menno van Coehoorn in 1701. [8] [9] This mortar fired an exploding shell, which had a fuse that was lit by the hot gases when fired. The Coehorn mortar gained quick popularity, necessitating a new form of naval ship, the bomb vessel. Mortars played a significant role in the Venetian conquest of Morea, and in the course of this campaign an ammunition depot in the Parthenon was blown up. An early use of these more mobile mortars as field artillery (rather than siege artillery) was by British forces in the suppression of the Jacobite rising of 1719 at the Battle of Glen Shiel. High angle trajectory mortars held a great advantage over standard field guns in the rough terrain of the West Highlands of Scotland.

US Army 13-inch mortar "Dictator" was a rail-mounted gun of the American Civil War. Virginia, Petersburg, Mortar Dictator - NARA - 533349.tif
US Army 13-inch mortar "Dictator" was a rail-mounted gun of the American Civil War.

The mortar had fallen out of general use in Europe by the Napoleonic era, although Manby Mortars were widely used on the coast to launch lines to ships in distress, and interest in their use as a weapon was not revived until the beginning of the 20th century. Mortars were heavily used by both sides during the American Civil War. At the Siege of Vicksburg, General Ulysses S. Grant reported making mortars "by taking logs of the toughest wood that could be found, boring them out for 6 or 12 lb (2.7 or 5.4 kg) shells and binding them with strong iron bands. These answered as Coehorns, and shells were successfully thrown from them into the trenches of the enemy". [10]

During the Russo-Japanese War, Lieutenant General Leonid Gobyato of the Imperial Russian Army applied the principles of indirect fire from closed firing positions in the field; and with the collaboration of General Roman Kondratenko, he designed the first mortar that fired navy shells.

German 7.5 cm Minenwerfer German 7.58 cm minenwerfer.jpg
German 7.5 cm Minenwerfer

The German Army studied the Siege of Port Arthur, where heavy artillery had been unable to destroy defensive structures like barbed wire and bunkers. Consequently they developed a short-barrelled rifled muzzle-loading mortar called the Minenwerfer . Heavily used during World War I, they were made in three sizes: 7.58 cm (2.98 in), 17 cm (6.7 in), and 25 cm (9.8 in).

Types

Stokes mortar

Wilfred Stokes with example of his WWI mortar and bombs WilfredStokeswithMortar.jpg
Wilfred Stokes with example of his WWI mortar and bombs

It was not until the Stokes mortar was devised by Sir Wilfred Stokes in 1915 during the First World War that the modern mortar transportable by one person was born. In the conditions of trench warfare, there was a great need for a versatile and easily portable weapon that could be manned by troops under cover in the trenches. Stokes' design was initially rejected in June 1915 because it was unable to use existing stocks of British mortar ammunition, and it took the intervention of David Lloyd George (at that time Minister of Munitions) and Lieutenant Colonel J. C. Matheson of the Trench Warfare Supply Department (who reported to Lloyd George) to expedite manufacture of the Stokes mortar. The weapon proved to be extremely useful in the muddy trenches of the Western Front, as a mortar round could be aimed to fall directly into trenches, where artillery shells, because of their low angle of flight, could not possibly go. [11]

The Stokes mortar was a simple muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smoothbore metal tube fixed to a base plate (to absorb recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount. When a mortar bomb was dropped into the tube, an impact sensitive primer in the base of the bomb would make contact with a firing pin at the base of the tube and detonate, firing the bomb towards the target. The Stokes mortar could fire as many as 25 bombs per minute and had a maximum range of 800 yd (730 m), firing the original cylindrical unstabilised projectile. [12]

A modified version of the mortar, which fired a modern fin-stabilised streamlined projectile and had a booster charge for longer range, was developed after World War I; [13] this was in effect a new weapon. By World War II, it could fire as many as 30 bombs per minute and had a range of over 2,500 yd (2,300 m) with some shell types. [14] The French developed an improved version of the Stokes mortar as the Brandt Mle 27, further refined as the Brandt Mle 31; this design was widely copied with and without license. [15] [16] [17] These weapons were the prototypes for all subsequent light mortar developments around the world.

