Who knows about Mortars?

[Buckshot Bear]

In war movies you see guys set up a mortar and then just keep dropping round after round down the tube without changing settings, wouldn't these rounds just impact the same spot?

[Ranger Dan]

short answer, nope.

[Subdeacon Joe]

Just differences in wind would cause some dispersion.  There is also some slight movement of the tube.

[SHOOTIN FOX]

Mortars can be aimed with colimator or aiming stakes, but the shift in the tube, wind, fluctuations in the wind, etc will deflect the impact. Slow fire , aimed carefully can be very accurate, but exact hole is improbable..

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

Every time the mortar fires, the barrel kicks the baseplate into the ground. Hard ground not so much, soft ground, more. But a mortar isn't a precision weapon, but as Shootin Fox said, can be very accurate. It won't hit the same spot, but on hard ground will hit very close. 

My best shot was on Camp Lejune at the K ranges. At about 500 yards, I put a round INTO one of the tracked vehicles that were target vehicles. My Lt. and Company Commander nearly had orgasms.

[Eyesa Horg]

Somehow, they sound fun!

[Dutch Nichols, SASS #6461]

Coming from a long line of Military men my dad told me to make sure I f'd up the mortar qual. as well as other heavy weapons quals, ( ie the 50),When I asked why his simple answer was , "you want to lug that damn thing around?? That was over 50 years back so I'm sure things change. Wait couldn't have been 50 years ago, I'm not  over 55

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

10 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Somehow, they sound fun!

They absolutely can be. But as Dutch Nichols said, they're NOT fun to carry. 

[Buckshot Bear]

Just now, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

They absolutely can be. But as Dutch Nichols said, they're NOT fun to carry. 

 

Are they hard on the ears when they fire?

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

9 minutes ago, Buckshot Bear said:

 

Are they hard on the ears when they fire?

WHAT?!?!  Yes, but we wore earplugs. Unlike in the movies, they don't just go "poop" when fired. They're LOUD!!!

I was usually this guy, so yeah.

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

How about in the movies when they don't have the tube they slam the shell base down hard then throw it.? 

[Subdeacon Joe]

1 hour ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Somehow, they sound fun!

 

 

 

Not me, but I have fired them.

 

 

 

[Subdeacon Joe]

24 minutes ago, Smokin Gator SASS #29736 said:

How about in the movies when they don't have the tube they slam the shell base down hard then throw it.? 

 

Last ditch measure.

 

https://worldwarwings.com/wwii-soldiers-throwing-mortars-hand-hollywood-make/

 

 

[PowderRiverCowboy]

3 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Somehow, they sound fun!

Depends on what side of them you are . 
 incoming in Iraq , sirens come on after you just got to sleep after 30 some hours and you roll over and say ohh well

[Major Crimes]

My favorite mortar oopps was a base plate in soft ground that slowly sunk, and they get dropping rounds down until the last two rounds landed on the LD (Line of Departure) as our APCs were lining up to start the assault.

I used to be the Mortar Troop vehicle Troop Leader (M113 mortar car- 81mm). We would pick up the grunt mortar platoons and cart them around. I even got to help in the CP working out the corrections and calling out fire orders.

 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

The Russkies seem to rely heavily on mortars 

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

9 hours ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

Unlike in the movies, they don't just go "poop" when fired.

I was shocked at how loud they were when going through mortar quals.  I was expecting “poop” like in the movies.  
 

The sergeant explained that the “poop” sound came from the microphone’s inability to capture loud noises.  “Clamping” is the technical term.

[Subdeacon Joe]

13 hours ago, Buckshot Bear said:

 

Are they hard on the ears when they fire?

 

 

 

Some other videos show the shock waves kicking up dust and the baseplate being driven into the ground.

[Utah Bob #35998]

13 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Somehow, they sound fun!

They re louder than they sound in the movies. And your head is right next to the tube. The BLOOP sound they make in Hollywood films

is what they sound like from several hundred yards away. Of course the loudest sound is when they land right next to you. But you might not hear that one.

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

15 hours ago, Buckshot Bear said:

 

Are they hard on the ears when they fire?

It's harder on the ears on the landing end

Ask why I have tinnitus...

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

2 hours ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

It's harder on the ears on the landing end

Ask why I have tinnitus...

Looking forward to this year’s edition of “Tales from behind the plate.”  ))))

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

1 hour ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Looking forward to this year’s edition of “Tales from behind the plate.”  ))))

I got injured pretty badly -- I tore my bicep completely off.  Surgery was a few weeks ago and I'm in physical therapy, which will last about a year.  In other words, there won't be any tales from behind the plate this year.

[Eyesa Horg]

Hoping for quick and complete recovery CC.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

14 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Hoping for quick and complete recovery CC.

Ditto

[Caprock Kid]

On 2/22/2024 at 7:59 PM, Smokin Gator SASS #29736 said:

How about in the movies when they don't have the tube they slam the shell base down hard then throw it.? 

Modern shells have a centrifugal arming fuse so can’t just pop the end and throw. Requires the spin from firing. We would scare the new guys by “accidentally “ rolling rounds down hill towards firing point and yell for them to run!  Popping the fulminated mercury cap was another practical joke. 

[Shepherd Book]

On 2/22/2024 at 7:44 PM, Eyesa Horg said:

Somehow, they sound fun!

Oh, yeah!   SB

[Dusty Devil Dale]

There are at least a dozen different mortar formulations, depending on what kind of masonry you are doing.