Engineering:107mm M1938 mortar

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Short description: Soviet mortar
107mm mortar M1938
107 mm mozdzierz wz 38 tyl.jpg
107mm mortar M1938 in White Eagle Museum
TypeMortar
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1943–1975 (Soviet Union)
1938–present
WarsWorld War II
Korean War[1]
Vietnam War
Laotian Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
Afghan Wars
2011 Libyan civil war
Production history
Designed1936
Specifications
Mass170 kg (370 lb)
Barrel length1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Diameter107 mm
Crew5

Shell9.1 kg (20 lb) bomb
Calibre107 mm (4.2 in)
Breechmuzzle loaded
Elevation45° to 80°
Traverse
Rate of fire15 rpm
Muzzle velocity302 m/s (990 ft/s)
Effective firing range6.3 km (3.9 mi)
FillingTNT
Filling weight1.0 kg (2 lb 3 oz) (OF-841A)

The Soviet 107mm M1938 mortar was a scaled-down version of the 120mm M1938 mortar intended for use by mountain troops and light enough to be towed by animals on a cart.[2]

History

In World War II, the 107mm mortar saw service with Soviet mountain infantry as a divisional artillery weapon.[3] Weapons captured by the Germans were given the designation 10.7 cm Gebirgsgranatwerfer 328(r).[4] Its last significant use in battle was in the Vietnam War. The ability to break down the weapon made it particularly suited to the rugged terrain of Vietnam.[5]

The mortar fired a lighter high explosive round (OF-841) and a heavier HE round (OF-841A). The lighter HE round actually carried a larger bursting charge than the heavier round.[6] Both rounds used GVMZ-series point detonation fuzes.

Recently, the weapon has been seen in use by rebel forces during the 2011 Libyan civil war.[7]

Users

  •  Afghanistan[8]
  •  People's Republic of China[9]
  •  Nazi Germany
  •  Laos[10]
  •  Kazakhstan[11]
  •  North Korea[9]
  •  Russia[9]
  •  Soviet Union[9]
  •  Vietnam[9]

and many others

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes

  1. Rottman, Gordon L. (December 2002). Korean War Order of Battle: United States, United Nations, and Communist Ground, Naval, and Air Forces, 1950–1953. Praeger. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-275-97835-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=NpOp2OO1-DAC&pg=PA198. 
  2. Ian Hogg (ed.), Jane's Infantry Weapons 1984-85, p. 636, London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1984
  3. Steven Zaloga and Leland Ness, Red Army Handbook 1939-1945, p. 47, Phoenix Mill: Sutton, 1998
  4. Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Mortars and rockets. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p. 31. ISBN 0668038179. OCLC 2067459. https://archive.org/details/mortarsrockets0000cham/page/31. 
  5. skysoldier17.com
  6. Defense Intelligence Agency, Projectile Fragment Identification Guide, pp. 201-202, Washington: GPO, 1973
  7. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: الثوارعلى مشارف البريقة (01) Ajdabiya 2011.07.17 .MP4. YouTube.
  8. Bhatia, Michael Vinai; Sedra, Mark (May 2008). Small Arms Survey. ed. Afghanistan, Arms and Conflict: Armed Groups, Disarmament and Security in a Post-War Society. Routledge. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-415-45308-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=P4N9AgAAQBAJ. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Gander, Terry J. (4 June 2001). "107 mm M-38 mortar". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2002-2003. pp. 3685–3686. https://archive.org/details/Janes_Infantry_Weapons/page/n3685. 
  10. Gander, Terry J. (22 November 2000). "National inventories, Laos". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001-2002. p. 3085. https://archive.org/details/Janes_Infantry_Weapons/page/n3085. 
  11. Small Arms Survey (2012). "Blue Skies and Dark Clouds: Kazakhstan and Small Arms". Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets. Cambridge University Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-521-19714-4. http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2012/eng/Small-Arms-Survey-2012-Chapter-04-EN.pdf. Retrieved 2018-08-30. 

External links