Mortar carrier

The German 60 cm Karl-Gerat heavy siege mortar in August 1944 Karl6.jpg
The German 60 cm Karl-Gerät heavy siege mortar in August 1944
Interior of an Israeli Defence Force M113 mortar carrier showing the placement of an 81 mm mortar M113-mortar-carrier-id2008-5.jpg
Interior of an Israeli Defence Force M113 mortar carrier showing the placement of an 81 mm mortar

Mortar carriers are vehicles which carry a mortar as a primary weapon. Numerous vehicles have been used to mount mortars, from improvised civilian trucks used by insurgents, to modified infantry fighting vehicles, such as variants of the M3 half-track and M113 armored personnel carrier, to vehicles specifically intended to carry a mortar. Simpler vehicles carry a standard infantry mortar while in more complex vehicles the mortar is fully integrated into the vehicle and cannot be dismounted from the vehicle. Mortar carriers cannot be fired while on the move, and some must be dismounted to fire.

There are numerous armoured fighting vehicles and even main battle tanks that can be equipped with a mortar, either outside or inside of the cabin. The Israeli Merkava tank uses a 60 mm (2.4 in) mortar as a secondary armament. The Russian army uses the 2S4 Tyulpan self-propelled 240 mm (9.4 in) heavy mortar which is one of the largest mortars in current use.

Gun-mortars

2B9 Vasilek 82 mm gun mortar 2B9 Vasilek mortar-4058.JPG
2B9 Vasilek 82 mm gun mortar

Gun-mortars are breech-loaded mortars usually equipped with a hydraulic recoil mechanism, and sometimes equipped with an autoloader. They are usually mounted on an armoured vehicle and are capable of both direct fire and indirect fire. The archetypes are the Brandt Mle CM60A1 and Brandt 60 mm LR, which combine features of modern infantry mortars together with those of modern cannon. Such weapons are most commonly smoothbore, firing fin-stabilised rounds, using relatively small propellant charges in comparison to projectile weight. While some have been fitted with rifled barrels, such as the 2S31 Vena and 2S9 Nona. They have short barrels in comparison to guns and are much more lightly built than guns of a similar calibre – all characteristics of infantry mortars. This produces a hybrid weapon capable of engaging area targets with indirect high-angle fire, and also specific targets such as vehicles and bunkers with direct fire. Such hybrids are much heavier and more complicated than infantry mortars, superior to rocket-propelled grenades in the anti-armour and bunker-busting role, but have a reduced range compared to modern gun-howitzers and inferior anti-tank capability compared to modern anti-tank guided weapons. However, they do have a niche in, for example, providing a multi-role anti-personnel, anti-armour capability in light mobile formations. Such systems, like the Soviet 120 mm 2S9 Nona, are mostly self-propelled (although a towed variant exists). The AMOS (Advanced Mortar System) is an example of an even more advanced gun mortar system. It uses a 120 mm automatic twin-barrelled, breech-loaded mortar turret, which can be mounted on a variety of armoured vehicles and attack boats. A modern example of a gun-mortar is the 2B9 Vasilek.

Spigot mortar

A Blacker Bombard during training Blacker Bombard.jpg
A Blacker Bombard during training

A spigot mortar consists mainly of a solid rod or spigot, onto which a hollow tube in the projectile fits—inverting the normal tube-mortar arrangement. At the top of the tube in the projectile, a cavity contains propellant, such as cordite. There is usually a trigger mechanism built into the base of the spigot, with a long firing pin running up the length of the spigot activating a primer inside the projectile and firing the propellant charge. The advantage of a spigot mortar is that the firing unit (baseplate and spigot) is smaller and lighter than a conventional tube mortar of equivalent payload and range. It is also somewhat simpler to manufacture. Further, most spigot mortars have no barrel in the conventional sense, which means ammunition of almost any weight and diameter can be fired from the same mortar.

