Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. Mortars launch explosive shells (technically called bombs)^[1] in high-arching ballistic trajectories. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition.

^ "mortar definition". Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.

[1] "mortar definition". Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.

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