The 2S12 "Sani"
("sleigh") (
GRAU
The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated Russian acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the ...
index 2S12) is a 120 mm
heavy mortar
A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and ...
system used by the
Russian Army
The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces.
The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...
and other
former Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
. First fielded in 1981, the 2S12 is a continued development on the towed mortars first used in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Design
![2S12 on GAZ-86 US Army manual](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/2S12_on_GAZ-86_US_Army_manual.jpg)
2S12 is in fact the designator for the combination of the
2B11 "Sani" heavy mortar with its transport vehicle 2F510, a
GAZ-66-15 4×4 truck. The 2B11 weighs nearly 200 kg (500 lb) when fully assembled, and thus must be mounted to the 2×1 wheeled chassis 2L81 and towed to the emplacement site by the truck. The GAZ-66 prime mover also transports the ammo load: 24 crates of 120mm HE mortar bombs, 2 bombs per crate, for a total of 48 available rounds.
Once on site, it is unloaded from the transport chassis and manually emplaced by the crew of 5. It is the largest caliber
indirect artillery employed at the
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
level.
There is also an improved model, the 2B11M, that can fire the laser-guided round "Gran" with a range of 7,500 m. 2S12A and 2S12B improved models are in service now. 2S12A got a new "Ural" family transport vehicle with high power diesel engine and electric hoist for loading the mortar and a new base plate with a hinge that allows for pointing horizontally without turning the heavy support.
Operators
Current operators
*
*
* : 61
*
* : 14
*
* : 6
* : more than 1,700 , including 1,000 in store
*
* : 214
* : 19
* : 48
Former operators
*
See also
*
List of heavy mortars
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
M120 120 mm mortar
The Soltam K6 is a 120 mm (4.75 inch) mortar that was developed by Soltam Systems of Israel. It is the long-range version of the Soltam K5 and has replaced older systems, such as the M30, in several armies including the United States Army ...
120 mm mortar
*
2B11 Sani 120 mm mortar
*
Cardom
The ''Cardom'' () is an Israeli 81 mm/120 mm Recoil Mortar System (RMS), manufactured by Soltam Systems. It is used by the US Army, the Israel Defence Forces, NATO countries, and others. The Cardom is an autonomous, computerized system f ...
120 mm recoil mortar system
*
Soltam K6
The Soltam K6 is a 120 mm (4.75 inch) mortar that was developed by Soltam Systems of Israel. It is the long-range version of the Soltam K5 and has replaced older systems, such as the M30, in several armies including the United States Army. ...
120 mm mortar
*
Soltam M-65
The Soltam M-65 is a 120 mm mortar that was developed by Tampella in 1953 via introduction of new baseplate for 120 Krh/40 invented by Hans Otto Donner. In 1960s Soltam Systems of Israel bought a license. The mortar system comes in two versi ...
120 mm mortar
*
120 KRH 92 120 mm mortar
*
120mm M2 RAIADO 120 mm mortar
*
Mortier 120mm Rayé Tracté Modèle F1
The MO-120 RT (factory designator) or MO-120-RT is a French heavy mortar. The RT in the designator stands for ''rayé, tracté'', which means rifled, towed. The MO-120-RT is currently used by the French Army (where it is known as RT F1 or Mortie ...
120 mm mortar
References
Sources
* {{cite book, title=The Military Balance 2016, date=February 2016, volume=116, isbn=9781857438352 , publisher=Routlegde, ref={{harvid, The Military Balance 2016, author=International Institute for Strategic Studies, author-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies
External links
2S12 MZ-304 "Highlander" 120-mm mortar
Mortars of the Soviet Union
Infantry mortars
Artillery of Russia
Uraltransmash products
120mm mortars
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s