General Facts
- TYPE
Mortar - ORIGIN
Israel - NICKNAMES
- - DESIGNED
Early 1960's - DESIGNER
Soltam - PRODUCTION
1960's - late 1970's, still available - PRODUCERS Israel - Soltam
- QUANTITY
Unknown - UNIT COST
Unknown - CHARACTERISTICS
Very powerful
Long range
Very heavy
Limited rate of fire
Introduction
The M66 is a towed 160mm heavy mortar of Israeli origin. It was developed by Soltam in the 1960's to provide a heavy shelling ability for the Israeli armed forces. The M66 is one of the heaviest and most powerful mortars in the world.
Layout
The design is based on the Finnish Tampella M58, but the M66 is a much heavier and sturdier system. It is a breech loaded smoothbore mortar that is operated by 6 to 8 men. When deployed in the firing position the M66 rests on its round base-plate and instead of a bipod the wheels are used to support the weapon.
Firepower
The M66 provides a lot of firepower. It fires 38 kg mortar bombs that does more explosive damage than most 155mm artillery shells. The maximum range is 9.6 km. The rate of fire is somewhat limited.
Mobility
The weight makes the M66 hard to move by hand and in the field. The M66 mortar was also mounted on a Sherman tank chassis resulting in the Makmat self-propelled mortar. This greatly increases mobility, especially in difficult terrain.
Users
The M66 is used by only a handful of nations. It remains in use today, although many are placed in reserve. The Makmat was developed in 1968 and participated in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and 1982 Lebanon War. Nowadays it is in reserve.
M66
The M66 is a 160mm heavy mortar. It is a breech loaded smoothbore mortar that is operated by 6 to 8 men. The design is based on the Tampella M58, but the M66 is a much heavier and sturdier system. When deployed in the firing position the M66 rests on its round base-plate and instead of a bipod the wheels are used to support the weapon.
- Specifications:
- M66
| Type | Mortar |
|---|---|
| Crew | 6 - 8 |
| Ordnance | 160mm smoothbore mortar, 2.85 m tube |
| Elevation | +43 to +70° |
| Traverse | 360° using wheels |
| Rate of fire | ? |
|---|---|
| Range | 600 m to 9.6 km |
| Carriage | Fixed 2 wheel carriage, doubling as bipod in firing position |
| Weight | 1.700 kg (firing position), 1.450 kg (travelling without baseplate) |
| Length | ? |
| Width | ? |
|---|---|
| Height | ? |
| Towing vehicle | 6x6 truck |
| Speed | ? |
| Remarks | - |
Makmat
The Makmat is a self-propelled 160mm mortar carrier. It consists of a highly modified Sherman chassis fitted with the M66 mortar. The Makmat makes the M66 much more mobile. The mortar fires over the frontal arc. The Sherman chassis was chosen as it was widely available in Israel and in the 1960's the Sherman was of little use as a main battle tank.
- Specifications:
- Makmat
| Type | Self-propelled mortar |
|---|---|
| Crew | 6 - 8 |
| Length | ? |
| Width | ? |
| Height | ? |
| Ground clearance | ? |
| Weight | 36 t |
| Ground pressure | ? |
| Wheelbase | Tracked chassis, 6 roadwheels, drive sprocket front and idler rear |
| Turn radius | ? |
| Engine | 460 hp |
| Power ratio | 12.8 hp/t |
|---|---|
| Transmission | ? |
| Speed | ? |
| Fuel | ? |
| Range | ? |
| Wall | ? |
| Trench | ? |
| Gradient | ? |
| Fording | ? |
| Armor | Steel |
| NBC equipment | No |
| Night vision | No |
|---|---|
| Smoke | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Armament | 160mm M66 mortar 12.7mm M2HB heavy MG |
| Weapon1 | 160mm M66 mortar manual traverse and elevation non-stabilized |
| Weapon2 | 12.7mm M2HB pintle mounted heavy machine gun 100 rounds ready to fire manual traverse and elevation non-stabilized |
| Weapon3 | - |
| Weapon4 | - |
| Weapon5 | - |
| Weapon6 | - |
160mm M43 & M160
The Israeli 160mm M66 mortar is a much heavier and longer range weapon than the Soviet M43 and M160.
