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The development of a 160-mm mortar in the Soviet Union began even before the Great Patriotic War. The 160-mm mortar was considered as a divisional artillery system, designed to partially replace 122-mm and 152-mm howitzers when performing missions to destroy enemy targets at short firing ranges. However, the difficulty of creating such a mortar was that when using the “imaginary triangle” scheme, well-proven in mortars of 82 - 120 mm caliber with loading from the muzzle, it was necessary to develop a device for delivering a mine weighing more than 40 kg to a height of up to 3 m for loading a mortar. Due to the mortar mine being too heavy, such a system inevitably lost its advantages over conventional ones. artillery pieces. In 1939 - 1941, design bureaus of four enterprises worked in parallel on the design of 160-mm and 240-mm mortars: plant No. 7 (Leningrad); No. 13 (Bryansk); No. 92 (Gorky) and No. 393 (Kyiv).
Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, work on the creation of a new divisional mortar continued. In the TsAKB, under the leadership of Grabin, in 1943 - 1944, two 160-mm mortars IS-3 and S-43 were designed. At the beginning of 1942, designers of the Research Institute of the People's Commissariat of Armaments of the USSR under the leadership of G.D. Shirenin developed a 160-mm mortar with breech loading according to a real triangle scheme. They successfully combined in their model the advantages of a mortar and a mortar, while maintaining the main design feature mortar - a base plate that makes recoil devices unnecessary and transmits enormous strength recoil to the ground and using the mortar method of loading from the breech, with a detachable breech and a swinging barrel. From December 31, 1942, work on the creation of this mortar was headed by I.G. Teverovsky. He abandoned the idea of a portable weapon and, for the first time in world practice, installed a mortar on a wheel drive that did not separate in the combat position. At the beginning of 1943, a prototype of a 160-mm mortar, designated MT-13, was manufactured in the Urals, and soon it, along with another prototype designed by B.I. Shavyrin (design bureau of plant No. 7) entered testing. Based on the test results, preference was given to the Teverovsky system, as it is simpler, easier and more convenient to operate, and in January 1944, after appropriate modifications, it was adopted by the Red Army under the designation “160-mm divisional mortar of the 1943 model.”
This mortar retained all the basic elements of a conventional mortar: a smooth-walled barrel, a base plate and a carriage, but their design was original. The MT-13 mortar was a smooth-bore system on a rigid (without recoil devices) carriage with wheels. Due to the fact that the large height of the barrel did not allow loading the mortar from the muzzle, the mortar was made breech-loading. To open the barrel during loading and lock it at the moment of firing, the barrel was divided into a swinging part and a breech. Loading was carried out from the breech, for which a swinging barrel was used, which, after turning the handle at the time of loading, occupied a horizontal position, held by a locking mechanism. After opening the bolt, a tray was hung on the axle axis of the barrel wedge, onto which the crew laid the mine and manually sent it into the barrel bore. After the mine hit the barrel, this part of the barrel, under the influence of its own mass, returned to the firing position. This automatically eliminated double loading - one of the main problems for classic mortars. The breech in the closed position reliably locked the barrel when firing and transferred the recoil force to the plate. In addition, the breech served as a base on which the barrel tube was rocked and locked at loading angles, as well as the barrel was connected to the carriage using spring shock absorbers.
To speed up the development of the mortar in production, its base plate was created on the basis of the base plate of the standard 120-mm regimental mortar of the 1938 model. A steel cylindrical rim, reinforced with additional stiffening ribs, was welded along the perimeter of the slab. The fundamental difference The MT-13 mortar round from all other domestic mortars had a short sleeve into which the mine stabilizer was inserted. The sleeve served to prevent the breakthrough of powder gases during a shot (obturation). The mortar carriage, which is the base of the mortar in combat and traveling positions, also had an original design. It had a sprung wheel drive that did not separate when firing. The rotating, lifting and balancing mechanisms were assembled on the carriage, chassis with a suspension mechanism, as well as sights.
