The 82-pm-41 (russian: 82-Полевой Миномёт-41), M-41 or the 82-mm mortar Model 1941 (russian: 82-мм миномет обр. 1941 г.) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

82-millimeter

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...

mortar developed during the Second World War as an

infantry 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 e ...

mortar, and which began production in 1941.

Design

It differed from the Model 1937 by the presence of a removable wheel base, by the arched construction base plate (as in 107-mm and 120-mm mortars), and also a different two-legged construction. Wheels were slipped over the semi-axis of the bipod feet and removed during firing. Design improvements were made to reduce weight and production cost, and improve manoeuvrability. The ballistic data of the Model 1941 mortar were analogous to the Model 1937. The 82-mm mortar Model 1941 was more convenient to transport than the Model 1937, but was less steady during firing and had a worse centre of gravity. To correct shortcomings of the 82-mm mortar Model 1941 it was modernised during initial production; the construction of the bipod, wheel and fastening of the sight was changed. The modernised mortar was called the 82-mm mortar Model 1943.

Usage

Due to the initial need to rectify design issues 1937 Model mortars continued to be used during World War II and produced alongside Models 1941 and 1943. As many Model 1937 Mortars were lost early in the war, this mortar served in the Battle for Moscow,

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...

, and other campaigns, operations and engagements of the first three years of the war. The German designation for captured M-41 mortars was ''8.2 cm GrW 274/3(r)''.

Users

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Citations and notes

References

* Bishop, Chris, (Ed.), ''The Encyclopaedia of weapons of World War II'', Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1998 * Norris, John, ''Infantry Mortars of World War II'', Osprey Publishing, 2002 * Barker, A. J., & Walter, John, ''Russian Infantry Weapons of World War II'', Arco Pub. Co., 1971 * Cornish, Nik, ''Images of Kursk: History's Greatest Tank Battle, July 1943'', Brassey's, 2002 {{SovMortarsGPW World War II infantry mortars of the Soviet Union Cold War weapons of the Soviet Union 82 mm mortars Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1941