L9A1 51 mm light mortar

The L9A1 51 mm light mortar was a man-portable platoon-level mortar system used by the British Army from the late 1980s to 2007.

Ammunition for the 51 mm mortar has a small, ring-pull safety pin on the side of the nose-fuze. The fuze remains unarmed until the pin is withdrawn. Therefore, the safety pin must always be removed and discarded before a mortar shell is fired. A short range insert device allows the weapon to be used in a direct fire mode. Smoke, illuminating and high explosive bombs are available.

The 51 mm mortar replaced the World War II-vintage 2 inch mortar in the late 1980s. It was due to be phased out by the use of the 40 mm L17A2 UGL (underslung grenade launcher) mounted on the L85A2; however operational experience has led to the decision to replace it with a 60mm Mortar.[1] The Hirtenberger AG M6-895 60 mm Mortar was procured in 2007 as an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) to replace the current 51 mm Mortar on current operations.[2]


Specifications
  • Calibre: 51.25 mm (2.02 in)
  • Weight:
    • Complete: 6.275 kg (13.8 lb)
  • Length of barrel: 700 mm (27.5 in)
  • Range: 750 m (820 yd)
  • Rapid rate of fire: eight rounds per minute
  • Bomb weight:
    • Illumination: 800 grams (1.76 lb)
    • Smoke: 900 grams (1.98 lb)
    • High explosive: 920 grams (2.03 lb)

References
  1. "Contract Notice Supply of 60mm Mortar Barrels". European Defence Agency. requirement for the supply of approximately 630 (six hundred and thirty) 60mm Mortar Barrels. This procurement is for Mortar Barrels only and does not include Ammunition. The procurement is intended to replace the in-service 51mm Mortar system.
  2. "British Army Vehicles and Equipment" (PDF). MoD. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-19.
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