Guidance mechanisms made it possible to fire at elevation angles from +45° to +80°. The horizontal firing angle was 12°. The mortar was fired with twelve-feather high-explosive mines weighing 48.865 kg at a range of up to 5100 m. The mine fuse could be set to fragmentation or high-explosive action. Heavy mines destroyed durable wood-earth and government-brick field-type structures, wooden and brick buildings and structures adapted by the enemy for defense in populated areas.
The MT-13 mortar was towed using mechanical traction. At the same time, for the first time, the barrel began to serve as a towing device, since the problem of towing the mortar was solved in a new way: now it was attached to the tractor with a barrel on which a special pivot foot was attached. The sprung wheel travel of the mortar made it possible to transport it at high speeds of up to 50 km/h. The barrel also served as a lever, which made it possible to turn the base plate out of the ground if it buried itself in the ground during shooting. The entire combat crew hung on the barrel, and if this did not help, then a pivot arm was put on it, the mortar clung to the tractor, which pulled out its slab.
During the Second World War, no army in the world had such a powerful mortar as the MT-13. The MT-13 160-mm mortar was intended to suppress and destroy enemy personnel and firepower with mounted fire.
Since 1943, heavy mortar brigades that were part of artillery divisions RVGK breakthrough. Each brigade had three divisions (12 mortars each). Already the first combat use The 160mm mortars had a huge psychological impact on the enemy. The shots from the MT-13 were dull, mortar mines They flew along a steep trajectory and fell almost vertically, so at the very first mine explosions, the Germans began to sound air raid signals. Reviews coming from the front noted that the 160-mm mortar is effective means destruction of all kinds field fortifications and a reliable means of suppressing and destroying enemy artillery and mortar batteries. These mortars were successfully used in the offensive operations of the Red Army until the very end of the war, and were widely used in street battles in large populated areas. Thus, armed with 160-mm divisional mortars MT-13
8th separate heavy mortar Konigsberg brigade of the Orders of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky under the command of Hero Soviet Union Major General L.A. Kolotilova, from November 16, 1944 to April 17, 1945, destroyed 14 tanks and self-propelled guns, 408 easel, manual and anti-aircraft machine guns, 22 artillery pieces, 4 vehicles with military cargo, 17 mortar batteries and more than 3,000 German soldiers and officers. Large-caliber mines destroyed 20 bunkers and 254 stone houses equipped with firing points.
In January 1944, the production of the MT-13 mortar was mastered by the Tula Machine-Building Plant No. 535 and by the end of 1944, 350 mortars were manufactured. In total, from 1944 to August 1947, 1557 MT-13 mortars were fired. This mortar was successfully used in Soviet army and in the post-war period.
Back in the summer of 1945, I.G. Teverovsky, who at that time was the chief designer Tula plant No. 535, began work on modernizing its mortar. Their goal was to increase the firing range. In the new model of the MT-13D mortar, the barrel length was increased by 50 mm and the firing range was increased to 7400 m.
Another 160-mm mortar SKB-21, created at the Special Design Bureau, was presented for testing smoothbore artillery(Kolomna) under the leadership of B.I. Shavyrin, which won the competition as longer-range and easier to operate. It was put into service under the name “160-mm divisional mortar M-160 model 1949.”
The M-160 represented a deep modernization of the MT-13 breech-loading smoothbore mortar on wheels, and was also made according to a rigid design (without recoil devices). The mortar consisted of: a barrel, a breech, a machine, an arrow, a base plate and a pivot foot. To reduce the recoil effect when firing, the mortar had a spring shock absorber. The barrel was also a smooth-walled pipe fixed in a trunnion holder and pivotally connected to a shock absorber. The barrel was closed from the breech by a bolt with a plastic seal. The machine consists of two frames (upper and lower) of a stamped structure, hingedly connected to each other. The lower frame of the machine was assembled on the combat axis. For vertical guidance of the mortar, a lifting and balancing mechanism assembled between the combat axis brackets and the upper frame of the machine was used. The rotating mechanism was assembled on a rail mounted on an axis in the upper frame of the machine. The arrow was a U-shaped tubular structure connected to the combat axis using cranks. A winch was mounted on the boom. The mortar had an MP-46 panoramic optical mortar sight, mounted in the mechanism bracket horizontal sight. Later, a mechanism for sending mines was introduced into the M-160 mortar kit (for complete sending of mines). Wheel travel from a ZIS-151 car. The suspension was spring type and did not turn off during shooting.
