120mm M1982
Aruncător de bombe calibru 120 mm model 1982
Overview
120mm M1982
Romanian 120mm M1982 mortar being fired in Afghanistan in 2008.
Source: www.mapn.ro -
© GNU Attribution Share Alike license
Description
Introduction
The 120mm M1982 is a late Cold War era heavy mortar of Romanian origin. It was developed to replace the Soviet 120-PM-43, which is a World War 2 era design.
Design
The M1982 is a conventional muzzle loaded smoothbore mortar. It uses an adjustable bipod with indirect fire sight and it rests on a large triangular baseplate. A separate two wheel carriage is used to transport and position the mortar. A crew of six operates the mortar.
Firepower
The M1982 fires 120mm shells out to a maximum range of about 5.5 km when using older shells types. A new range of ammunition can reach out to 7.4 km. This includes high explosive, smoke, illumuniation and a leaflet dispenser. Normal rate of fire is 8 to 10 rpm.
Mobility
The M1982 comes with a separate two wheel carriage. This is used to tow the mortar by vehicle. In Romanian service the DAC-665T 6x6 truck is used as towing vehicle. This also carries the crew and ammunition. The two wheel carriage is also used by its crew to position the mortar in the field.
Mountain troops use six horses to transport the mortar. This setup excludes the carriage and uses six saddle frames for the components and ammunition.
Users
The main user of the M1982 is Romania, which acquired well over 300 of these mortars. In recent years batches of ex-Romanian mortars were exported to allies in Eastern Europe, such as Slovakia and Lithuania.
Details
Media
120mm M1982
Romanian 120mm M1982 mortar on display with associated two wheel carriage shown behind.
Source: Bogdan Radulescu - Revista Fortelor Terestre
Copyright: GNU Attribution Share Alike license
120mm M1982
Romanian mountain troops showing their 120mm M1982 mortar transported by horses.
Source: Cristian Surugiu - Revista Fortelor Terestre
Copyright: GNU Attribution Share Alike license
120mm M1982
Romanian mountain troops showing their 120mm M1982 mortar transported by horses.
Source: Cristian Surugiu - Revista Fortelor Terestre
Copyright: GNU Attribution Share Alike license
120mm M1982
Romanian 120mm M1982 mortar being fired during an exercise in 2008.
Source: Eugen Mihai
Copyright: GNU Attribution Share Alike license
Related articles
120mm PM-43
The M1982 was developed to replace the 120-PM-43 in Romanian service. It can fire both the old range of ammunition and new longer range ammunition.