The disadvantage is that while most mortar bombs have a streamlined shape towards the back that fits a spigot mortar application well, using that space for the spigot mortar tube takes volume and mass away from the payload of the projectile. If a soldier is carrying only a few projectiles, the projectile weight disadvantage is not significant. However, the weight of a large quantity of the heavier and more complex spigot projectiles offsets the weight saved.

A near-silent mortar can operate using the spigot principle. Each round has a close-fitting sliding plug in the tube that fits over the spigot. When the round is fired, the projectile is pushed off the spigot, but before the plug clears the spigot it is caught by a constriction at the base of the tube. This traps the gases from the propelling charge and hence the sound of the firing. After World War II the Belgium Fly-K silent spigot mortar was accepted into French service as the TN-8111. [18] [19]

A hedgehog launcher on display. Note the exposed spigot on the lower left launcher. A hedgehog launcher on display.jpg
A hedgehog launcher on display. Note the exposed spigot on the lower left launcher.

Spigot mortars generally fell out of favour after World War II and were replaced by smaller conventional mortars. Military applications of spigot mortars include:

Non-military applications include the use of small-calibre spigot mortars to launch lightweight, low-velocity foam dummy targets used for training retriever dogs for bird hunting. Simple launchers use a separate small primer cap as the sole propellant (similar or identical to the cartridges used in industrial nail guns).

Improvised

Improvised mortars in Batey ha-Osef Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel Improvised-mortars-batey-haosef-1-1.jpg
Improvised mortars in Batey ha-Osef Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel

Insurgent groups often use improvised, or "homemade" mortars to attack fortified military installations or terrorise civilians. They are usually constructed from heavy steel piping mounted on a steel frame. These weapons may fire standard mortar rounds, purpose-made shells, repurposed gas cylinders filled with explosives and shrapnel, or any other type of improvised explosive, incendiary or chemical munitions. These were called "barrack busters" by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA).

Syrian civil war

Improvised mortars used by insurgents in the Syrian civil war are known as hell cannons. Observers have noted that they are "wildly inaccurate" and responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths. [21]

Sri Lankan civil war

Improvised mortars used in the Sri Lankan civil war by the rebel Tamil Tigers are known as "Pasilan 2000", also known as a "rocket mortar" or "Arti-mortar" like the 122 mm (4.8 in) cannon, successor to the Baba mortar used by the LTTE for ground operations since the 1980s. As Baba mortar rounds contained tar, they caused a fire when they hit the ground. [22] The Baba, the prototype mortar, was crude. But with time the weapon has improved.

The Pasilan 2000, the improved version, has been developed with characteristics similar to a rocket launcher. The Pasilan 2000 was a heavy mortar fired from a mobile launcher mounted on a tractor. The shell does not emit constant muzzle flares like artillery or MBRL. This is ideal for LTTE's camouflage and conceals attacking style. Once a round is fired, forward observers/spies/civilian spotters can correct the fire. The way the tube is installed is similar to the positioning of rocket pods. The length and calibre of the barrel indicate Pasilan 2000 system has common features to the Chinese made Type 82 130 mm (5.1 in) 30-tube MLRS (introduced by the Palestinian Liberation Army (PLA) in the early 1980s) rather than rail-guided Katyusha variants such as the Qassam Rocket. The warhead weight is 70 kg (150 lb) and it is filled with TNT. It had a range of 15 to 25 km (9.3 to 15.5 mi). The rocket has since then undergone some modifications. The Pasilan 2000 was more lethal than Baba mortar. But it was not heavily used for ground attacks during the Eelam War IV. [23] [24]

Modern

Design

L16 mortar consisting of barrel, base plate and bipod 81mmMORT L16.png
L16 mortar consisting of barrel, base plate and bipod
Looking down an L16 mortar barrel. Note: fixed firing pin. L16 smoothbore.png
Looking down an L16 mortar barrel. Note: fixed firing pin.

