Rare M-240 mortar, the largest caliber mortar in its class, spotted in Ukrainian Armed Forces again (video)
OSINT analyst Osinttechnical posted a video on his X-account featuring a rare 240mm M-240 mortar. The charging machine for the “museum” gun was made on the basis of UAZ. The location of the shooting is not specified in the publication.
For the first time, the use of exotic art systems by the Ukrainian Armed Forces became known in early fall last year. Then a photo of an M-240 mortar firing at the enemy appeared in the public domain. The area of the front where the photo was taken was never named.
Ukrainian artillery crew armed with an M240 240mm breech loading smoothbore superheavy mortar.
Note the crane-equipped UAZ 3303 used as a tow vehicle, ammunition carrier, and loading mechanism.
The 1950s-era mortar was most likely removed from deep storage last year. pic.twitter.com/1OF9z2znqC
– OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 30, 2023
It is unknown where the Ukrainian army got the rare weapons. Officially, M-240 mortars are not in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is possible that the weapons were taken from the “stockpiles” of storage bases or training centers.
M-240 mortars were mass-produced in 1951-1958. A total of 329 units of such artillery systems were manufactured. According to the “passport” characteristics, the mortar is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 10 km. The M-240 can fire only one shot per minute. The 3F5 guided mines and 3F2 reactive mines from the Smilivets complex can be used as ammunition.
Despite its considerable age, the weapon’s feature is its enormous destructive power – it fires 130-kilogram mines carrying 32 kilograms of explosives. For comparison, a conventional 155-millimeter NATO M107 projectile (used by all Western guns of this caliber supplied to Ukraine) carries about seven kilograms of explosive. A hit from a 240-millimeter Soviet mine is guaranteed to destroy any target except the most powerful concrete fortifications.
