Mortars have become part of the practice of warfare relatively recently - about two centuries ago. However, they almost immediately became widespread due to their characteristics and productivity. The number of models and modifications of this weapon grew by leaps and bounds, but only a few remained in the military annals forever. Here are 10 of the most famous mortars that have proven themselves in combat.
1. Gobyato mortar (Russia)
This legendary mortar was noted in the Russo-Japanese War. It was like this: in the summer of 1904, Japanese troops besieged Port Arthur. Under such conditions, artillery became ineffective. And then midshipman Vlasyev proposed to use hinged firing with mines from 75-mm howitzers, imitating the operation of a mortar. His idea was implemented by Captain Leonid Gobyato. Only instead of howitzers, he used 47-mm guns, which he adapted for fire with over-caliber shells. Gobyato's mortars fired the first salvo at the attacking Japanese on November 9, 1904. The assault was stopped, but the fortress was eventually surrendered. Alas, the unique Gobyato gun was also never put into mass production.
2. Aazen bomb launcher (France)
And this weapon appeared on the front of the First World War. Taking into account the then tendency to "trench warfare", the French inventor of Norwegian origin Nils Aasen in 1915 was able to adapt to difficult conditions artillery, which was too powerful for them. And so a bomb launcher appeared, firing a grenade at a distance of about 400 meters. And although there were a number of shortcomings in the gun, it was quite popular with both the French and the Russians.
3. Stokes mortar (UK)
Another weapon of the First World War, which is quite rightly called the first "real" mortar by a number of weapons experts. It was developed by Wilfred Stokes in 1915 and originally served for throwing poisonous substances, which explained the invention of the cylindrical mine. After World War I, a modified version of Stokes-Brandt was developed in France, which had already been adapted for light infantry artillery. Soon, most of the battalion mortars began to be produced according to its type.
4. Brixia Mod. 35 (Italy)
Brixia mod. 35C is one of the most famous mortars of the interwar period. It was invented by Italian specialists in 1935. Positioned as an ultralight mortar with maximum mobility. Its mass was only sixteen kilograms, the rate of fire was up to 16-18 rounds per minute. Although this affected his productivity, the large number compensated for this problem. By the beginning of World War II, the mortar was one of the most supplied to the ranks of the Italian army.
5. "Type 89" (Japan)
Another ultralight mortar, but already made in Japan. It appeared in 1936 and significantly overtook its Italian counterpart in terms of weight reduction - it weighed less than five kilograms. Interestingly, the gun is often called a grenade launcher, since the shells were most often universal grenades. Despite a number of its design advantages, the Japanese did not succeed in organizing mass production.
6. PM-38 (USSR)
And this is already a Soviet mortar of the pre-war period. It was developed by Soviet designers under the leadership of Boris Shavyrin in 1938. The 120-mm regimental mortar made it possible to conduct effective shelling at a long distance and suppress enemy mortars. It began to be massively refined and produced with the beginning of the war - August 1941. It was produced, including in the besieged Leningrad.
7.8-cm s. G. W.34 (Germany)
The 8-cm schwere Granatwerfer is a typical battalion mortar developed in 1932 and entered service with the German army in 1934. With the coming to power of Hitler, as part of the build-up of the military power of the Third Reich, the release of these weapons increased sharply. It was inexpensive to manufacture, but it was not very convenient, and German soldiers often had to call on creative help to cope with the obstinate grenade launcher. but
this did not detract from his great popularity among the Wehrmacht troops.
8. M-19 (USA)
This American mortar has a very interesting history. It was originally developed back in the 1930s and went through the entire Second World War, including as a weapon for the US Marine Corps, and then took part in the Korean War. But in the early 1960s, it was sent to warehouses as an obsolete weapon. But for a little while: the peculiarities of the war in Vietnam showed that the good old M-19 is much more effective in these conditions than other, albeit new, weapons. So the mortar entered the battlefield again.
9. MT-13 (USSR)
MT-13 can rightfully be called the most powerful Soviet mortar during the Great Patriotic War. It was put into full production in January 1944. In total, 1557 mortars entered service during the production period from 1944 to 1947. Amazingly, this divisional mortar had no analogues in the armies of other countries. Although the matter did not go further than one modification: in the summer of 1945, a more powerful model MT-13 was developed, but its mass production was never launched.
10. 2B9 "Cornflower" (USSR)
"Cornflower" can be safely called a long-liver weapon, because it was developed by designer Viktor Filippov back in the 1940s, and is still in service today. Although the project was truly implemented only in 1971. But this is also a good age for a weapon - for almost half a century, the mortar has been actively used in local military conflicts, such as during the war in Afghanistan or Chechnya.
In addition to the topic: a little more about artillery - " />