120-PM-38

120-PM-38
Name	120-PM-38
Origin	Soviet Union
Type	Mortar
Service	1938–present
Used by	See "Service Use by Country"
Design date	1938
Production date	1938–1945
Caliber	120 mm
Feed	Muzzle-loaded

120-PM-38

The 120-PM-38 is a Soviet 120 mm heavy mortar introduced in 1938 and widely deployed during the Second World War and Cold War. It became a standard heavy indirect-fire weapon in the Red Army and later in Warsaw Pact and allied forces, influencing designs adopted by the Wehrmacht, United States, China, and several postcolonial states. The system's combination of range, firepower, and relative mobility made it a mainstay in major engagements from the Eastern Front to proxy conflicts in Asia and Africa.

Design and Specifications

The 120-PM-38 features a smoothbore, muzzle-loading mortar tube mounted on a circular baseplate with a bipod and sighting assembly, drawing lineage from earlier experimental systems and contemporary designs such as the Brandt Mle 27/31 and Stokes mortar. Its nominal caliber is 120 mm, producing shell weights that balance explosive payload with range comparable to heavy artillery systems like the 88 mm gun in indirect roles. The carriage and baseplate permit rapid emplacement and traverse, while the sighting gear incorporates ballistic tables used by artillery branches in coordination with units like the Red Army and later Soviet Army staffs. The system's metallurgy and heat-treatment reflect industrial practices of the Soviet Union heavy industry sector in the late 1930s, paralleling production methods at factories associated with the People's Commissariat of Defence Industry.

Development and Production

Development began in the mid-1930s under Soviet ordnance bureaus that included engineers influenced by French and British mortar advances, with prototypes evaluated by units involved in the Spanish Civil War and Soviet-Finnish War. Acceptance into service in 1938 followed trials overseen by the Red Army General Staff and input from field commanders experienced in trench and positional warfare, such as veterans of the Russian Civil War. Mass production during the Great Patriotic War took place in munitions works located in the Ural Mountains and relocated plants in Siberia, coordinated with logistics plans of the Soviet military industry. Postwar production continued for export under state agreements with allies including People's Republic of China and Democratic People's Republic of Korea, often via licensed manufacture in factories connected to the Ministry of Defense Industry (Soviet Union).

Operational History

The 120-PM-38 saw extensive action during operations such as the Battle of Moscow, the Siege of Leningrad, and the Battle of Stalingrad, where battalion and regimental mortar units provided sustained barrages in support of rifle divisions and armored formations like the 1st Guards Tank Army. Its high-angle fire proved effective in urban and forested terrain, employed alongside systems including the Katyusha rocket launcher and divisional artillery regiments. Post-1945, the mortar was used in conflicts where Soviet equipment proliferated: the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Arab–Israeli conflicts, and various African wars of independence, often operated by formations such as the People's Liberation Army and Egyptian Armed Forces. NATO intelligence and field manuals cataloged the weapon as a key element of Warsaw Pact indirect fire capabilities.

Variants and Modifications

Variants include wartime simplified-production models with lighter fittings for rapid manufacture, and postwar refinements featuring improved sights and corrosion-resistant finishes. Some operators developed vehicle-mounted adaptations for light trucks and armored personnel carriers produced by manufacturers like GAZ and ZIL, while other users introduced recoil-damping devices inspired by developments in the United States Army and British Army support weapons. Specialized training and ceremonial versions were produced for military academies such as the Frunze Military Academy and for reserve units within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union).

Service Use by Country

The 120-PM-38 entered service with the Soviet Union and was exported to Warsaw Pact members including Poland, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany. Non-aligned and client states fielding the mortar included Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Cuba, and Algeria, with Latin American operators like Nicaragua and Peru employing it in internal and regional conflicts. In Asia, it saw use by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, People's Republic of China, and North Korea. Western intelligence assessments by organizations such as NATO cataloged quantities in allied inventories and assessed their tactical role in theater-level planning.

Ammunition and Ballistics

Ammunition types comprised high-explosive, smoke, illumination, and training rounds standardized to Soviet ordnance designations similar to those used for other calibers in service. Ballistic performance yielded effective ranges that allowed engagement of targets at several kilometers, with charges adjustable to alter muzzle velocity and trajectory according to firing tables used by artillery staffs in coordination with forward observers from units like the Soviet Air Force and infantry reconnaissance elements. Fuze options permitted delay and proximity functions, paralleling developments in mortar ammunition employed by forces such as the German Wehrmacht and United States Marine Corps.

Surviving Examples and Museums

Surviving examples are displayed in institutions including the Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow, the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Volgograd, and military museums in former client states like the Polish Army Museum and Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces Museum. Restoration projects have been undertaken by historical societies linked to the Imperial War Museums network and veteran organizations, with examples preserved in open-air collections and battlefield memorials commemorating engagements such as the Battle of Kursk and liberation campaigns across Eastern Europe.

Category:Mortars of the Soviet Union Category:World War II artillery of the Soviet Union