| M224 mortar | |
|---|---|
| Type | Mortar |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| Used by | United States |
| Wars | Gulf War |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 21.1 kilograms (47 lb) |
| Barrel length | 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) |
| Crew | 3 |
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| Caliber | 60 mm (2.4 in) |
| Rate of fire | up to 20 rpm sustained, 30 rpm in exceptional circumstances and for short periods |
| Effective range | HE: 70–3,490 m (76–3,816 yds) |
| Feed system | manual |
The M224 60 mm Lightweight Mortar is a smooth bore, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used for close-in support of ground troops.
Contents |
The M224 system is composed of the
The mount consists of a bipod and a base plate which is provided with screw type elevating and traversing mechanisms to elevate/traverse the mortar. The M64A1 sight unit is attached to the bipod mount. The mortar can be fired in the conventional mode or handheld mode. This smooth-bore system can be gravity-fired or fired by using a manual spring-loaded firing system.
It is typically fielded at the infantry company level.
The M224 LWCMS (Lightweight Company Mortar System) replaces the older (WWII) 60 mm M2 Mortar and M19 Mortar. These weapons only had an effective range of 2,200 yards (2,000 m). While the M224 was designed to fire all types of the older ammunition, its primary rounds are of the newer, longer-range type (up to 3,489 m).
In 2011 an improved version of the M224 was fielded, the M224A1. The M224A1 consists of the M225A1 tube, M170A1 bipod assembly, M7A1 baseplate, M8 auxiliary baseplate and the M67 sight unit. The weight of the mortar was lowered by 9.3 lb or 20 percent by reducing the number of components and by using lighter materials such as aluminium and Kevlar reinforced with composites. The US Army plans to replace all legacy M224s eventually with the new M224A1.[1][2] At the same time, a lighter version of the M252 mortar was developed.
The M224 Mortar can fire the following principal classifications of training and service ammunition:
The M224 rounds have two fuse types: The Multioption Fuze (M734) and the Point-Detonating Fuze (M525). The M734 is used for the M720 HE round and can be set to function as proximity burst, near-surface burst, impact burst, or delay burst.
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