Most modern mortar systems consist of four main components: a barrel, a base plate, a bipod and a sight. Modern mortars normally range in calibre from 60 mm (2.36 in) to 120 mm (4.72 in). However, both larger and smaller mortars have been produced. The modern mortar is a muzzle-loaded weapon and relatively simple to operate. It consists of a barrel into which the gunners drop a mortar round. When the round reaches the base of the barrel it hits a fixed firing pin that fires the round. The barrel is generally set at an angle of between 45 and 85 degrees (800 to 1500 mils), with the higher angle producing a shorter horizontal trajectory. Some mortars have a moving firing pin, operated by a lanyard or trigger mechanism.

Ammunition

Mortar round with propellant rings about to be fired 40th Cavalry Regiment soldier loads 120 mm mortar round 120208-A-ZU930-014.jpg
Mortar round with propellant rings about to be fired

Ammunition for mortars generally comes in two main varieties: fin-stabilised and spin-stabilised. Examples of the former have short fins on their posterior portion, which control the path of the bomb in flight. Spin-stabilised mortar bombs rotate as they travel along and leave the mortar tube, which stabilises them in much the same way as a rifle bullet. Both types of rounds can be either illumination (infrared or visible illumination), smoke, high explosive, and training rounds. Mortar bombs are often referred to, incorrectly, as "mortars". [25]

Operators may fire spin-stabilised rounds from either a smoothbore or a rifled barrel. Rifled mortars are more accurate but slower to load. Since mortars are generally muzzle-loaded, mortar bombs for rifled barrels usually have a pre-engraved band, called an obturator, that engages with the rifling of the barrel. Exceptions to this are the U.S. M2 4.2-inch mortar and M30 mortar, whose ammunition has a sub-calibre expandable ring that enlarged when fired. This allows the projectile to slide down the barrel freely but grip the rifling when fired. The system resembles the Minié ball for muzzle-loading rifles. For extra range, propellant rings (augmentation charges) are attached to the bomb's fins. The rings are usually easy to remove, because they have a major influence on the speed and thus the range of the bomb. Some mortar rounds can be fired without any augmentation charges, e.g., the 81 mm L16 mortar.

L16 81 mm mortar fired by JGSDF soldiers
Data for 81 mm L16 mortar [26]
ChargeMuzzle velocity
m/s (ft/s)		Range
m (yd)
Primary73 (240)180–520 (200–570)
Charge 1110 (360)390–1,120 (430–1,220)
Charge 2137 (450)580–1,710 (630–1,870)
Charge 3162 (530)780–2,265 (853–2,477)
Charge 4195 (640)1,070–3,080 (1,170–3,370)
Charge 5224 (730)1,340–3,850 (1,470–4,210)
Charge 6250 (820)1,700–4,680 (1,860–5,120)

Precision guided

Soldiers standing in front of an M1064 mortar carrier, holding a XM395 Precision Guided Mortar Munition prototype at Fort Benning, Georgia, February 2006 XM395 Precision Guided Mortar Munition.jpg
Soldiers standing in front of an M1064 mortar carrier, holding a XM395 Precision Guided Mortar Munition prototype at Fort Benning, Georgia, February 2006

The XM395 Precision Guided Mortar Munition (PGMM) is a 120 mm guided mortar round developed by Alliant Techsystems. [27] Based on Orbital ATK's Precision Guidance Kit for 155 mm artillery projectiles, XM395 combines GPS guidance and directional control surfaces into a package that replaces standard fuses, transforming existing 120 mm mortar bodies into precision-guided munitions. [28] The XM395 munition consists of a GPS-guided kit fitted to standard 120 mm smoothbore mortar rounds that includes the fitting of a nose and tail subsystem containing the maneuvering parts. [29] [30]

The Strix mortar round is a Swedish endphase-guided projectile fired from a 120 mm mortar currently manufactured by Saab Bofors Dynamics. STRIX is fired like a conventional mortar round. The round contains an infrared imaging sensor that it uses to guide itself onto any tank or armoured fighting vehicle in the vicinity where it lands. The seeker is designed to ignore targets that are already burning. Launched from any 120 mm mortar, STRIX has a normal range of up to 4.5 km (2.8 mi). The addition of a special sustainer motor increases the range to 7.5 km (4.7 mi).

