The L16 81mm mortar is a British and Canadian standard mortar used by the Canadian Army, British Army, and many other armed forces. It originated as a joint design by the UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 81mm Mortar; the U.S. armed forces version is the M252.
In UK armoured/mechanised infantry battalions, the L16 mortar is mounted in an FV 432 AFV (six[2] per battalion mortar platoon). British army light role infantry battalions and the Royal Marines may transport their mortars in BvS 10 vehicles (the replacement for the Bv 206). Otherwise, it is carried disassembled in three loads, (barrel, baseplate and bipod with sights, each approximately 11 kg), normally carried by a vehicle or helicopter and assembled for firing from the ground.
The weapon can be man-packed by the mortar detachment, in which case the ammunition would be carried by other soldiers of the battalion. In addition to their normal equipment, each soldier would carry four bombs in a pair of two-bomb plastic containers (known as greenies in the British Army).
^Rinaldi, Richard A. (August 2002). (PDF). Orbat.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
^"Mortar – 81 mm" (PDF). defence.gov.au. Defence unexploded ordnance website: ordnance information sheet. March 2015.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrsBerrigan, Frida; Ciarrocca, Michelle (November 2000). . World Policy Institute. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
^. Defensie.nl. Ministerie van Defensie. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
^"L16A2, 81mm Mortar". New Zealand Defence Force. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
^Rottman, Gordon L. (1993). Armies of the Gulf War. Elite 45. Osprey Publishing. p. 30. ISBN9781855322776.
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"81 mm mortar". British Army.
January 01, 1970
81mm, mortar, british, canadian, standard, mortar, used, canadian, army, british, army, many, other, armed, forces, originated, joint, design, canada, version, produced, used, australia, named, 81mm, mortar, armed, forces, version, m252, 81mm, mortar, l16typem. The L16 81mm mortar is a British and Canadian standard mortar used by the Canadian Army British Army and many other armed forces It originated as a joint design by the UK and Canada The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 81mm Mortar the U S armed forces version is the M252 L16 81mm mortar81mm mortar L16TypeMortarPlace of originUnited KingdomCanadaService historyUsed bySee UsersWarsNepalese civil war Borneo South Arabia Oman Vietnam War Falklands War Indo Pakistani War of 1971 Balkans Kuwait Iraq Afghanistan Mali Syrian Civil WarProduction historyDesignerRoyal Armament Research and Development Establishment Fort Halstead barrel and bipod Designed1956ManufacturerRoyal Ordnance barrel and bipod Produced1965SpecificationsMass35 3 kg 78 lb Barrel length1 280 millimetres 50 in Crew3Shell weight4 2 kilograms 9 3 lb L3682 1 Calibre81 millimetres 3 2 in Actionmuzzle loadingBreechnoneRecoilbaseplate and spring buffered mounting clampRate of fire15 rpm 1 12 rpm sustained 20 rpm for short periodsMuzzle velocity225 m s 740 ft s Effective firing rangeHE 100 5 675 m 109 6 206 yd Smoke 100 5 675 m 109 6 206 yd Illumination 400 4 800 m 437 5 249 yd Maximum firing range5 650 m 6 180 yd Feed systemManualSightsOptical C2 with Trilux illumination Contents 1 Description 2 Operators 2 1 Current operators 2 2 Former operators 3 Gallery 4 References 5 External linksDescription editIt was introduced in 1965 66 replacing the Ordnance ML 3 inch Mortar in UK service where it is used by the British Army the Royal Marines and the RAF Regiment In UK armoured mechanised infantry battalions the L16 mortar is mounted in an FV 432 AFV six 2 per battalion mortar platoon British army light role infantry battalions and the Royal Marines may transport their mortars in BvS 10 vehicles the replacement for the Bv 206 Otherwise it is carried disassembled in three loads barrel baseplate and bipod with sights each approximately 11 kg normally carried by a vehicle or helicopter and assembled for firing from the ground The weapon can be man packed by the mortar detachment in which case the ammunition would be carried by other soldiers of the battalion In addition to their normal equipment each soldier would carry four bombs in a pair of two bomb plastic containers known as greenies in the British Army Operators edit nbsp Map with L16 operators in blue Current operators edit nbsp Australia known as F2 81mm mortar 3 nbsp Austria 4 nbsp Belize 4 dead link nbsp Brazil 4 dead link nbsp Canada 4 dead link nbsp Estonia nbsp Guyana 4 dead link nbsp India 4 dead link nbsp Japan 4 dead link nbsp Kenya 4 dead link nbsp Malawi 4 dead link nbsp Malta Armed Forces of Malta citation needed nbsp Malaysia 4 dead link nbsp Nepal citation needed nbsp Netherlands L16A2 5 nbsp New Zealand L16A2 6 nbsp Nigeria 4 dead link nbsp Norway 4 dead link nbsp Oman 4 dead link nbsp Portugal 4 dead link nbsp Qatar 4 dead link nbsp Saudi Arabia 7 nbsp Syria citation needed nbsp Thailand 4 dead link nbsp United Arab Emirates 4 dead link nbsp United Kingdom nbsp United States M252 mortar 4 dead link nbsp Yemen 4 dead link Former operators edit nbsp Rhodesia Rhodesian ArmyGallery edit nbsp View down the smoothbore barrel of the L16 mortar nbsp L16 baseplate nbsp L16 C2 sight source source source source source source source Video of L16 81mm mortar fired by JGSDF soldiers during Orient Shield 2012References edit 81mm Mortar Retrieved 4 November 2014 Rinaldi Richard A August 2002 Modern British TOE s PDF Orbat com Archived from the original PDF on 2 December 2012 Retrieved 27 February 2013 Mortar 81 mm PDF defence gov au Defence unexploded ordnance website ordnance information sheet March 2015 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Berrigan Frida Ciarrocca Michelle November 2000 Report Profiling the Small Arms Industry World Policy Institute Research Project World Policy Institute Archived from the original on 23 August 2018 Retrieved 29 August 2018 Mortieren 60 81 en 120mm Defensie nl Ministerie van Defensie Archived from the original on 16 March 2018 Retrieved 16 March 2018 L16A2 81mm Mortar New Zealand Defence Force Retrieved 7 August 2022 Rottman Gordon L 1993 Armies of the Gulf War Elite 45 Osprey Publishing p 30 ISBN 9781855322776 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to L16 81mm mortar 81 mm mortar British Army Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title L16 81mm mortar amp oldid 1221404110, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
