The M1943 Mortar also known as the SAMOVAR is a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
120 millimeter calibre smoothbore mortar first introduced in 1943 as a modified version of the
M1938 mortar
The 120-PM-38 or M1938 was a 120 mm Soviet mortar that was used in large numbers by the Red Army during World War II. Although a conventional design its combination of light weight, mobility, heavy firepower and range saw its features widely copi ...
.
It virtually replaced the M1938 as the standard weapon for mortar batteries in all Soviet infantry battalions by the late 1980s, though the armies of the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...
utilised both in their forces.
[US Army, ''FM 100-2-3 The Soviet Army: Troops, Organization and Equipment'', 5–60]
Design
This muzzle-loading mortar can be easily broken down into three parts – barrel, bipod and baseplate – for movement over short distances or towed by a
GAZ-66
The GAZ-66 is a Soviet and later Russian 4x4 all-road (off-road) military truck produced by GAZ. It was one of the main cargo vehicles for motorized infantry of the Soviet Army and is still employed in former Soviet Union countries. It is nick ...
truck on a two-wheel tubular carriage. The baseplate mounting permits all-azimuth firing, however as with most Soviet mortars it was difficult to turn rapidly over a wide traverse. It could accommodate small-angle shifts of up to 6 degrees without having to shift the baseplate though.
Variants
It was copied in
China as the Type 53 mortar.
A more robust but heavier version, the Type 55, was developed by
Norinco.
Egypt also produced a locally modified variant, the Helwan Model UK 2.
An improved version called the
2B11 Sani
The 2B11 is a 120 mm mortar developed by the Soviet Union in 1981 and subsequently fielded in the Soviet Army. The basic design for the 2B11 was taken from the classic Model 1943 120 mm mortar, and incorporated changes to make the morta ...
was also produced by the Soviets and, in combination with the
2B9 Vasilek
The 2B9 Vasilek (''2Б9 "Василёк" - Cornflower'') is an automatic 82 mm gun-mortar developed in the Soviet Union in 1967 and fielded with the Soviet Army in 1970. It was based on the F-82 automatic mortar. Unlike conventional mortars, ...
, was being used to phase out the M1943 from service.
Users
*
*
*
* : Type 53 variant
* : 6
* : 12
*
* : 6
* : 12 in store
* : Manufactured as ''Type 53'' and ''Type 55''
* : 28
*
*
* : PM-43 and Helwan Model UK 2
*
* : 8
* : 18
* : 1
*
*
*
*
*
* : 8
* : 12
* : Type 53 variant
*
* : 24
* : Type 53 variant
*
*
*
* : Type 55
*
*
*
* : Type 53 variant
* : PM-43, Type 53 and Type 55
* : 6
Former users
*
*
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
*
*
*
References
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External links
M-43 120 mm mortar (Russian Federation), Mortars– Jane's Infantry Weapons
{{SovMortarsGPW
World War II infantry mortars of the Soviet Union
Cold War artillery of the Soviet Union
120mm mortars
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1943