The GMM 120 (Guided Mortar Munition 120; known as Patzmi; also referred to as Morty) is a GPS and/or laser-guided mortar munition, which was developed by Israel Military Industries. [31] [32] Another Israeli guided mortar is Iron Sting, developed by Elbit. The Russian KM-8 Gran is also laser-guided. [33]

Compared to long range artillery

Self-propelled mortar based on K-4386 during the "Armiya 2020" exhibition Self-propelled mortar based on K-4386 during the "Armiya 2020" exhibition.jpg
Self-propelled mortar based on K-4386 during the "Armiya 2020" exhibition

Modern mortars and their ammunition are generally much smaller and lighter than long range artillery, such as field guns and howitzers, which allows light (60 mm (2.4 in)) and medium (81 mm (3.2 in)/82 mm (3.2 in)) mortars to be considered light weapons; i.e. capable of transport by personnel without vehicle assistance.

Mortars are short-range weapons and often more effective than long range artillery for many purposes within their shorter range. In particular, because of its high, parabolic trajectory with a near vertical descent, the mortar can land bombs on nearby targets, including those behind obstacles or in fortifications, such as light vehicles behind hills or structures, or infantry in trenches or spider holes. This also makes it possible to launch attacks from positions lower than the target of the attack. (For example, long-range artillery could not shell a target 1 km (0.62 mi) away and 30 m (98 ft) higher, a target easily accessible to a mortar.)

Mortar trajectory comparison ATP 3-21.90 Figure 5.1 Example of range coverage from defilade.png
Mortar trajectory comparison

In trench warfare, mortars can use plunging fire directly into the enemy trenches, which is very hard or impossible to accomplish with long range artillery because of its much flatter trajectory. Mortars are also highly effective when used from concealed positions, such as the natural escarpments on hillsides or from woods, especially if forward observers are being employed in strategic positions to direct fire, an arrangement where the mortar is in relatively close proximity both to its forward observer and its target, allowing for fire to be quickly and accurately delivered with lethal effect. Mortars suffer from instability when used on snow or soft ground, because the recoil pushes them into the ground or snow unevenly. A Raschen bag addresses this problem.

Fin-stabilised mortar bombs do not have to withstand the rotational forces placed upon them by rifling or greater pressures, and can therefore carry a higher payload in a thinner skin than rifled artillery ammunition. Because of the difference in available volume, a smooth-bore mortar of a given diameter will have a greater explosive yield than a similarly sized artillery shell of a gun or howitzer. For example, a 120 mm mortar bomb has approximately the same explosive capability as a 152 mm/155 mm artillery shell. Also, fin-stabilised munitions fired from a smooth-bore, which do not rely on the spin imparted by a rifled bore for greater accuracy, do not have the drawback of veering in the direction of the spin.

Largest mortars

From the 17th to the mid-20th century, very heavy, relatively immobile siege mortars were used, of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) calibre, often made of cast iron and with an outside barrel diameter many times that of the bore diameter. An early example was Roaring Meg, with a 15.5 in (390 mm) barrel diameter and firing a 220 lb (100 kg) hollow ball filled with gunpowder and used during the English Civil War in 1646.

The largest mortars ever developed were the Belgian "Monster Mortar" (24 in (610 mm)) developed by Henri-Joseph Paixhans in 1832, Mallet's Mortar (36 in (910 mm)) developed by Robert Mallet in 1857, and the "Little David" ((36 in (910 mm)) developed in the United States for use in World War II. Although the latter two had a calibre of 36 in (910 mm), only the "Monster Mortar" was used in combat (at the Battle of Antwerp in 1832). [34] The World War II German Karl-Gerät was a 60 cm (24 in) mortar and the largest to see combat in modern warfare.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artillery</span> Long-ranged guns for land warfare

Artillery are ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing the largest share of an army's total firepower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Field gun</span> Class of artillery gun

A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances, as opposed to guns installed in a fort, or to siege cannons and mortars which are too large to be moved quickly, and would be used only in a prolonged siege.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armour-piercing ammunition</span> Ammunition type designed to penetrate armour

Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate armour protection, most often including naval armour, body armour, and vehicle armour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PIAT</span> Anti-tank weapon

