120 Krh/40

120 Krh/40 is a 120 mm mortar developed by Finnish Tampella (now Patria Vammas).

120 Krh/40
TypeHeavy mortar
Place of originFinland
Service history
Used byFinnish army
Swedish army
Estonian army
German army
Latvian army
Lithuanian army
WarsContinuation War
Production history
DesignerTampella
ManufacturerTampella
No. built596 by Tampella[1]
Specifications
Mass260 kilograms (570 lb)
Barrel length189cm
Caliber120 millimetres (12 cm)
Rate of fireup to 20 shots/minute[1]
Muzzle velocity116–290 m/s[1]
Maximum firing range5,300 metres (17,400 ft)

Use in Sweden

The 120 Krh/40 was exported to Sweden between 1941 and 1944 and later produced under license in Sweden. A total of 219 was exported by Tampella.[1] The Swedish military calls them 12 cm granatkastare m/41 and they have continued to serve as the standard heavy mortar of the Swedish Army. In 1956, their base-plates were replaced by Swedish-manufactured Hotchkiss-Brandt M-56 baseplates.[2] As of 2016, 165 m/41D are still in service in the Estonian Land Forces[3] and 22 are held by the Lithuanian Armed Forces.[4]

They got a major increase in lethality when the STRIX top attack anti armour round was introduced in the 1990s; it is a smart weapon that homes in on the IR signature of armoured vehicles.

Media related to 120 Krh 40 at Wikimedia Commons

References
  1. http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/MORTARS6.htm
  2. "m/41D 120 mm mortar (Sweden), Mortars". Jane's Infantry Weapons. 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2016). The Military Balance 2016. 116. Routlegde. p. 91. ISBN 9781857438352.
  4. "UN Register: Military holdings - Lithuania 2016". www.un-register.org. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.