During transportation, the M-160 was towed by a light truck or tracked tractor using a towing device at the muzzle at speeds of up to 50 km/h. The firing range of the mortar was now from 750 to 8040 m. The barrel elevation angles when firing: from 50° to 80°, the horizontal firing angle without moving the boom and wheels at a barrel elevation angle of 50° is + 12°. Rate of fire - 3 shots per minute.
The time required to transfer the mortar from the traveling position to the combat position (at a pre-prepared firing position) was no more than 6 minutes. The ammunition load of the M-160 mortar included only high-explosive ten-pronged cast iron mines (weighing 41.2 kg) and six-pronged steel mines (weighing 40 kg). Both mines were equipped with a head fuse, which had two settings: high-explosive and fragmentation effect. For firing from the M-160 mortar, two types of charges were used: full variable and long-range.
In 1949, the M-160 mortar was launched into mass production at the factory
No. 535. In 1952, its production was moved to plant No. 172, where it continued until 1957. In total, from 1949 to 1957, 2353 M-160 mortars were manufactured. M-160 divisional mortars were used in the Soviet army until the 1980s.
Years of production – 1943 – 1947 (MT-13); 1949 – 1957 (M-160)
Total produced - 1557 units. (MT-13); 2353 units (M-160)
Caliber – 160 mm
Weight in combat position - 1170 kg (MT-13); 1470 kg (M-160)
Barrel length – 3030 mm (MT-13); 4550 mm (M-160)
Calculation - 7 people
Travel speed – up to 50 km/h
Rate of fire – 3 rounds/min
Longest range firing - 5100 m (MT-13); 8040 m (M-160)
Direct shot range – 750 m
Firing angles:
Horizontally - at an elevation angle of 50° - ±12°; at an elevation angle of 80° - ±50°
Vertical +50° +80°
Artillery of Russia and the world, guns photos, videos, pictures watch online, along with other states, introduced the most significant innovations - the transformation of a smooth-bore gun, loaded from the muzzle, into a rifled gun, loaded from the breech (lock). The use of streamlined projectiles and various types fuses with adjustable operation time settings; more powerful propellants such as cordite, which appeared in Britain before the First World War; the development of rolling systems, which made it possible to increase the rate of fire and relieved the gun crew from the hard work of rolling into the firing position after each shot; connection in one assembly of a projectile, propellant charge and fuse; the use of shrapnel shells, which, after the explosion, scatter small steel particles in all directions.
Russian artillery, capable of firing large shells, acutely highlighted the problem of weapon durability. In 1854, during Crimean War, Sir William Armstrong, a British hydraulic engineer, proposed a method of scooping wrought iron gun barrels by first twisting iron rods and then welding them together using a forging method. The gun barrel was additionally reinforced with wrought iron rings. Armstrong created an enterprise where guns of several sizes were made. One of the most famous was his 12-pound rifled implement with a barrel caliber of 7.6 cm (3 inches) and a screw lock mechanism.
The artillery of the Second World War (WWII), in particular the Soviet Union, probably had the largest potential among European armies. At the same time, the Red Army experienced the purges of Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin and endured a difficult Winter War with Finland at the end of the decade. During this period, Soviet design bureaus adhered to a conservative approach to technology.
The first modernization efforts came with the improvement of the 76.2 mm M00/02 field gun in 1930, which included improved ammunition and replacement barrels on parts of the gun fleet. new version the guns were called M02/30. Six years later, the 76.2 mm field gun M1936, with a 107mm carriage.