The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT) Mk I was a British man-portable anti-tank weapon developed during the Second World War. The PIAT was designed in 1942 in response to the British Army's need for a more effective infantry anti-tank weapon and entered service in 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-explosive anti-tank</span> Type of shaped charge explosive

High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity shaped charge jet; this is capable of penetrating armor steel to a depth of seven or more times the diameter of the charge. The shaped charge jet armor penetration effect is purely kinetic in nature; the round has no explosive or incendiary effect on the armor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grenade launcher</span> Weapon designed to fire large-caliber explosive, smoke, or gas projectiles

A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke, or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The most common type are man-portable, shoulder-fired weapons issued to individuals, although larger crew-served launchers are issued at higher levels of organization by military forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shell (projectile)</span> Payload-carrying projectile

A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. A shell can hold a tracer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoulder-fired missile</span> Shoulder mounted recoilless launcher system for shells, unguided or guided rockets (missiles), etc

Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-launched missile or man-portable missile, among other variants, are common slang terms to describe high-caliber shoulder-mounted weapons systems; that is, weapons firing large, heavy projectiles ("missiles"), typically using the backblast principle, which are small enough to be carried by a single person and fired while held on one's shoulder. The word "missile" in this context is used in its original broad sense of a heavy projectile, and encompasses all shells and rockets, guided or unguided. A more formal variant is simply shoulder-fired weapons system and the like.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoothbore</span> Weapon that has a barrel without rifling

A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedgehog (weapon)</span> 1940s shipboard multi-barrel anti-submarine mortar weapon of British origin

The Hedgehog was a forward-throwing anti-submarine weapon that was used primarily during the Second World War. The device, which was developed by the Royal Navy, fired up to 24 spigot mortars ahead of a ship when attacking a U-boat. It was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers and corvettes to supplement the depth charges.

A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tank gun</span> Artillery used as a tanks main armament

A tank gun is the main armament of a tank. Modern tank guns are high-velocity, large-caliber artilleries capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators, high-explosive anti-tank, and cannon-launched guided projectiles. Anti-aircraft guns can also be mounted to tanks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-inch mortar</span> Light mortar

The Ordnance SBML two-inch mortar, or more commonly, just "two-inch mortar", was a British mortar issued to the British Army and the Commonwealth armies, that saw use during the Second World War and later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortier 120 mm Rayé Tracté Modèle F1</span> Heavy mortar

The MO-120 RT or MO-120-RT is a French heavy mortar. The RT in the designator stands for rayé, tracté, which means rifled, towed. The MO-120-RT is currently used by the French Army, and has also been exported to more than 24 foreign countries or in some cases, produced under licence. It is issued to artillery units, where it complements artillery guns and systems; although infantry units operate it in some countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stokes mortar</span> Light mortar

The Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar designed by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE that was issued to the British and U.S. armies, as well as the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps, during the latter half of the First World War. The 3-inch trench mortar is a smooth-bore, muzzle-loading weapon for high angles of fire. Although it is called a 3-inch mortar, its bore is actually 3.2 inches or 81 mm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2-inch medium mortar</span> Smooth bore muzzle loading medium trench mortar

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 in (560 mm) bomb shaft but not the bomb itself was inserted; the spherical bomb itself was actually 9 in (230 mm) in diameter and weighed 42 lb (19 kg), hence this weapon is more comparable to a standard mortar of approximately 5–6 in (130–150 mm) bore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caliber (artillery)</span> Internal diameter of a gun barrel

In artillery, caliber or calibre is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or, by extension, a relative measure of the barrel length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Man-portable anti-tank systems</span> Weapon system designed for infantry use against tanks

Man-portable anti-tank systems are traditionally portable shoulder-launched projectile systems firing heavy shell-type projectiles, typically designed to combat protected targets, such as armoured vehicles, field fortifications and at times even low-flying aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granatenwerfer 16</span> Infantry mortar

The kleineGranatenwerfer 16 or Gr.W.16(Small Grenade Launcher Model 1916) in English, was an infantry mortar used by the Central Powers during the First World War. It was designed by a Hungarian priest named Father Vécer and was first used by the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1915. In Austro-Hungarian service, they received the nickname "Priesterwerfers". In 1916 Germany began producing a modified version under license for the Imperial German Army.

