M2 4.2-inch mortar | |
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Type | Mortar |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 1943–1974 (United States) 1943–present |
Used by | U.S. Army U.S. Marine Corps |
Wars | World War II Korean War First Indochina War Vietnam War Portuguese Colonial War |
Production history | |
Designer | U.S. Chemical Warfare Service |
Specifications | |
Mass | 151 kg (332.89 lbs) |
Length | 1.22 m (4 ft) |
Barrel length | 1 m (3 ft 3 in) |
Shell | 11–13 kg (24 lb 4 oz – 28 lb 11 oz)[1] |
Caliber | 107 mm (4.2 in) |
Rate of fire | 5 rpm for 20 minutes 1 rpm indefinitely |
Muzzle velocity | 250–256 m/s (820–840 ft/s) |
Effective firing range | 515 m (563.21 yd) |
Maximum firing range | 4.4 km (2.7 mi) |
The M2 4.2-inch mortar was a U.S. rifled 4.2-inch (107 mm) mortar used during the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It entered service in 1943. It was nicknamed the "Goon Gun" (from its large bullet-shaped shells, monopod, and rifled bore) or the "Four-Deuce" (from its bore size in inches). In 1951, it began to be phased out in favor of the M30 mortar of the same caliber.