M2 4.2-inch mortar

M2 4.2-inch mortar
TypeMortar
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1943–1974 (United States)
1943–present
Used byU.S. Army
U.S. Marine Corps
WarsWorld War II
Korean War
First Indochina War
Vietnam War
Portuguese Colonial War
Production history
DesignerU.S. Chemical Warfare Service
Specifications
Mass151 kg (332.89 lbs)
Length1.22 m (4 ft)
Barrel length1 m (3 ft 3 in)

Shell11–13 kg (24 lb 4 oz – 28 lb 11 oz)[1]
Caliber107 mm (4.2 in)
Rate of fire5 rpm for 20 minutes
1 rpm indefinitely
Muzzle velocity250–256 m/s (820–840 ft/s)
Effective firing range515 m (563.21 yd)
Maximum firing range4.4 km (2.7 mi)
M2 4.2-inch mortars in action on Utah Beach, 1944
A crew of an M2 mortar fires on North Korean positions in 1953
A 4.2-inch mortar in Korea, 1952.

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.

  1. ^ Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Mortars and rockets. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p. 23. ISBN 0-668-03817-9. OCLC 2067459.