Heavy artilleryall armies, and quite rare materials from the time of Hitler’s blitzkrieg, whose army crossed the Polish border smoothly and without delay. The German army was the most modern and best equipped army in the world. Wehrmacht artillery operated in close cooperation with infantry and aviation, trying to quickly occupy territory and deprive the Polish army of communication routes. The world shuddered upon learning of a new armed conflict in Europe.
USSR artillery in positional warfare on Western Front in the last war and the horror in the trenches, the military leaders of some countries created new priorities in the tactics of using artillery. They believed that in the second global conflict The decisive factors of the 20th century will be mobile firepower and fire accuracy.
The development of the mortar began even before the start of the Great Patriotic War in accordance with the System artillery weapons 1938 The 160-mm mortar was considered as a divisional artillery system, intended to partially replace 122-mm and 152-mm howitzers when performing tasks of destroying enemy targets at short firing ranges. The difficulty of creating a mortar of this caliber was that when using the “imaginary triangle” scheme, well-proven in mortars of 82-120 mm caliber with loading from the muzzle, it was necessary to develop a device for feeding a mine weighing more than 40 kg to a height of up to 3 m and loading a mortar. Due to heavy weight such a system inevitably lost its advantages over conventional artillery pieces. For this reason, a group of designers led by I.G. Teverovsky only in 1943 managed to create a fairly simple, lightweight and easy-to-use 160-mm mortar.
This mortar retains all the basic elements of a conventional mortar: a smooth-walled barrel, a base plate and a carriage, but the design of these elements is original. Due to the fact that the large height of the barrel does not allow loading the mortar from the muzzle, the mortar is made breech-loading. To open the barrel during loading and lock it at the moment of firing, the barrel is divided into a swinging part and a breech. One turn of the handle was enough - and the swinging part of the barrel occupied a horizontal position for loading. After the mine is sent into the barrel, this part is under the influence own weight returned to shooting position. The swinging part is made in the form of a pipe, open at both ends. In the loading position, the barrel is held by a locking mechanism at loading angles. The breech in the closed position is the bottom of the barrel. It securely locks the barrel when fired and transfers the recoil force to the plate. In addition, the breech serves as the base on which the barrel tube is rocked and locked at loading angles, as well as the barrel is connected to the carriage by means of spring shock absorbers. Obturation of powder gases is ensured by introducing a short cartridge case with ignition means into the shot kit. The mortar carriage, which is the base of the mortar in combat and travel positions, also has an original design. It is equipped with a sprung wheel that does not separate when firing. The carriage contains rotary lifting and balancing mechanisms, as well as sighting devices. Guidance mechanisms made it possible to fire at elevation angles from +45° to +80°. The horizontal firing angle was 12° - 50° (depending on the elevation angle). The mortar was fired with feathered high-explosive mines weighing 40.865 kg at a range of up to 5100 m. The mine fuse could be set to fragmentation or high-explosive action. To speed up the development of the mortar in production, its base plate was created on the basis of the base plate of the standard 120-mm mortar mod. 1938. A steel shell was welded along the perimeter of this slab, reinforced with additional stiffeners. The problem of transporting the mortar was solved in a new way: it was attached to the tractor with a barrel on which a special pivot foot was attached. The sprung wheel travel of the mortar made it possible to transport it from high speeds. Due to the fact that the Red Army, which had been carrying out large-scale offensive operations since 1943, was in dire need of such a powerful means of breaking through enemy defenses as the 160-mm mortar, on Stalin’s personal instructions, without conducting experimental ground tests, a large batch of such mortars was manufactured and sent to the front. 160-mm mortars mod. In 1943, heavy mortar brigades that were part of the artillery breakthrough divisions of the reserve of the Supreme High Command were armed. Each brigade consisted of three three-battery divisions. The battery had 4 mortars. Combat experience confirmed the designers' calculations. Reviews coming from the front noted that the 160-mm mortar is an effective means of destroying all types of field fortifications and a reliable means of suppressing and destroying enemy artillery and mortar batteries. These mortars were also successfully used in street battles in large populated areas. It should be noted that at that time no army had such a powerful mortar. This mortar was successfully used by units of the Red Army until the end of the war, and in the post-war period it was modernized and received the name “160-mm mortar M-160”.
