Norskusa 60mm Ultralite one man mortar.

Very cool! The only link I can get of the video is from facebook. This could a bit of a game changer on the battle field.

www.facebook.com...

a reply to: nighthawk1954

Cool
I always wondered though what makes the projectile actually leave the barrel? is it the projectile or is it the mortar making it fly?.

a reply to: boymonkey74
A explosive charge at the base of the projectile.

a reply to: nighthawk1954

Eeek wouldn't want to drop one then lol.

Have you ever fired one? does it take lots of practise to be able to get one on target?.

a reply to: boymonkey74

LOL! No never had a chance to fire a mortar...But I did have the pleasure when I was on our Fire Departments bomb squad to get to blow stuff up , some were old grenades and mortar shells

a reply to: nighthawk1954

Mortars are just one tool in the kit. They are designed to rain down on targets that can't be otherwise "neutralized" with direct fire.

That direct hit on target in the video is after walking the rounds in. Being its not a fixed tube (base and tripod) that walking could take a few more rounds "for effect" to do the same thing as a fixed tube would.

Anything hand held to aim is going to be inherently inaccurate. Available rounds are more quickly expended.

If I remember correctly it needs to hit a primer which doesn't exactly just go off if dropped. It takes a square hit on the firing pin to actually set off said charge. The older they get the less stable they are…especially the older ones.

a reply to: boymonkey74

Mortar shell typically have a fuse that requires a number of high spin rates to arm them, so yes, you can drop them. Though to be honest, I've watched the way mortar crews sling their ammo around in boxes and it did make me nervous.

But I didn't see a aiming mechanism on the video. Depending upon kentucky windage would seem to be a waste of ammo, which even at 60mm is still bulky so it would be hard to carry any significant amount on the patrols bodies,you'd need a ATV for that or airborne resupply once you've set up a perimeter.

a reply to: boymonkey74

Eeek wouldn't want to drop one then lol.

Pretty safe when 'dropped'. After all, they take being "launched" without pre detonating. Mortars have what look like shotgun shells in their base with a little primer. When dropped in the tube they hit a firing pin at the bottom that sets of the propelling charge.

Does it take lots of practice to be able to get one on target?

Mortars are "indirect fire" weapons, so aren't "aimed" like a rifle. Like lobbing a grenade, it takes practice.

How is this aimed, or does it use some sort of "smart" projectile?

It seems to me that a slight change in the angle it is set relative to the ground would create a large change in where it will eventually impact/detonate.

a reply to: intrptr

Has anyone fired one wrongly and it has come down upon them?.
Oh and cheers all I am learning about Mortars

man the accuracy on this thing is gonna be terrible. ZERO chance at repeated shots.

whats with the digital camo cover too? thats totally what i wanna be fumbling with when the SHTF!

in a conventional mortar system after you fire the settings from the shot are retained and you could drop a mortal relatively close to the one before. or slightly adjust if need be.

with this system i foresee a lot of range issues like over shooting or coming up short.

i would like to know the logic behind the design too. like the aesthetic. a mortar only needs a tube. super easy to manufacture. Im curious to see why they would complicate the design so much for any reason besides the looks factor.

a reply to: boymonkey74

I've never heard of any one firing a round straight up. That just flies in the face of common sense, but people are people and do stupid things from time to time, so there probably is a story or two out there.

One of the bad things that can happen is what is called a hang fire. That is where the round gets stuck in the tube after dropping it in. Usually, the fix is vigorously kicking the tube until it fires. I never saw what happened if that didn't work because it always did. I'm sure if that didn't work and they can't remove the round by detaching the base of the tube, EOD would be called in and supply would have to requisition another mortar.

I do remember a story about some Marines that were killed a bit back because of a hang fire. The loader was over anxious or something and dropped another round on top of the one that was stuck and it blew up in the tube. More than likely caused by over-pressure.

a reply to: mindseye1609

Looks like to me that they were trying to trim down the weight. The current 60mm mortars can be heavy when humping them for miles.

But they brag about all the composites. I'm wondering how that will fair in the long run. Almost sounds like a contractors gimmick to me. "You can only fire 500 rounds and then you'll need a new one, because we can't guarantee the safety factor after that."

originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: intrptr

Has anyone fired one wrongly and it has come down upon them?.
Oh and cheers all I am learning about Mortars

These guys had a little "problem"



Kindest respects

Rodinus

a reply to: boymonkey74

Has anyone fired one wrongly and it has come down upon them?

Lol, Stupid is as stupid does…

a reply to: Rodinus

Oh man Iam still laughing at that...it helps that someone else is loling as well. I would have run faster than that lol.

a reply to: TDawgRex

The loader was over anxious or something and dropped another round on top of the one that was stuck and it blew up in the tube. More than likely caused by over-pressure.

Eeech, double loading. The second round hits the hung one, detonating the point initiating (impact) fuze in the nose of the hung round… wham.

originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: Rodinus

Oh man Iam still laughing at that...it helps that someone else is loling as well. I would have run faster than that lol.

I pretty much cried when I first saw that one too...

This one is a pearler as well :



Kindest respects

Rodinus

a reply to: Rodinus

I'd be a bit embarrassed about the screaming like a woman part, but probably would have reacted much the same.