The M6 Mortar is a 60 mm lightweight

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

mortar made by Hirtenberger AG of Austria.

Models

The mortar is of traditional design with a smoothbore barrel, round baseplate (350 mm diameter), bipod and sight unit and is generally available in three different ballistical barrel lengths, which is usually stated in the model's name: * 640 mm * 895 mm * 1000 mm Maximum rate of fire with all models is 30 bombs per minute, when loaded by two people alternately, or 12 bombs per minute, when loaded by only one person. Naturally, the maximum ranges differ depending on the ballistic barrel length and the maximal allowed charges. For all three ballistic barrel lengths a conversion kit is available to fire the mortar in a handheld mode (without bipod and sight) as a '' commando mortar''. The conversion kit contains a small round basepiece, an alternate, slightly bigger rectangular basepiece for soft ground, a carrying belt, an aiming device to set the firing range and a handgrip with a trigger, which has a safety device, so that the commando mortar may be carried with a bomb inside the barrel. Commando versions are called M6C and are portable by one person. With these versions, the operation is restricted to a maximum operating gas pressure of 300 bar. This limits the mortars to using charge 3 as a maximum; however, it is recommended not to go above charge 2 due to precision (therefore the aiming device is for charge 0, charge 1 and charge 2 only). A modified version for Special Forces is also produced. This version is equipped with a recoil absorbing ''damping system'' between the bipod and the barrel. Special Forces versions are called M6H. Hirtenberger also produces mortar bombs for these mortars. Available Ammunition: * HE Mk2, high explosive bomb, filled with

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

* TP-TM Mk2, inert bomb for training purposes, impact signature with life

fuze In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze d ...

* SMK-WP Mk2, smoke Bomb, filled with White Phosphorus (fast smoke generation) * SMK-RP Mk2, smoke bomb, filled with Red Phosphorus (slow smoke generation) * ILL-VIS Mk2, visible spectrum illumination bomb, 350.000 candela for 35 seconds * ILL-IR Mk2,

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

spectrum illumination bomb, 35 seconds duration All ranges stated below are measured with Hirtenbergen 60 mm HE Mk2, but all types of 60 mm mortar bombs may be fired from the mortars.

M6C-210T

see main article

Hirtenberger M6C-210 The Hirtenberger M6C-210 is a light mortar with smoothbore barrel, part of the M6 mortar range designed by Hirtenberger Defense Systems of Austria. This mortar is equipped with two aiming devices and is characterized by high mobility, which shoul ...

M6C-640T

Technical Data: * Overall length: 825 mm * Weight: 6.2 kg * Weight with backpack (2.2 kg) and bag for auxiliaries (2.8 kg): 11.2 kg * Maximum range with charge 2: 1,384 m * Maximum range with charge 3: 1,921 m

M6(H)-640

Firing with the 640 mm barrel is limited to a maximum operating gas pressure of 550 bar, thus limiting the use to charge 5. The British Army dismounted platoons currently have a M6-640 as part of their weaponry. This however is being reviewed. Technical Data: * Bipod weight: 9.3 kg (H: 12.5 kg) * Baseplate weight: 4.8 kg (H: 4.7 kg) * Barrel weight: 4.5 kg (H: 4.6 kg) * Total weight: 18.6 kg (H: 21.8 kg) * Barrel length: 722 mm (H: 729 mm) * Maximum range with charge 0: 464 m * Maximum range with charge 2: 1,384 m * Maximum range with charge 3: 1,921 m * Maximum range with charge 5: 2,872 m

M6(H)-895

The Hirtenberger ''M6-895'' 60 mm mortar was procured as an urgent operational requirement (UOR) for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. It can be fired in both the direct-lay and indirect fire role at a rate of 1–12 rounds a minute and can be operated in the hand held mode. The mortar replaced the

L9A1 51 mm Light Mortar The L9A1 51 mm light mortar was a man-portable platoon-level mortar used by the British Army from 1988 to 2007. The 51 mm mortar replaced the World War II-vintage 2 inch mortar in the late 1980s. It was due to be phased out by the use of the ...

due to greater availability of ammunition suppliers for the 60 mm calibre. In 2016 it was announced that only the Royal Marines Commandos and Parachute Regiment units will use these mortars after the Afghanistan operations. The rest will be stored away for economic reasons. Technical Data: * Bipod weight: 9.3 kg (H: 12.5 kg) * Baseplate weight: 4.8 kg (H: 4.7 kg) * Barrel weight: 5.4 kg (H: 5.5 kg) * Total weight: 19.5 kg (H: 22.7 kg) * Barrel length: 977 mm (H: 984 mm) * Maximum range with charge 0: 561 m * Maximum range with charge 2: 1,524 m * Maximum range with charge 3: 2,100 m * Maximum range with charge 5: 3,154 m * Maximum range with charge 6: 3,610 m * Maximum operating gas pressure: 650 bar

M6(H)-1000

Technical Data: * Bipod weight: 9.3 kg (H: 12.5 kg) * Baseplate weight: 4.8 kg (H: 4.7 kg) * Barrel weight: 5.8 kg (H: 5.9 kg) * Total weight: 19.9 kg (H: 23.1 kg) * Barrel length: 1082 mm (H: 1089 mm) * Maximum range with charge 0: 579 m * Maximum range with charge 2: 1,710 m * Maximum range with charge 3: 2,401 m * Maximum range with charge 5: 3,365 m * Maximum range with charge 6: 3,933 m * Maximum operating gas pressure: 650 bar

References

{{Reflist

External links

Hirtenberger Defense Systems
- manufacturer's official website

British Army Vehicles and Equipment, last visited on 2 December 2013 Mortars of the United Kingdom Infantry mortars 60mm mortars