Weight in firing position 1086 kg
Caliber 160 mm
Initial mine speed 245 m/s
Rate of fire 3 rounds/min
Firing range up to 5100 m
Mine weight 40530 g
The human brain is strange after all. As soon as Stalin’s name is mentioned in any article, a dispute immediately begins about the personality of this man and his role in the USSR and the world in general. At the same time, it doesn’t matter at all what it’s about. we're talking about in the article. Today I will deliberately start about Stalin, more precisely, about his role in the mortar business.
"No modern warfare no mortars, mass mortars. All corps, all companies, battalions, regiments must have mortars, 6-inch ones are mandatory, 8-inch ones. This is terribly necessary for modern warfare. These are very effective mortars and very cheap artillery. A wonderful thing - a mortar. Don’t spare mines, that’s the slogan, spare your people. If you spare bombs and shells, don’t spare people, less people will. If you want us to have a war with little bloodshed, don’t spare mines.”
This is not a press appearance. This is not a speech at a rally or convention. This is not a speech intended for publication at all at a secret meeting of commanding officers to summarize the experience of combat operations against Finland on April 17, 1940. Therefore, it is not very well known to the general reader.
Even then, after a not very successful military campaign, the USSR began to seriously think about creating mortars large caliber. Mortar like " pocket artillery infantry" became really special kind artillery. The opinion of I.V. Stalin was then heard by many designers and plant directors.
Immediately four design bureaus from different factories began developing large-caliber mortars. Moreover, the main calibers immediately became 160 mm and 240 mm. But work on large-caliber mortars was not " Stalin's order"More like a wish. Without any privileges or special responsibility for failure.
One thing to note important detail. The design bureau had no restrictions on the design of the mortar. Therefore, the projects that the designers periodically presented differed quite radically. It is enough to list some of the projects that are most famous. For some, prototypes were even created and field tests were carried out.
Muzzle-loading smoothbore 160-mm divisional mortar "7-17", 160-mm divisional mortar IS-3, 160-mm divisional mortar of the Kukushkin system (barrel almost 2 m, mine weight 40 kg), 160-mm divisional mortar S-43. ..
Stalin followed the tests of new mortar models quite closely. I came to see the most successful ones in person. It was Stalin’s “personal acquaintance” with one of the mortars that led to the appearance of the most powerful mortar of the Great Patriotic War, the 160-mm MT-13, on the Soviet-German front. "Dads" of the hero of our article.
We will not describe the MT-13 mortar. Suffice it to say about psychological impact this on the Germans. Often when these mortars fired, the enemy would sound an air raid alert. And in the battles for Berlin, the MT-13 proved to be terrible weapon destruction. It is enough that when a mine hit the roof, it “fell” 2-3 floors down and exploded there.
Despite the fact that the mortar was produced for a rather short time, from 1944 to 1947, 1,557 copies of this weapon were produced. Despite their advanced age, mortars are still in service in some armies in Southeast Asia.
Already in 1945, the designers were given the task of modernizing the MT-13 mortar. In the summer of 1945, the MT-13D mortar was introduced. At the same time, its direct competitor, the SKB-21 mortar, was tested at the Kolomna SKB GA under the leadership of B.I. Shavyrin.
During the tests, it turned out that the SKB-21 has a longer firing range and is more unpretentious in operation. Thus, it was decided to launch the SKB-21 into production. It was this mortar that received the name 160-mm divisional mortar M-160 model 1949. MT-13D was produced only in a pilot series of 4 units.
So, the Soviet 160-mm divisional mortar M-160 model 1949 is a large-caliber breech-loading artillery system that entered service with Soviet motorized rifle divisions.
The main purpose of the weapon is to destroy well-fortified long-term and field fortifications in the front line, accumulations of manpower and military equipment enemy on closed positions. The main damaging effect is achieved by firing along a steep trajectory and using high-power mines.
