M2 (mortar)
| M2 (mortar) | |
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | Mortar, 60mm M2 |
| Team: | 5-6 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Overall length: | 726 mm |
| Caliber : |
60 mm (2.36 in) |
| Number of trains : | no |
| Twist : | no |
| Cadence : | maximum 35, practically 18 rounds / min |
| Elevation range: | +40 to +85 degrees |
| Side straightening area: | 7 degrees of angle |
| Furnishing | |
| Sighting device : | Reflex sight |
| Charging principle: | Muzzle loader |
| Ammunition supply: | Individually by hand |
The 60-mm mortar M2 is a light, from the mouth to be loaded angle fire protected with a smooth pipe for fire support for the infantry .
Towards the end of the Second World War it was supplemented by the similar 60 mm M19 mortar and finally replaced in 1978 by the 60 mm M224 mortar .
development
During the late 1920s, the US Army began investigating mortars as a light support weapon for the infantry. The US War Department finally decided on a 60mm weapon from Edgar Brandt , a French weapons engineer, and acquired the license to replicate this weapon. The weapon was introduced as a mortar, 60 mm M2 . Trials took place in the late 1930s and an initial order for 1,500 M2 mortars was placed in January 1940.
description
The M2 mortar corresponds to the usual Stokes- Brandt design of light mortars of modern times.
It consists of:
- a smooth tube (5.8 kg) with a ball stud at the bottom and a fixed firing pin in the breech block so that the grenades were automatically fired when dropped into the tube.
- a rectangular bottom plate M4 (5.8 kg), which receives the ball stud of the tube and diverts the recoil of the shot into the ground;
- a simple bipod (7.45 kg) which supports the pipe and on which the height and side straightening device for the pipe is located;
- the M4 reflex sight , which allows both indirect and direct aiming .
Although classified as a light mortar , the 19.05 kg M2 mortar with 1815 meters (high explosive grenade) had a greater range than comparable 50 mm / 60 mm mortars in other armies of the time, and the fixed firing pin made one possible well-trained operating teams a high rate of fire of 18 rounds / minute, for a short time even 30–35 rounds / minute. However, the pipe should be wiped with the pipe cleaning brush after every tenth shot.
commitment
The 60 mm M2 mortar was developed from the heavier 81 mm M1 mortar to provide a lightweight alternative to fire support at company level . The M2 was supposed to fill the gap between the 81mm mortar and the hand grenades .
These were mortar M2 normally three per combined into a mortar group (mortar squad) either in arms trains infantry (weapons platoon) companies (rifle company) or as an independent entity directly under the company management (company headquarters). The M2 mortars of a company could be used both closed and individually subordinate to the trains.
The weapon was used by the US Army and the US Marine Corps throughout World War II . After that it was still used during the Korean War and by French troops in Indochina and Algeria . During the Vietnam War , the M2 was used again by the US Army and the US Marine Corps, but also by South Vietnamese troops .
The Chinese military built the M2 as a Type 31 .
organization
US Army 1941
In the rifle company, there was a mortar section in the weapons platoon, which consisted of three mortar squads. Each mortar squad included:
- a corporal (corporal, comparable non-commissioned officer ) as squad leader and observer, equipped with:
- M1 Garand rifle ,
- Binoculars , compass ,
- Reflex sight M4,
- Base plate in shoulder bag (on the right side),
- Drain cleaning brush with accessories,
- Spare parts in ammunition shoulder bag M1 (on the left side);
- a gunner, equipped with:
- Gun Colt M1911 ,
- Tube with bipod (suspended from the shoulder strap on the right side),
- Straightening rods,
- Ammunition shoulder bag M1 (on the left side);
- an assistant gunner, equipped with:
- Gun Colt M1911 ,
- Ammunition vest M2 for 12 rounds (in front of the stomach and on the back);
- two ammunition carriers, equipped with:
- M1 Garand rifle ,
- Ammunition vest M2 for 12 rounds (in front of the stomach and on the back).
US Marine Corps 1944
In the rifle company there was a mortar section in the company headquarters. This consisted of:
- a lieutenant / first lieutenant as a group leader (section leader);
- a sergeant (see sergeant );
- three groups of mortars each:
All soldiers were equipped with the M1 Carbine .
ammunition
The M2 fired various types of ammunition :
- M49A2 HE: HE grenade (1.4 kg) against infantry and unarmored targets that spreads more than 200 fragments with an effective radius of 15.5 meters;
- M302 SMK WP: Smoke grenade (1.8 kg) filled with white phosphorus for marking points and creating smoke screens;
- M83 ILLU: Flare grenade (1.68 kg) for illuminating the area during night battles, in which the light charge is ejected at a distance of about 1000 meters at a height of 800 meters, floats down on the parachute and follows a circle of around 110 meters for about 25 seconds 110,000 candelas lit;
- M69 TRG / PT: Training grenade for training operators.
The propellant charge consisted of an ignition charge, which was located in the center of the lower part of the grenade's tail unit and was ignited by the firing pin, and four additional charges, which were attached between the guide surfaces. All grenades were delivered with the detonating charge and four additional charges. In order to achieve the desired charge for the shot, on which the firing range depended in connection with the elevation angle of the barrel, the superfluous additional charges were simply removed.
See also
literature
- Ian Hogg: Twentieth-Century Artillery. Friedman / Fairfax Publishers, 2000, ISBN 1-58663-299-X .
- John Norris, Robert Calow: Infantry Mortars of World War II. Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 978-1-84176-414-6 .
Web links
- 60 mm M2 mortar . In: Kortegaard Engineering . Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2006.
- Cover photo of an M2 mortar and article on infantry weapons from page 64 May 1941 Popular Science
- Proof of strength and equipment of the U.S. Marine Infantry Regiment from March 27, 1944
- US Army M2 60 mm Mortar (April 26, 2012 memento in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ M2 60mm Mortar and Manuals ( Memento from August 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Norris 2002 p. 15
- ↑ US Army M2 60 mm mortar
- ↑ Norris 2002 p. 15