Tac tidbit - Light mortars

[PoorOldSpike]

Discussion here- https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards...?tid=40262

[Copper]

Cheers again POS. Always good ot have a little refresh.

[Randalll]

The US 60mm weapon was phased out in the 60's but brought back in the 90's. The german 50mm was arguably 'over accurate' having a lot more weight than its firepower warrented. The british did away with the bipod and baseplate, using a simple white stripe for aiming purposes.

[JasonC]

Relevant CM considerations on these -

the US 60mm hits much harder than the others. A single 60mm will pin a typical MG or gun position in a minute of fire.

the Russian 50mm has a much deeper ammo load than the others, roughly twice the ammo depth, 3 times the British one and more like 6 times the HE. Pairs of Russia 50mms hitting the same target for 2-3 minutes are high effective MG and gun suppressors, and have the ammo to keep it up.

the British one gets plenty of smoke, the US only a few rounds, the others no smoke. Very small smoke shots are somewhat scattershot - they can easily fail to mask the intended target and dissipate quickly - but can take a key enemy shooter out of the firefight for 1-2 minutes, using only a handful of rounds. This is the main use of the British 2 inch.

The German is the worst of the lot, with only 30 weak rounds, limited range, and HE only. Arguably the Brit is nearly as bad, with its low ammo load and only a single minute's worth of HE, but the smoke can be useful. The US is the best of the lot, with strong HE firepower and a small smoke load; the Russian second due to the excellent ammo depth.

Another important consideration with all of these is their relative mobility compared to heavier mortars. All are medium speed or better to keep up with ordinary squads, using "move to contact" or "move" rates. All are also transport class 2 and team size, which allows 2 them to ride on a single tank. 81mm mortars in comparison need a dedicated mover (like a halftrack), and the Russian 82mms are 7 man teams making them full squad size for transport purposes.

[British Tommy]

Excellent subject!
Pat on the back to old spiker for the illustrations and to Jason for the follow up info :thumbs_up:

[fluidwill]

I thought the Brit one could be fired from buildings but when i tried it in POS's trident thingy it didnt work so i moved him out on the street where he got killed, can one of you CM grogs clarify, thanks.

[PoorOldSpike]

The only mortar which can fire from buildings is the Russian Ampulomet which is a 'sort of' mortar..




MORE AMPULOMET-
https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards...?tid=39972

[The Coil]

One other note on the ampulomet - HQs can't spot for 'em like other mortars...

[JasonC]

The ampulet "penetrates" 50mm plates routinely, though expect about one full kill for every two hits due to behind armor effect variations. The accuracy is best at around 200 meters. You can think of it as a bazooka in AT firepower - gamey but highly effective for its era (way better than ATRs). Once 80mm front vehicles are everywhere, they are less effective, but they can still KO with flank shots.