The 160-mm M-160 mortar is a rigid (without recoil devices), breech-loading smooth-bore system on wheels. The recoil of a shot is perceived by the ground through the base plate. For decreasing destructive action forces arising during a shot, the mortar has a spring shock absorber.
The mortar consists of the following main parts: a barrel with a bolt, a breech with a shock absorber, a machine with a rotating and lifting-balancing mechanisms, a boom with a winch and wheel travel, a base plate, a pivot foot and a sight.
The barrel is a smooth-walled pipe fixed in a trunnion holder, pivotally connected to a shock absorber.
The wheels are filled with sponge rubber. The mortar's spring-type suspension does not turn off when firing.
The base plate is a stamped-welded structure; it is designed to transfer the recoil force of the mortar to the ground when fired.
The pivot paw is attached to the muzzle of the barrel; it serves to connect the mortar to the tractor hook during transportation.
The mortar is equipped with an MP-46 panoramic optical mortar sight, which is mounted in the bracket of the sight leveling mechanism.
The mortar is loaded from the breech, for which the barrel is brought into the loading position (approximately horizontal) and held by the rack.
The mortar is fired using a high-explosive F-852 mine with a GVMZ-7 fuse. The fuse has settings for fragmentation and high explosive action. The weight of the finally loaded mine (with fuse) is 41.14 kg. The combat charge consists of a full alternating charge, a long-range charge and an igniter charge.
The design of the mine was similar to conventional 82 mm and 120 mm Soviet mines. The twelve-fin 160-mm high-explosive mine F-852 weighed 40.865 kg and contained 7.78 kg of explosive charge. Head fuze GVMZ-7.
The fundamental difference between the mortar round and all other domestic mortars was the short cartridge case into which the mine stabilizer was inserted. The sleeve was introduced to seal off the powder gases during firing.
The total alternating charge consists of an ignition charge and three additional equilibrium beams. The long-range charge consists of an ignition charge and a special additional beam. The ignition charge is inserted into the mine stabilizer tube.
Additional bundles of both alternating and long-range charges are secured to the stabilizer tube using cords. From a complete alternating charge with one, two or three additional beams, the first, second or third charge numbers are collected, respectively.
Basic data of the 160 mm M-160 mortar:
Ballistic data
Caliber - 160 mm;
The longest firing range is 8040 m.
The shortest firing range is 750 m.
The initial speed of the mine is the highest - 343 m/sec.
The initial speed of the mine is the lowest - 157 m/sec.
Weight data
The weight of the mortar in firing position is 1300 kg.
The weight of the mortar in the stowed position is 1470 kg.
The weight of the base plate is 260 kg.
The weight of the finally equipped mine is 41.14 kg.
Design data
The maximum elevation angle of the trunk is 80°.
The smallest barrel elevation angle is 50°.
Rate of fire - 3 shots per minute.
Calculation – 7 people.
The mortar was transported by GAZ-63 and ZIL-157 towing vehicles.
Currently, M-160 mortars are in service with several armies around the world. Despite the fact that serial production of the M-160 divisional mortar was launched at two factories (plant No. 535, and since 1952 - plant No. 172) for the entire production period (production ceased in 1957), only 2353 copies were produced.
“When new mortars were first massively used on one of the fronts,” writes Chief Marshal of Artillery N. Voronov in his book “In Military Service,” they produced a huge moral impact on the enemy. The shots of these mortars are dull, the mine flies up very high along a steep trajectory , and then falls almost vertically down. At the first explosions of such mines, the Nazis decided that they were being bombed by our aircraft, and began to sound air raid signals.”
“Without the attention and support of Nikolai Nikolaevich Voronov and the People’s Commissar of Armaments Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov,” recalls State Prize laureate Professor I. Teverovsky, “our work on the 160-mm mortar could hardly have been crowned with success. The tactical and technical requirements for this system were developed by the GAU before the war, but the difficulties of creating such weapons were so great that, despite numerous meetings in 1940, it was decided to announce a competition. In 1941, all prototypes were delivered to the test site. And as a result of the tests, two systems were selected - ours and that of the designer B. Shavyrin, the creator of the world's best 120-mm regimental mortar. All other samples either failed after 5-8 shots, or turned out to be prohibitively heavy - 3-3.5 tons.
