A mortar is a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. A mortar is relatively simple and easy to operate. A modern mortar consists of a tube which gunners drop a shell into. A firing pin at the base of the tube detonates the propellant and fires the shell. These attributes contrast with the mortar’s larger siblings, howitzers and fieldguns, which fire at higher velocities, longer ranges, flatter arcs, and sometimes, direct fire.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries very heavy immobile siege mortars were used, of up to one metre calibre. A mortar can also be a launcher for fireworks, a hand-held or vehicle-mounted projector for smoke shells or flares, or a large grenade launcher. Light and medium mortars are portable, and usually used by infantry units.
The chief advantage a mortar section has over an artillery battery is its small numbers, mobility and the ability to engage targets in the defilade with plunging fires. It is able to fire from the protection of a trench or defilade. In these aspects the mortar is an excellent infantry support weapon, as it can be transported over any terrain and is not burdened by the logistical support needed for artillery.
There are also heavy mortars of 120mm to 300mm caliber. These weapons areusually towed or vehicle-mounted, sometimes breech-loaded, and normally employed by infantry units attached to battalion through division level. Even at this size, mortars are simpler and less expensive than comparable howitzers or field guns.
A mortar can be carried by one or more men (larger mortars can usually be broken down into components), or transported in a vehicle. An infantry mortar can usually also be mounted and fired from a mortar-carrier, a purpose-built or modified armoured vehicle with a large roof hatch. A heavy mortar can be mounted on a towed carriage, or permanently vehicle-mounted as a self-propelled mortar.
These handbooks describe the strategies and tactics employed by mortar units in warfare. You will discover plans for improvised mortars, mortar warfare and much more.
From the Author: The mortar is a model of a gun I saw on the north bank of the Thames, hard by the Tower of London, where the English display some of their trophies of war. I took photographs and measurements. This gun is not in any scale since I started from the 1″ ball, but the proportions are right (Photo 1). Mortars of this type were mounted on the fored~ck of a bomb ketch which, under cover of darkness, crept in close under the walls of a harbor fortification. From this vantage point, safe from the guns of the … Continue Reading
The aim of this publication is to provide direction for the employment of the light 60 mm mortar as the primary means of indirect close support.
The 60 mm mortar M19 Cdn is a weapon that provides infantry units with intimate direct and indirect fire support. All infantrymen must be trained in the use of the 60 mm mortar in the handheld role. The weapon detachment personnel must know how to use it in the bipod role.
This handbook covers all strategic and practical use of this weapon.
The aim of this publication is to provide direction to personnel operating and training on the 81 mm mortar. This publication contains detailed information on the technical handling, the maintenance and the ammunition of the 81 mm mortar. It also deals in general terms with mortar battle procedures at the detachment/section and group level.
Essentially, this handbook covers all strategic and practical use of this weapon.
This manual provides guidance for MOS 11C soldiers and their trainers on the employment of the 60–mm (M224 and M19) mortars, 81–mm (M252 and M29A1) mortars, 4.2–inch (M30) mortar, and 120–mm (M120) mortars. It discusses the practical applications of ballistics and a system combining the principals, techniques, and procedures essential to the delivery of timely and accurate mortar fire. (See FM 23–90 for information on mechanical training, crew drills, and the characteristics, components, and technical data of each mortar.)
This manual is divided into four parts: Part One discusses the fundamentals of mortar gunnery; Part Two summarizes the operational procedures of … Continue Reading
This publication prescribes guidance for leaders and crewmen of mortar squads and platoons. It is concerned with the problems of mortar crew training. It presents practical solutions to assist in the timely delivery of accurate mortar fires but does not discuss all possible situations. Local requirements may dictate minor variations from the methods and techniques described herein. However, principles should not be violated by modification of techniques and methods.
The scope of this publication includes mortar crew training at squad and section levels.
The 60–mm mortar, M224; 81–mm mortar, M29A1; 81–mm mortar, M252; 4.2–inch (107–mm) mortar, M30; and 120–mm mortar, M120, are … Continue Reading
This publication serves as teh doctrinal reference for the employment of mortar squads, sections, and platoons. It contains guidance on tactics, techniques, and procedures that mortar sections and platoons use to execute their part of the combat operations described in battalion–, squadron–, troop, and company–level field manuals. This publication alson contains guidance on how the mortar unit’s fires and displacement are best planned and employed to sustain the commanders intent for fire support.
The target audience of this publication includes mortar squad, section, and platoon leaders campany and battalion commanders, battalion staff officers, and all others responsible for controlling and coordinating … Continue Reading
