120 Krh/40
| 120 Krh/40 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Heavy mortar |
| Place of origin | Finland |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1940-present |
| Used by | Finnish army Swedish army Estonian army German army Latvian army Lithuanian army Portuguese army |
| Wars | Continuation War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Tampella |
| Manufacturer | Tampella |
| No. built | 596 by Tampella[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 260 kilograms (570 lb) |
| Barrel length | 189cm |
| Caliber | 120 millimetres (12 cm) |
| Rate of fire | up to 20 shots/minute[1] |
| Muzzle velocity | 116–290 m/s[1] |
| Maximum firing range | 7,200 metres (23,600 ft) |
120 Krh/40 is a 120 mm mortar developed by Finnish Tampella (now Patria Vammas).
Use in Sweden
The 120 Krh/40 first entered service in 1940 after being ordered the prior year by Finland. It was also 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[update], 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.
See also
- Soltam M-65 – An Israeli copy of Krh/40 using a new base plate
- Soltam K6 – Further development of M-65
External links
Media related to 120 Krh 40 at Wikimedia Commons
References
- ^ a b c d "Finnish Army 1918 - 1945: 120 Mm Mortars".
- ^ "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.
- ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2016). The Military Balance 2016. Vol. 116. Routlegde. p. 91. ISBN 9781857438352.
- ^ "UN Register: Military holdings - Lithuania 2016". www.un-register.org. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.