I will always remember the demonstration of samples selected at the test site, which took place in the courtyard of the People's Commissariat of Armaments. Both mortars passed the test, but which one will be preferred?
“Come on, move the mortars around the yard,” Nikolai Nikolaevich ordered. Two soldiers almost ran our sample, but they couldn’t even move the other one because it was 2.5 times heavier than ours. This extremely simple but convincing test decided the fate of our brainchild. Of course, it was still far from perfect. And only after careful design development and testing of the new prototype The 160-mm divisional mortar of the 1943 model appeared in service with the Red Army, which first showed its high combat qualities in the Battle of Kursk."
What design innovations allowed I. Teverovsky to fulfill the extremely stringent tactical and technical requirements of the GAU? In order for a projectile, flying along a very steep trajectory resulting at elevation angles of 45-85°, to hit a horizontal target, two types can be used artillery systems- mortars and mortars. Classic mortar gun with rifled barrel. charging from the treasury, equipped with recoil devices. The classic mortar is a smooth-bore weapon that fires non-rotating feathered projectiles - mines - and is loaded from the muzzle. transmitting recoil force through a rigid base plate to the ground.
Performing approximately the same tasks. Like a mortar and mortar, it is an extremely light system. It is no coincidence that with the advent of mortars, mortars practically lost their former importance. But the 160 mm caliber turned out to be a tough nut to crack for mortar creators.
The opinion that a mortar must necessarily be so light that when disassembled it could be carried by combat crews once gained the force of tradition. Those samples of the 160-mm mortar, the design of which was based on this requirement, fell apart after several shots at the training ground. Another difficulty that the designers encountered when following the “mortar” path was muzzle loading: a 40.9 kg mine had to be raised to a height of about 3 m!
Teverovsky achieved success because he successfully combined dignity and mortars in his model. and a mortar. He immediately abandoned the idea of a portable weapon and, for the first time in world practice, installed a mortar on a wheel that did not separate in the combat position. It retained the main design feature of the mortar - the base plate, which makes recoil devices unnecessary and transmits enormous recoil force to the ground. He used the mortar method of loading from the breech, making a detachable breech and a swinging barrel. One turn of the handle was enough - and the barrel took a horizontal position. After the mine was sent into the barrel, it returned to the firing position under the influence of its weight. This automatically eliminated double loading - an eternal drawback of classic mortars. If for some reason the mine did not fly out of the barrel, then lowering a second mine into it led to an immediate rupture of the barrel.
For experienced artillerymen, the mortar turned out to be an unusual weapon, not only in combat, but also in the traveling position. When transporting the mortar on a trailer, the plate was pulled up with ties to the breech. and a pivot foot was put on the muzzle, attached to the tractor. For the first time, the trunk served as a towing device. Often, when shooting, the base plate was buried deep into the ground, so when moving into stowed position Great efforts were required to tear the slab off the ground. Crowbar that helped out combat crews 120 mm mortars were not suitable for a 130 kg plate. In such cases, the role of the lever, which made it possible to turn the slab out of the ground, was played by the barrel, brought to a horizontal position: the entire combat crew could hang on it at the same time. If this did not help, then they put on a pivot foot, attached the mortar to the tractor, and it pulled out the slab.
Combat experience confirmed the expectations of the mortar's creators. The heavy mines of this weapon destroyed durable wood-earth and stone-brick field-type structures, wooden and brick buildings and structures adapted by the enemy for defense in populated areas. 160 mm: 1943 model mortars successfully suppressed and destroyed manpower the enemy and his fire weapons.
There were no guns similar to the 160-mm mortar of the 1943 model in any army in the world. The ideas embedded in its design turned out to be so fruitful that this design later became a classic for large-caliber mortars.
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