A mortar is today usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded cannon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although … See more

Mortars have been used for hundreds of years. The earliest reported use of mortars were in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the wan'gu (gourd-shaped mortar) (완구, 碗口). The earliest ver… See more

It was not until the Stokes mortar was devised by Sir Wilfred Stokes in 1915 during the First World War that the modern mortar transportable by one person was born. In the conditions of trench warfare, there was a great nee… See more

Most modern mortar systems consist of four main components: a barrel, a base plate, a bipod and a sight. Modern mortars normally range in calibre from 60 mm (2.36 in) to 120 mm (4.72 in). However, both larger and … See more

Modern mortars and their ammunition are generally much smaller and lighter than long range artillery, such as field guns and howitzers, which allows light (60 mm (2.4 in)) and medium (81 mm (3.2 in)/82 mm (3.2 in)) mo… See more

From the 17th to the mid-20th century, very heavy, relatively immobile siege mortars were used, of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) calibre, often made of cast iron and with an outside barrel diameter many times that of the bore diameter. A… See more

• Carcass (projectile), used in mortars before the modern age
• Chemical mortar battalion
• Coehorn a lightweight mortar, sometimes improvised… See more