Mortar (weapon)
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A mortar today is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded cannon consisting of a smooth-bore metal tube fixed to a base plate with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. Mortars are
United States Army soldiers firing an M120 mortar (round visible in smoke) during the war in Afghanistan
Engraving depicting the Venetian siege of the Acropolis of Athens, September 1687. The trajectory of the shell that hit the Parthenon, causing its explosion, is marked.
German 7.5 cm Minenwerfer
Wilfred Stokes with example of his WWI mortar and bombs
Hedgehog (weapon)
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The Hedgehog was a forward-throwing anti-submarine mortar that was used primarily during the Second World War. The device, which was developed by the Royal Navy, fired up to 24 spigot mortars ahead of
Mortar (weapon)
…The Blacker Bombard and PIAT anti-tank launchers used by Britain in World War II. The Hedgehog launcher, used from the deck of a ship, used 24 spigot mortars which fired a diamond pattern of anti-submarine projectiles into the sea ahead of the…
On HMS Westcott, November 1945
USS Moberly makes a Hedgehog attack against U-853 in 1945.
A large white upwelling of water from an underwater explosion just ahead of Moberly's bow following Hedgehog launch
USS Sarsfield after firing dual Hedgehogs, 1950