References

  1. ↑ "mortar definition". Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  2. ↑ Stephen Turnbull (2002). Siege Weapons of the Far East (2): AD 960–1644. Osprey Publishing. p. 13. ISBN   978-1-841-76340-8.
  3. ↑ "Toys". Culturecontent.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  4. ↑ "대완구". Data.kdata.kr. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Needham, Joseph (1987). Science and Civilisation in China. Volume 5. Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Part 7. Military Technology: The Gunpowder Epic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 313. ISBN   9780521303583.
  6. ↑ Gábor Ágoston (2005). Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire. Cambridge University Press. p. 68. ISBN   978-0-521-84313-3.
  7. ↑ Franz Babinger (1992). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Princeton University Press. p. 140. ISBN   978-0-691-01078-6.
  8. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Coehoorn, Menno, Baron van"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 40.
  9. ↑ Duffy, Christopher (1985). The Fortress in the Age of Vauban and Frederick the Great 1660–1789 (2017 ed.). Routledge. p. 65. ISBN   1138924644.
  10. ↑ Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S Grant, by Sam Grant, Kindle location 12783,
  11. ↑ naval-military-press.com [ dead link ]
  12. ↑ "Stokes Mortar - by WL Ruffell". Archived from the original on 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  13. ↑ Ruffell
  14. ↑ War Dept. Technical Manual TM9-2005, Volume 3, Ordnance Materiel – General, Page 17, December 1942
  15. ↑ Chris Bishop (2002). The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Sterling Publishing Company. p. 202. ISBN   978-1-58663-762-0. Archived from the original on 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  16. ↑ "Brandt mle 27 (Mortier Brandt de 81 mm modele 27) Infantry Mortar". Militaryfactory.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  17. ↑ John Norris (2002). Infantry Mortars of World War II. Osprey Publishing. pp. 42–43. ISBN   978-1-84176-414-6. Archived from the original on 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  18. ↑ "A Second Wind For The Lightweight Infantry Mortar", thinkdefence.co.uk, July 19, 2021
  19. ↑ Fly-K mortar systems – excellent stealth capabilities and tremendous tactical potential, archived from the original on 2023-03-14
  20. ↑ "Tank Hurls Flying Dust Bins and Lays Tracks", Popular Mechanics, Hearst Magazines, p. 7, December 1944
  21. ↑ Oliver Holmes (December 12, 2014). "Syrian rebel "hell cannons" kill 300 civilians: monitoring group". Reuters. Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Forign1".
  23. ↑ "Pasilan 2000 used by the LTTE".
  24. ↑ "Dossier on LTTE Weapons – PDF document".
  25. ↑ For example: "Suspected Second World War mortar exploded in Windsor today". Slough Observer. 3 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-06-18.
  26. ↑ Hogg, Ian V. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ammunition, p. 126
  27. ↑ "Alliant Techsystems Takes Army Mortar Contract (Again)". Defense Industry Daily. Dec 7, 2004. Archived from the original on 2006-03-18. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  28. ↑ "XM395 Precision Mortar (120mm)". Northrop Grumman. Archived from the original on 2017-09-10. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  29. ↑ Calloway, Audra (29 March 2011). "Picatinny fields first precision-guided mortars to troops in Afghanistan". Army.mil. Archived from the original on 2016-12-30.
  30. ↑ "XM395: 120 mm Precision Mortar" (PDF). ATK Advanced Weapon. ATK. Retrieved 21 February 2012.[ dead link ]
  31. ↑ "GMM 120–120 mm Guided Mortar Munition". Israel Military Industries. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  32. ↑ "Israeli army tests GPS-guided mortar shell". i24news. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  33. ↑ ""MALAKHIT" AUTOMATED ARTILLERY FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM". KBP Instrument Design Bureau. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  34. ↑ "Largest Mortar". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 2006-02-10. Retrieved 2006-04-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.